Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.
“I’ve got my knees bent. I feel totally alive,” he said. “It feels more natural to stand.”
In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm’s Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.
GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.
Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness(困倦睡意), and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)
But unknown to them, a debate (辩论) is spreading among ergonomics experts（人类工程学家） and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand—to save lives.
Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.
“Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing,” said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. “Sitting is harmful. It’s dangerous. We are on the cusp (尖端) of a major revolution.” He calls sitting “the new smoking”.
Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins(静脉曲张) among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.
Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn’t a fan of all this standing. “Making people stand all day is dumb,” he said.
The sensible and most cost-effective strategy（策略）, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture（姿势）, slightly reclined(下弯的), with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.
【小题1】Marc Hamilton said “Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing” to show that________.

London, April 28---The Man Group, a British hedge fund, is betting that investors will want to read more than the latest how-to- get –rich-quick business book.

In a five-year deal worth roughly $3.6 million announced last week, Man has agreed to sponsor(主办)the Booker Prize for Fiction, which will be renamed the Man Booker Prize. Since creating the award in 1969, Booker P.L.G., a British food group, in June 2000, executives began considering attracting outside sponsors. Man will be the first of these. Bill Grimsey, the chief of the Big Food Group, saw little business sense in a link between a food supplier and a literary prize, explained Dotti Irving, a spokeswoman for the Booker Prize foundation.

Such dissimilarities (差异) have not reduced Man’s enthusiasm for the prize which is expected to be open for the first time to American authors. David Browne, a spokesman for Man, said most of the firm’s investors are high-net-worth individuals who appreciate literature. “The people who buy hedge funds,” Mr. Browne said, “also read.”

Under the new agreement, authors will get more money. The winner of the annual prize, to be awarded in October, will receive $73,000 , up from $30,000 the Australian writer Peter Carey won last year for his novel “True History of the Kelley Gang.”

The six short-listed authors will each receive $3,600, up from $1,500. Having a hedge fund as a backer apparently has its perks.(福利).

1.The article is mainly about ____.

2. This article is most probably seen in a(n) ____.

3.What can be inferred from the article?

4.Who is the spokesman for Man?

The 115-year-old prestigious (有名望的)Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like“shanzhai” “youtiao” and “fangnu”, as part of the modern Chinese language．
As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever developing, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet lively language．
For instance, the word “shanzhai” is used to describe the countless knockoffs（名牌仿制品）of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos．
Another new term in the new edition is the word “fangnu”, or a “mortgage slave” —a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities where well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage．
All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English –Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled(公布于众的)in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week．
The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month．This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation．Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China—the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press—worked together on the project．According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary’s chief editor, most of the firm’s editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers．
“We don’t want to make it florid（绚丽的）, we want it to be modern and conversational．．．many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use,” said Kleeman．“The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago．．．Precise, native and practical—that is our main advantage,” she said．
Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace．The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide．The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready “as soon as possible”, Kleeman said．
【小题1】 According to the above passage, we learn that ________．

单词拼写
【小题1】Her son was filled with ________ （志向）to become a great inventor. 
【小题2】________ （宇航员）accept danger as being part of the job.
【小题3】________ （数码）cameras began to appear last year.
【小题4】That couple have come to terms on their________（离婚）.
【小题5】A mother shouldn’t show too much ________(偏爱) to one of her children. 
【小题6】All the firm’s employees are entitled to at least a ________（两星期）holiday with pay each year.
【小题7】We must care for the weak who would ________（否则） fall by setbacks.  
【小题8】The smooth surface of the lake________（照出）the bright full moon.
【小题9】I felt much ________（同情） for the blind.
【小题10】Her________（天赋） for music was not appreciated. 

The 115-year-old prestigious (有名望的)Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like“shanzhai” “youtiao” and “fangnu”, as part of the modern Chinese language．

As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever developing, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet lively language．

For instance, the word “shanzhai” is used to describe the countless knockoffs（名牌仿制品）of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos．

Another new term in the new edition is the word “fangnu”, or a “mortgage slave” —a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities where well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage．

All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English –Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled(公布于众的)in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week．

The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month．This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation．Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China—the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press—worked together on the project．According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary’s chief editor, most of the firm’s editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers．

“We don’t want to make it florid（绚丽的）, we want it to be modern and conversational．．．many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use,” said Kleeman．“The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago．．．Precise, native and practical—that is our main advantage,” she said．

Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace．The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide．The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready “as soon as possible”, Kleeman said．

1.According to the above passage, we learn that ________

A．knockoffs can be found in China but not very often.

B．the Oxford University Press made the dictionary without outside aid.

C．most Chinese editors are also native speakers of English.

D．well-educated youth in China’s big cities have difficulty buying houses.

2.The possible reason why newer publications updates are not available for book versions is that ________．

A．book versions can’t keep up with the changes of language.

B．the computer network is available everywhere.

C．book versions can’t offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide.

D．computer technology like the PC and the iPad keeps pace with language.

3.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．New Chinese terms like “shanzhai” and “fangnu” have got into Oxford Dictionary．

B．The latest Oxford English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary is on the market．

C．Oxford Dictionary has become more fashionable due to the Chinese language．

D．Beijing International Book Fair was where the new Oxford Dictionary was published．