The Benefits of Regular Exercise

The Benefits of Regular Exercise In recent years, many people have become increasingly aware of the need for physical fitness. Almost everywhere people turn, whether to a news stall or television, advice for improving health bombards them. Although much of this advice is for commercial purposes, some of it, especially that advocating a regular exercise program, deserves serious attention. Such a program, if consisting of exercise at least thirty minutes three times a week, provides numerous benefits. Regular exercise releases tension, improves appearance, and increases stamina（耐力）． The first of these benefits, the release of tension, is immediate. Tension builds in the body because of stress, anxiety, or fear, Doctors agree that participating in an active sport such as tennis or volleyball for thirty minutes eases tension. If a person swims, jogs or rides a bicycle for half that time, he would sleep better at night and have a better mood the next day. In addition, after the relief of tension, minor irritations and frustrations should be less troubling. For example, if one is upset by the day’s work or by a traffic jam, he may rush home, argue with the family, and eat excessively. Taking about thirty minutes to release frustrations through physical exercise could help him to avoid this behavior. Planned physical exercise, therefore, can eliminate or at least control tension.
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【正确答案】：【参考答案】 An improved appearance, the second benefit of regular exercise, is not so immediately apparent. Exercise takes perhaps a month or longer to show its results in a trimmer, firmer figure. Improvement, however, will come. Take a person who is ten pounds overweight for instance. He may be able during this time to burn away most excess fat and to tighten muscles, thereby reshaping the physique. It follows that he will wear clothes more attractively and comfortably. Combined with a sensible diet, an exercise program will also improve a person’s skin tone. This improved appearance will provide confidence and favorably impress others.
【题目解析】：通过仔细阅读，本文属于说明文，要合理补全缺失段落，我们需要明确该补充什么内容，以及该以怎样的方式将其呈现出来。除了逻辑上的有效分析之外，我们还应该了解到introduction和summary是补全文章主题段落缺失内容的主要线索。 一个合格的thesis statement 不但是全文的中心思想句，还进一步明确并限制了每一个主体段落的大体内容及行文方式。这类题目旨在考察学生对thesis statement作用的认识以及学生对文章的Unity和Coherence的把握。该文章第一段的最后一句至关重要，因为它引出了接下来的几个段落中心，说明坚持锻炼身体的好处主要有三个：Regular exercise releases tension, improves appearance, and increases stamina（耐力）。接下来的段落中，提到了前两点，第三点increases stamina没有提及，因此要把这段内容补充上。