The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) earnestly attempts to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead. Its quality-of-life index (21) the results of subjective life-satisfaction surveys how happy people say they are—to (22) determinants of the quality of life across countries. Being rich helps more than (23) else, but it is not all that (24) ; things like crime, trust in public institutions and the health of family life matter too. (25) , the index takes 11 statistically significant indicators into (26) They are a mixed bunch: some are (27) factors, Such as geography; others change only very slowly (28) time; and some factors depend on policies and the state of the world (29) . Despite the global economic crisis, times have in certain respects (30) been so good. Output growth rates have been (31) across the world, but income levels are at or near (32) highs. Life expectancy continues to (33) steadily and political freedoms have spread across the (34) . In other ways, however, the crisis has (35) a deep imprint on unemployment and personal (36) . After crunching its numbers, the EIU has Switzerland comfortably in the top spot, with Australia second. Small economies (37) the top ten, half of which are European. The Nordic countries shine, (38) the crisis-ridden south of Europe (Greece, Portugal and Spain) lags behind. The (39) European economies (Germany, France and Britain) do not do particularly well. America (40) back in 16th place. Despite their economic dynamism, none of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) scores impressively. Among the 80 countries covered, Nigeria comes last: it is the worst place for a baby to enter the world in 2013.
A. recedes
B. trails
C. languishes
D. twists
Michael Yessis, an emeritus professor of Sports Science at California State University, maintains that "genetics only determines about one third of what an athlete can do. But with the right training we can go much further with that one third than we’ve been going. " Yessis believes that U. S. runners, despite their impressive achievements, are "running on their genetics". By applying more scientific methods, "they’re going to go much faster". These methods include strength training as well as plyometrics, a technique pioneered in the former Soviet Union. Whereas most exercises are designed to build up strength or endurance, plyometrics focuses on increasing power— the rate at which an athlete can expend energy. Nutrition is another area that sports trainers have failed to address adequately. "Many athletes are not getting the best nutrition, even through supplements, " Yessis insists. Each activity has its own nutritional needs. Few coaches, for instance, understand how deficiencies in trace minerals can lead to injuries. Focused training will also play a role in enabling records to be broken. "If we applied the Russian training model to some of the outstanding runners we have in this country," Yessis asserts, "they would be breaking records left and right. " One of the most important new methodologies is biomechanics, the study of the body in motion. A biomechanic films an athlete in action and then digitizes his performance, recording the motion of every joint and limb in three dimensions. By applying Newton’s laws to these motions, "we can say that this athlete’s run is not fast enough; that this one is not using his arms strongly enough during take-off," says Dapena, who uses these methods to help high jumpers. To date, however, biomechanics has made only a small difference to athletic performance. Revolutionary ideas still come from the athletes themselves. For example, during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, a relatively unknown high jumper named Dick Fosbury won the gold by going over the bar backwards, in complete contradiction of all the received high-jumping wisdom, a move instantly dubbed the Fosbury flop. Fosbury himself did not know what he was doing. That understanding took the later analysis of biomechanics specialists, who put their minds to comprehending something that was too complex and unorthodox ever to have been invented through their own mathematical simulations. Fosbury also required another element that lies behind many improvements in athletic performance: an innovation in athletic equipment In the end, most people who examine human performance are humbled by the resourcefulness of athletes and the powers of the human body. "Once you study athletics, you learn that it’s a vexing complex issue, " says John S. Raglin, a sports psychologist at Indiana University. "Core performance is not a simple or mundane thing of higher, faster, longer. So many variables enter into the equation, and our understanding in many cases is fundamental. We’ve got a long way to go, " For the foreseeable future, records will be made to be broken. What is the contribution of plybmetrics
A. Speeding up the rate of athletes’ metabolism.
B. Making clear specifications of physical exercises.
C. Perfecting the technique pioneered in breaking records
D. Helping runners develop strength and endurance.
Michael Yessis, an emeritus professor of Sports Science at California State University, maintains that "genetics only determines about one third of what an athlete can do. But with the right training we can go much further with that one third than we’ve been going. " Yessis believes that U. S. runners, despite their impressive achievements, are "running on their genetics". By applying more scientific methods, "they’re going to go much faster". These methods include strength training as well as plyometrics, a technique pioneered in the former Soviet Union. Whereas most exercises are designed to build up strength or endurance, plyometrics focuses on increasing power— the rate at which an athlete can expend energy. Nutrition is another area that sports trainers have failed to address adequately. "Many athletes are not getting the best nutrition, even through supplements, " Yessis insists. Each activity has its own nutritional needs. Few coaches, for instance, understand how deficiencies in trace minerals can lead to injuries. Focused training will also play a role in enabling records to be broken. "If we applied the Russian training model to some of the outstanding runners we have in this country," Yessis asserts, "they would be breaking records left and right. " One of the most important new methodologies is biomechanics, the study of the body in motion. A biomechanic films an athlete in action and then digitizes his performance, recording the motion of every joint and limb in three dimensions. By applying Newton’s laws to these motions, "we can say that this athlete’s run is not fast enough; that this one is not using his arms strongly enough during take-off," says Dapena, who uses these methods to help high jumpers. To date, however, biomechanics has made only a small difference to athletic performance. Revolutionary ideas still come from the athletes themselves. For example, during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, a relatively unknown high jumper named Dick Fosbury won the gold by going over the bar backwards, in complete contradiction of all the received high-jumping wisdom, a move instantly dubbed the Fosbury flop. Fosbury himself did not know what he was doing. That understanding took the later analysis of biomechanics specialists, who put their minds to comprehending something that was too complex and unorthodox ever to have been invented through their own mathematical simulations. Fosbury also required another element that lies behind many improvements in athletic performance: an innovation in athletic equipment In the end, most people who examine human performance are humbled by the resourcefulness of athletes and the powers of the human body. "Once you study athletics, you learn that it’s a vexing complex issue, " says John S. Raglin, a sports psychologist at Indiana University. "Core performance is not a simple or mundane thing of higher, faster, longer. So many variables enter into the equation, and our understanding in many cases is fundamental. We’ve got a long way to go, " For the foreseeable future, records will be made to be broken. The purpose of employing biomechanics films is to ______.
A. provide materials for sports film shooting
B. highlight areas for improvement in athletes
C. assess the fitness levels of potential athletes
D. skim off promising athletes through analysis
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) earnestly attempts to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead. Its quality-of-life index (21) the results of subjective life-satisfaction surveys how happy people say they are—to (22) determinants of the quality of life across countries. Being rich helps more than (23) else, but it is not all that (24) ; things like crime, trust in public institutions and the health of family life matter too. (25) , the index takes 11 statistically significant indicators into (26) They are a mixed bunch: some are (27) factors, Such as geography; others change only very slowly (28) time; and some factors depend on policies and the state of the world (29) . Despite the global economic crisis, times have in certain respects (30) been so good. Output growth rates have been (31) across the world, but income levels are at or near (32) highs. Life expectancy continues to (33) steadily and political freedoms have spread across the (34) . In other ways, however, the crisis has (35) a deep imprint on unemployment and personal (36) . After crunching its numbers, the EIU has Switzerland comfortably in the top spot, with Australia second. Small economies (37) the top ten, half of which are European. The Nordic countries shine, (38) the crisis-ridden south of Europe (Greece, Portugal and Spain) lags behind. The (39) European economies (Germany, France and Britain) do not do particularly well. America (40) back in 16th place. Despite their economic dynamism, none of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) scores impressively. Among the 80 countries covered, Nigeria comes last: it is the worst place for a baby to enter the world in 2013.
A. settled
B. fixed
C. controlled
D. weighted