Americans love sports—they love to play them, to watch them on television, and to talk about them. But this hobby sometimes has serious results—at least to the players. For example, when people play tennis, sometimes they hurt their elbow（肘部）and in this way they develop “tennis elbow”. Also it is easy to hurt a knee in a football game. These injuries（损伤）happen while the player is having fun, but they still hurt.

A few months ago, Kathleen Simmons, who loves playing volleyball, hurt her knee in a volleyball game. Her doctor told her that she needed a very difficult operation（手术）or she might not be able to play again. She felt very sad and didn’t know what to do.

Then Simmons learned about “video operation”. With the help of this new science in medicine, doctors can now repair many injuries and get people back on the playing field and back to their jobs much faster. Simmons found a hospital that was using this new science and went to see the doctor there. The doctors told her the operation could help.

For this operation, her doctor didn’t have to open her knee. Instead he put a very small camera lens（镜头）inside her knee. The lens sent back pictures, which appeared on a television screen. As he worked, he could see the inside of her knee on the TV. With the help of the large pictures on the screen, the doctor knew exactly what to do when he was making the repairs.

Simmons started walking five days after her operation. “My knee hurt a lot the first few days,” she said. “But I felt better very quickly.” Now, six months after her operation, Simmons can do everything she did before her injury. “It feels like a new knee,” she said. “I can even play volleyball again.”

  1. Do Americans love sports?

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  2. What sport is Simmons interested in?

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  3. What did the doctor put inside Simmons’ knee?

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  4. What problem may people have when they play sports?

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  5 What’s the advantage（优点）of the new science?

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Saying no starts small
“All right then — just one more piece...” Words every girl has said when they are faced with the delicious cheesecake. Of course, many of us know we may eat the whole thing in the end.
It isn’t just girls. Most of us find it hard to say “no” to something attractive. However, scientists now say that willpower is very important to success and a happy life.
Scientists in different countries have been studying the effects of willpower on people’s lives for a long time. The results are similar, according to an article on February 7 in the Guardian, a famous British newspaper.
In one experiment, scientists told young children that they could either have a marshmallow (圆形软糖) now, or two marshmallows in 15 minutes. Waiting obviously needed more willpower. Scientists then continued studying the children as they grew up. They wanted to see if some children always had stronger willpower. They also wanted to see how having stronger willpower affected their lives.
Years later, scientists found that the children who had waited for two marshmallows were all healthier, happier and richer adults. Oppositely, the children who had shown weaker willpower at that young age were more likely to be in low-paid jobs, to be overweight, to have social problems.
But there is hope, Roy F Baumeister, an American social psychology(心理学) professor (教授) told the Guardian. Baumeister says we can train our willpower just like we train our muscles（肌肉）. Even a little practice can strengthen（加强） our overall self-control if we do it regularly.
You could start by making yourself stand up straight, speaking in complete sentences, or using a computer mouse with the other hand. Scientists have found that people who manage to change little habits often perform much better in laboratory willpower tests.
Like muscles, willpower can “get tired”. Don’t try to do too many things at the same time, or when you don’t have enough energy, for example when you are ill. If you already feel tired, you can try to recharge(恢复) your willpower with a good night’s sleep and by eating well.
【小题1】The example of a girl eating cheesecake is used to