7．Running on Empty
For almost a century，scientists have assumed，tiredness-or exhaustion-in athletes originates in the muscles（肌肉）．Precise explanations have varied，but all have been based on the"Limitations Theory"．In other words，muscles tire because they hit a physical limit； they either run out of fuel or oxygen or they drown in harmful by-products （副產(chǎn)品）．
In the past few years，however，Timothy Noakes from the University of Cape Town． South Africa，has examined this standard theory．Tiredness，he argues，is caused not by signals springing from overtaxed muscles，but is an emotional response which begins in the brain．The fundamental nature of his new theory is that the brain paces the muscles to keep them well back from the edge of exhaustion．When the brain decides it's time to quit，it creates unbearable muscle tiredness．This"Central Governor"theory remains controversial，but it does-explain many puzzling aspects of athletic performance．
A recent discovery that Noakes calls the"lactic acid paradox"made him start researching this area seriously．Lactic acid is a by-product of exercise，and the increase of it is often mentioned as a cause of tiredness．But when research subjects exercise in certain conditions created artificially，they become tired even though lactic acid levels remain low．
Nor has the oxygen content of their blood fallen too low for them to keep going．Obviously，something else was making them tire before they hit either of these physiological limits． Noakes conducted an experiment with seven cyclists．It has long been known that during exercise，the body never uses 100% of the available muscle fibres （纖維）．The amount used varies； but in some tasks such as this cycling test the body calls on about 30%．His team found that as tiredness set in，the electrical activity in cyclist's legs declined-even when they were making a great effort to cycle as fast as they could．
To Noakes，this was strong evidence that the old theory was wrong．"The cyclists may have felt completely exhausted，"he says，"but their bodies actually had considerable reserves that they could theoretically tap by using a greater amount of the resting fibres．"
This，he believes； is the proof that the brain is regulating the pace of the workout to hold the well back from the point of extreme tiredness．
67，Which of the following is supported by the"Limitations Theory"？B
A．Tiredness is caused by signals from brain．
B．Athletes feel tired when they use up all their energy．
C．The body uses 100% of the muscle fibres in exercise．
D．Athletes become tired though lactic acid levels remain low．
68．Noakes has found out that．C
A．muscle fibres control athletes'movements
B．lactic acid levels remain high in cycling test
C．mental processes control the symptoms of tiredness
D．different exercises use different amount of muscle fibres
69．It is likely that both theories accept that．A
A．lactic acid is produced in muscles during exercise
B．the oxygen content in blood may rise after sports
C．tiredness is a harmful by-product of exercise
D．the energy in human bodies can be
70．What is Paragraph 3mainly about？C
A．The description of a new test．
B．The explanation of the theory．
C．The puzzling evidence of a study．
D．The whole process of the research．
分析 本文主要討論的是運(yùn)動員的疲憊或力竭的根源是什么．
解答 BCAC
67 B 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章第一段第三句In other words，muscles tire because they hit a physical limit：they either run out of fuel or oxygen or they drown in harmful by-products（副產(chǎn)品），可知運(yùn)動員在用完精力后會缺氧或者感覺疲憊．故選B．
68 C 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文章第二段得知Noakes認(rèn)為是大腦中心的活動控制著人體勞累的各種表現(xiàn)，得知C為正確答案．
69 A 細(xì)節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)文中第三段可知，兩種理論都認(rèn)為lactic acid 為運(yùn)動過程中產(chǎn)生的副產(chǎn)品．故選A．
70 C 主旨大意題．文章第三段主要講在研究Limitations Theory時發(fā)現(xiàn)的不足之處． 故選C．
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