A 37-year-old sales director for a Boston computer-distribution company is a prime example.Over six feet tall, he had been considerably overweight most of his like. Then he began to worry thathis appearance could be hurting his career. "I got tired of people thinking I was the same age as mybrother, who's nearly nine years older," he says, "When you're fat, people in the business worldassume you're out of control. "

　　Determined to change, the sales director entered a hospital-based diet program and droppedover 70 pounds. "I feel—and look—ten years younger. " he says.

　　At 82, Clarice R. Mc Williams, a retired business owner in Dallas, has the appearance, skin tone(膚色) and mental agility of someone many years younger. "Most people think I'm in my 60s. "she boasts.

　　Mc Williams admits genes play some role in the way she looks, but believes diet is an importantfactor. "It doesn't matter how good the genes are if you don't eat properly and take care ofyourself," she says. "If you want to look good, get plenty of rest, exercise every day, eat mostlyraw fruits and vegetables—and quit worrying. "

　　Says Blumberg, "There's certainly a link between good nutrition, a positive attitude andimproved quality of life. People can have a say in what's going on with their bodies by selecting ahealthful diet. "

　　Skin. Nowhere do the signs of aging manifest themselves more clearly than in the condition ofthe skin. When your weight fluctuates, the skin stretches with each up cycle, but it may notcompletely shrink back to its original size in the down cycle. As a result, the skin may sag(松弛下垂).

　　A severely deficient diet can lead to skin disorders, dramatically affecting one's appearance. Bythe same token, a well-balanced diet with ample supplies of nutrients is thought by many experts toproduce a glowing, younger look.

　　Zinc and vitamin A are important for normal, healthy skin. Zinc helps the skin repair itself, andvitamin A aids in keeping skin supple, preventing dryness and helping shed dead cells. Good sourcesof zinc are beef, eggs and seafood, while many dark-green leafy vegetables are rich in betacarotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. Other foods containing ample amounts of betacarotene include carrots, cantaloupe, winter squash, sweet potatoes, sweet red peppers, apricotsand mangoes.

　　Vitamin C helps improve the blood supply to the skin and aids in forming collagen(膠原) , thefibrous protein that lies beneath the skin's surface and gives it a smooth appearance. Goodsources of vitamin C include citrus fruits and juices, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, snow peas, redand green peppers, broccoli, white and sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, honeydew melonand cantaloupe.

　　Greens are excellent sources of skin-preserving nutrients and, generally, the darker the leaves,the more nutritious. Romaine lettuce, for example has about six times as much vitamin C andeight times as much beta carotene as iceberg lettuce.

　　How food is prepared matters too. The longer vegetables cook, the greater the loss of vitaminsand texture. Don't soak vegetables when washing them, since water-soluble vitamins such as Cwill be lost.

　　Blumberg also recommends drinking six to eight glasses of water or other fluids each day tohelp keep skin and other tissues hydrated. "That's especially important for older people," he says, "who are at risk for dehydration because their thirst drive becomes blunted with age. " Coffee,colas and tea aren't the best sources, since they contain caffeine, a diuretic that induces waterloss.

　　Hair. Healthy, shining hair is second only to vibrant skin for making one look younger. Yet manypeople unwittingly mistreat their hair by eating an unbalanced diet.

　　When a 33-year-old employee at a Texas corporation decided to lose weight quickly, shewent on a fad diet, high in fiber and bulk, but low in protein. Over three months, she lost a lot ofweight. She also lost a good deal of her hair.

　　Dermatologist (皮膚病學家) David Alkek, a clinical professor at the University of TexasSouthwest Medical Center at Dallas, sees too many cases like this woman's. When diets don'tcontain enough amino acids, the building blocks of protein, there's dramatic increase in hair loss asthe body breaks down its own protein.

　　Hair and skin cells are constantly reproducing and are, therefore, very sensitive to nutritionaldeficiencies, explains Dr. Alkek. Foods high in amino acids include meats, eggs, milk, grains andlegumes. Just remember that the body cannot store protein. So foods high in protein must beingested daily. Under Alkek's care, the woman began eating nutritionally balanced meals, and herhair was restored in about eight months.

　　Immune system. Vitamins E and C and beta carotene, known as antioxidants (抗氧化劑 ) , areconsidered powerful disease-fighters, capable of slowing down or preventing a number of ailmentstypically associated with aging.

　　A growing body of evidence suggests that aging and decline in immune function may result inpart from accumulated damage to cells caused by certain toxic compounds called free radicals (自由基). Antioxidants seem to counteract or impair the ability of these substances to attack healthycells, thus avoiding at least some of the damage. Foods containing these nutrients are being linked—by science rather than myth—to the control and prevention of heart disease and cancer,stroke, cataracts and to the body's ability to ward off infectious diseases.

　　Good general nutrition is essential to maintaining a healthy, youthful appearance. And thekey to good general nutrition is balance. Proteins should make up roughly ten percent of your dailycalorie intake; no more than 30 percent should come from fats; and the remaining calories shouldcome mostly from complex carbohydrates.

　　1. The passage primarily tells us how to lose weight so as to improve one's appearance.

　　2. Dark-green leafy vegetables are good sources of beta carotene.

　　3. When one gains weight, the skin becomes loose.

　　4. It is particularly important for the old to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water to help keep skin andother tissues hydrated.

　　5. Food low in protein is harmful to hair.

　　6. Free radicals play an important role in immune function.

　　7. In order to look younger, one should cut back on fats.

　　8. Amino acids are the building blocks of______.

　　9. Genes are______than diet in determining one's looks.

　　10. The body changes______into vitamin A.

　　參考答案：

　　1. N 2. Y 3. N 4. Y 5. Y 6. N 7. NG 8. protein 9. less important 10. beta carotene

　　As we know, it is very important that a firm should pay attention to the training of its staff asthere exist many weak parts in its various departments. Staff training must have a purpose, which isdefined when a firm considers its training needs, which are in turn based on job descriptions and jobspecifications.

　　A job description should give details of the performance that is required for a particular job,and a job specification should give information about the behavior, knowledge and skills that areexpected of an employee who works in it. When all of this has been collected, it is possible to makea training specification. This specifies what the Training Department must teach for the successfulperformance of the job, and also the best methods to use in the training period.

　　There are many different training methods, and there are advantages and disadvantages of all ofthem. Successful training programmes depend on an understanding of the difference betweenlearning about skills and training in using them. It is frequently said that learning about skills takesplace "off the job" in the classroom, but training in using these skills takes place "on the job", bymeans of such activities as practice in the workshop.

　　It is always difficult to evaluate the costs and savings of a training programme. The success ofsuch a programme depends not only on the methods used but also on the quality of the staff whodo the training. A company can often check oh savings in time and cost by examining the workperformed by the workers and technicians who have completed a training programme. Theevaluation of management training is much more complex than that.

　　21. To be successful in our training programmes, we must understand the differencebetween______.

　　A. a job description and a job specification

　　B. what is taught and how it is taught

　　C. learning about skills and training in using them

　　D. the savings in time and the savings in cost

　　22. The success of a training programme depends on_________.

　　A. the places where the training takes place

　　B. the correct evaluation of the costs and savings of the programme

　　C. the performance of the workers and technicians trained in the programme

　　D. the training methods and the quality of the training staff

　　23. A training specification specifies_______.

　　A. the performance required for a certain job

　　B. the behavior, knowledge, and skills expected of an employee

　　C. the training contents and methods

　　D. the costs and savings of the programme

　　24. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

　　A. As there exist weak parts in different departments of a firm, the training of its staff is highlynecessary.

　　B. A training specification is based on the information collected from a job description and ajob specification.

　　C. Training in using skills and learning about skills usually do not happen at the same place.

　　D. It is easier to evaluate management training than to evaluate the training of workers andtechnicians.

　　25. The best title for this passage might be_______.

　　A. A Successful Training Programme

　　B. How to Describe and Specify a Job

　　C. Staff Training

　　D. The Importance of Training Workers and Technicians

　　參考答案：

　　21. C 22. D 23. C 24. D 25. C