Some people exercise for health. Others exercise out of a sense of competitiveness or accomplishment(成就). But by far, the most popular reason that people hit the gym is to make their body look better. But simply changing the shape of your body isn’t likely to completely change the way you feel about your body. Let me explain.

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When you start a body transformation journey, it will be weeks—maybe months—before you see any significant differences in the mirror. If you’re just trying to lose fat, you’ll begin seeing results pretty soon. If you’re trying to gain muscle, though, it may seem like the process takes a long time. And if you want to gain muscle and lose fat? That takes even longer. You have to eat more to build the muscle, then diet off the fat, and repeat. An alternative would be eating the same amount of food you are now, and waiting for muscle and fat to change places, but that’s an even slower process than trying to do one and then the other. Importantly, the amount of muscle you can meaningfully gain in a few months (or even a year) is smaller than you might think.

You may never get your dream body.

Let’s say you keep working. You lose fat, gain muscle, put in years of work, and eventually do have whatever you dreamed at the start. Are you happy? For a lot of people, the answer is: not really. Maybe you can see your abdominals(腹肌), but you’re unhappy about your back. And when you compare your “after” picture to the celebrity you most admire, you might still feel like you’re coming up short. The truth is, if you got into exercise because you hate something about your body, you will probably always be able to find something to hate about your body. The problem was never their body in the first place. If you recognize yourself here, that doesn’t mean you need to quit the gym. Exercise can still be good for your physical health, and you can work through your mental health issues while also enjoying lifting some weights or going for a run sometimes, especially if your mental health issues are mild.

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1.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for exercise?

A Staying fit.

B Defeating others.

C Pleasing yourself.

D Eating delicious food.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据第一段第一、二句“Some people exercise for health. Others exercise out of a sense of competitiveness or accomplishment.”可知，有些人锻炼是因为健康，有些人锻炼是因为竞争力(战胜别人)或成就感(取悦自己)。故选D。

2.Which can be put back into the blank?

A Fitness progress is slow.

B Controlling your diet is hard.

C Dieting off the fat needs money.

D Body transformation needs hard work.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。根据第二段中的“it will be weeks—maybe months”“the process takes a long time”“That takes even longer.”以及“that’s an even slower process”可知，本段主要描述健身要取得成效是一个非常缓慢的过程，这也是人们很难改变自己对身材的焦虑的原因之一。故选A。

3.What does the author advise to do when you never get your dream body?

A To keep working even harder.

B To compare your pictures with others.

C To stop going to the gym.

D To solve your psychological problems.

解析：选D。D细节理解题。根据最后一段最后三句，特别是“you can work through your mental health issues”可知，作者认为得不到你梦想的身材并不是身体的原因，而是心理原因；结合“you can work through your mental health issues”可知，作者认为你应该解决心理健康问题，并且如果心理健康问题并不严重，在这同时可以继续保持锻炼。故选D。

4.Which can be the most suitable title for the text?

A Why the Gym Won’t Fix Your Body Issues.

B Why More And More People Go to the Gym.

C When the Best Time to Gain Muscle Is.

D How Long You Can Get Your Dream Body.

解析：选A。A主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文主要从两个方面讲了为什么健身不能解决身材焦虑的问题。故选A。