IELTS Reading LEVEL 4.5 – ARE YOU A FIT KIT

Are You a Fit Kid?

 

Fit kids have healthful habits. Those habits include eating nutritious foods, exercising, and resting.

Feed Your Body

Fit kids eat a variety of foods to get different nutrients. Nutrients help the body grow and stay healthy. Check out the list of nine nutrients that are especially important for kids.

National Diabetes Education Program, National Institutes of Health

 

Meat, fish, and eggs are good sources of protein.

 

1. Protein helps your body turn food into energy.

2. Carbohydrates are a good source of energy for your body.

3. Vitamin A helps maintain good eyesight and healthy skin.

4. Calcium helps keep your teeth and bones strong.

5. Vitamin C helps your body fight colds and heal wounds.

6. Fats, in small amounts, help your body use other nutrients.

7. Iron helps keep your blood healthy.

8. Folate is important for healthy growth.

9. Fiber helps prevent diseases as you get older.

 

Exercise Is Cool

Fit kids exercise every day. Exercise helps keep your muscles strong. One of the most important muscles in your body is your heart. It pumps blood through your body. Exercise also gives you more energy and helps improve your mood. How do you exercise?

Rest Rocks

Fit kids rest every day. People get rest from sleep. All people need sleep. Experts say that kids between ages 5 and 12 need about 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night. When you fall asleep, your body slows down and relaxes. A good night’s sleep helps you get ready for the next day.

---

Vocabulary

habit       hab ·it

Definition

noun

1. a regular action or activity.

He is in the habit of washing the dishes right after dinner.

2. a fixed, repeated action, often done without meaning or wanting to.

She has an annoying habit of tapping her fingers.

Advanced Definition

noun

1. an act performed regularly; routine.

It’s my habit to get up early even on weekends.

The dentist tries to foster good habits of brushing and flossing in his patients.

2. a fixed, repeated, often involuntary behavior; compulsion; addiction.

She has a habit of biting her fingernails.

Unconscious habits like grinding one’s teeth can be hard to break.

3. custom, practice, or convention.

He had adopted the habit of bowing in the manner of the Japanese.

4. clothes worn for a specific function or role.

a nun’s habit

a riding habit

transitive verb

1. to attire; clothe.

She was habited in the finest of clothes.

Spanish cognate

hábito : The Spanish word hábito means habit.

These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:

1. Fit kids have healthful habits. Those habits include eating nutritious foods, exercising, and resting.
2. She says, “People should get into the habit of taking care of Earth all year long.”
3. The U.S. government is helping people change their eating habits. More than half of Americans are overweight.
4. It’s not that I enjoy the oddhabits or anything. I’m just used to them, and they’re kind of a part of me.
5. That means their habits and bodies change to survive the cold. Some animals change their diet and the thickness and color of their fur.
6. Marathon Kids is designed to get kids in the habit of running at an early age. At the start of the school year, each runner gets a special kit.
7. A new school year can be a good time to get into the habit of eating a healthful breakfast, say experts. Recent studies show that eating breakfast boosts both your health and your brainpower.
8. These individual sports are designed to help fight childhood obesity by getting kids involved in fun physical activities. Obesity is the condition of being dangerously overweight. Another goal of these nontraditional activities is to promote lifelong fitness habits.
9. That’s when myhabit really picked up, and he noticed that I was tapping the doorway three times every time we left the classroom or sneezing three times, even when I didn’t have to. Well, Susanna started sticking up for me, which is how we became such great friends, but it only made things worse with William.
10. In fact, said the doctor, some scientists even thought that you could rewire your insides to act differently if you practiced good habits over and over on the outside, like a mechanic working on his own car to make it run better. Dr. Kagan also told him that if he was really having big problems, she could give him some special medicine to help them put on the brakes.

 

improve       im ·prove

Definition

verb

1. to make better.

Salt and pepper improved the sauce.

2. to become better.

Her grades in school have improved this year.

Richard improved slowly after the accident.

Advanced Definition

transitive verb

1. to increase the quality or condition of; make better.

They improved the design of their new cars.

2. to increase the value of (property) by making physical additions or corrections to.

The landlord improved the older buildings.

intransitive verb

1. to increase in quality or condition; become better.

Our financial position has improved. She is improving as an artist.

The sick man improved slowly.

These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:

1. Researchers worked to improve the glue.
2. Gym classes are meant to improve the health of students.
3. They look for ways to improve what they have made.
4. They want to improve what is left of the habitat.
5. For many years, people worked to improve how color televisions worked.
6. She says it feels good to find ways to improve people’s lives.
7. Dodgeball is good for students. It helps them improve physical skills. It also teaches students about teamwork.
8. People still wanted to improve the tooth cleaner, however. Animal hairs did not feel great against human teeth! Finally, man-made bristles were created.
9. He conducted lots of experiments. He also worked hard to improve race relations. Today, he is rememebered as an important inventor and educator.
10. He helps officials of the two countries come together with ideas. For example, officials might find ways to improve business between the two countries.

 

maintain       main ·tain

Definition

verb

1. to keep in good condition.

It can be expensive to maintain a car.

Advanced Definition

transitive verb

1. to keep in existence; continue without making changes.

I couldn’t maintain my interest in the novel, so I stopped reading it.

They maintained their agreement although neither side was happy with it.

We maintained our high school friendship for many years.

2. to keep in good condition.

It’s expensive to maintain a boat.

3. to pay the expenses for or of.

They have little money with which to maintain the household.

4. to declare; assert.

I maintain that your conclusions are false.

The suspect still maintains his innocence despite evidence to the contrary.

Spanish cognate

mantener: The Spanish word mantener means maintain.

These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:

1. We need oceans to maintain balance on Earth.
2. Vitamin A helps maintain good eyesight and healthy skin.
3. Today, Apache people in those reservations work tomaintain their ancient culture.
4. Remember these tricks and tips to maintain a healthy body weight: Start small.
5. Although other political leaders wanted to declare war, Adams did all he could to maintain
6. The Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
7. A trick to look powerful or to maintain control is to keep your eyes in the triangle of their eyes and just above the bridge of their nose and not to let your gaze go lower.
8. “Whether you want to lose weight or simply maintain a fit figure,” says Dr. Marc Jacobson, a professor of pediatric medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, “taking these four steps is proven to be effective.”

---