彭蒙惠英语：Finding the Energy

Finding the Energy

 

by Richard Seven

©2005 The Seattle Times,

Knight¹ Ridder Newspapers.

Distributed by Tribune Media Services

 

Need some energy? To get it you have to spend it, and there’s the rub

 

1

We’ve got energy-boosting inhalers, energy-boosting cough drops and energy-boosting flavored water. We’ve got energy-boosting pills, energy-boosting snack bars and energy boosting mantras.

 

Mintel International, a market research and consumer intelligence firm, reports that sales of products marketed on “energy”—specifically energy bars, drinks and liquid/powder protein drinks, rose from $2 billion in 1998 to $5 billion in 2003, and could reach $8 billion in 2008. Unfortunately, no matter how many energy-boosting products you use, the best way to get energy is by exercising. So the conundrum² is this: Exercise provides energy (the natural kind) but you need energy to exercise. So you fall into an unhealthy cycle and do little to nothing, or at least not enough. You mean well, but life gets in the way. You’ve got commitments, and your workout can get so far down the daily chore list that by the time its turn comes up, you’re too fatigued³. You shortchange sleep to fit everything in, but that only makes you less excited about exercise.

 

The easy answer is to start doing what you can and build on it until it becomes a challenging and fun habit. Keep your eye on the long-range goal. Here are some more ideas to keep your eye on:

 

Get some sleep

 

We’re all aware of this one, but we all cut corners. Sleep is when your body regenerates⁴, repairs and re-energizes. Experts believe that exercise promotes restful sleep. So if you’re too tired to exercise, you set off another vicious cycle. Seven to nine hours a night is optimal⁵, but you should also try to make your sleeping schedule as consistent as possible. If you wake up tired, you probably didn’t get enough shuteye.

 

Vocabulary Focus:

conundrum (n) [kE5nQndrEm] a dilemma⁶; a problem that is difficult to deal with

shortchange (v) [5FCt5tFeindV] to give less money, time, or attention than someone or something deserves; to cheat

cut corners (idiom) to do something in the easiest, cheapest, or fastest way

shuteye (n) [5FQt7ai] sleep (informal)

 

如何精力充沛

杨嘉倩译

 

你需要更多的能量吗？想要得到它，你得先使用它，难就难在这儿

1

到处充斥着提升精力的嗅剂、咳嗽糖片和加味水，还有补充能量的药丸、点心棒和咒语。

市场研究及消费者情报调查公司明特尔国际的报告指出，以提升精力为促销方向的产品，尤其是能量棒、饮料和液状或粉状蛋白质饮料等，其销售额从1998年的20亿美元攀升到2003年的50亿美元，而且还可能在2008年达到80亿美元。不过很遗憾，不管你使用多少能量补给产品，增加活力最好的方式却是运动。难题是，运动可以产生能量（天然的），可是你又需要能量来运动。因此你陷入了一个不健康的循环中，你可能什么都不做或做得太少，或者至少做得不够。你的本意很好，但现实却不如人意。有些事非做不可，运动只能排在每天例行事项的很后面。等到该做运动的时间到了时，你又已筋疲力竭。你减少睡眠时间以完成所有的事，可是这只能让你更不想运动。

答案很简单，就是从你能够做到的开始，然后再增加到让它成为一个挑战和有趣的习惯。把眼光放在长远的目标上。这里有一些你该注意的观点：

 

补充睡眠

我们都知道这一点，但却都轻省行事。睡眠是你的身体再生、修复和重新供给能量的重要时机。专家相信运动可以促进提高良好的睡眠质量。因此如果你已经累到无法运动，那表示你开启了另一个恶性循环。每晚7~9小时的睡眠是最理想的，不过你也应该尽量让睡眠时间愈规律愈好。如果睡醒仍然觉得很累，你大概就是睡眠不足。

 

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 conundrum   

n.谜语；难题

参考例句：

• Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
• Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。

3 fatigued   

adj. 疲乏的

参考例句：

• The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
• The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑，疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。

4 regenerates   

n.新生，再生( regenerate的名词复数 )v.新生，再生( regenerate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This activity regenerates some of the ATP lost in proton reduction. 这一反应可以使在质子还原过程中丢失的某些ATP再生。 来自辞典例句
• Level 2-Heals all allied Heroes for 300 HP. Fully Regenerates converted creeps. 二级-治疗地图上所有的友方英雄300点的生命，完全恢复皈依你的单位。 来自互联网

5 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

6 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。