2012年英语六级阅读:美国上班族流行站着工作

 　　Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the cushiest leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.

　　美国在线公司的高级主管马克?拉米瑞茨完全可以坐在最舒适的皮椅上工作——如果他愿意的话。但是，谢谢了。大部分时间他更喜欢站在一张桌面高于他的腹部的桌子前办公。

　　"I've got my knees bent¹, I feel totally alive," he said. "It feels more natural to stand."

　　他说：“我的膝盖可以弯曲，我觉得自己充满活力。站着工作感觉更自然。”

　　In the past few years, standing² has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm's Virginia campus, part of a standing ovation³ among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.

　　过去几年来，在美国在线位于弗吉尼亚州的分公司中，10%的员工都采取站立这一新“坐姿”，除了他们以外，全国有许多会计人员、编程人员、电话营销人员和其它办公室职员都开始流行站着工作。

　　GeekDesk, a California firm that sells $800 desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.

　　总部位于加州的GeekDesk公司出售电动办公桌，价格可达800美元。该公司称今年的销售额预计将增长两倍。

　　Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness⁴, makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former defense⁵ secretary Donald Rumsfeld works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)

　　站着工作的人给出了选择站立的各种理由：站立可以使他们注意力更集中，驱散睡意，而且就算他们只是在做琐碎的工作，也会感觉自己像个将军。(美国前国防部长唐纳德?拉姆斯菲尔德也是站着工作的。小说家菲利普?罗斯也是如此。)

　　But unknown to them, a debate is percolating⁶ among ergonomics experts and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand — to save lives.

　　但他们并不知道，围绕着是否应该鼓励所有办公室职员都站着工作这一话题，在人类工程学专家和公共健康研究员当中展开了一场以拯救生命为目的的辩论。

　　Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes⁷, obesity⁸, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.

　　医生们指出，新研究惊人的结果显示，长时间坐着工作的人患糖尿病、肥胖症、心脏病甚至是死亡的几率都比站立工作者要高。《美国流行病学杂志》在今年早些时候发表的一项研究表明，在研究进行期间，那些一天静坐超过6个小时的人的死亡率，比那些静坐时间少于3小时的人，高出至少18%。该研究在14年的时间内对12.3万名成人进行了跟踪调查。

　　"Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is stunning," said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology⁹ at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. "Sitting is hazardous¹⁰. It's dangerous. We are on the cusp of a major revolution." He calls sitting "the new smoking."

　　马克?汉密尔顿是美国路易斯安那州彭宁顿生物医学研究中心的权威研究人员，他的研究方向是缺乏运动状态下的生理学。他说：“我们有关久坐的每项研究结果都令人震惊。久坐是有害的，是危险的。我们正处于一场重大变革的风口浪尖。”他将久坐称为“一个像吸烟一样有害的新杀手”。

　　Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins¹¹ among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.

　　但是，其他专家认为，还不应该过早下结论。工作中站立过久会导致更多的慢性背部损伤。而且女性静脉曲张发病率会增加。心脏负荷也会加大。

　　Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn't a fan of all this standing. "Making people stand all day is dumb," he said.

　　康奈尔大学的海奇教授也不提倡站着工作。他说：“让人们整天站着工作是愚蠢的主张。”

　　The sensible and most cost-effective strategy, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture¹², slightly reclined, with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.

　　他认为，一个合理且经济的方法就是，坐姿要适中，微微靠向椅背，将键盘放在高于膝盖的托盘上。这个姿势可以促进血液循环。员工应该不时地四处走动，舒展一下身体，避免长时间坐在办公桌前。他说，关键在于运动，而非站立。

1 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 ovation   

n.欢呼，热烈欢迎，热烈鼓掌

参考例句：

• The hero received a great ovation from the crowd. 那位英雄受到人群的热烈欢迎。
• The show won a standing ovation. 这场演出赢得全场起立鼓掌。

4 drowsiness   

n.睡意；嗜睡

参考例句：

• A feeling of drowsiness crept over him. 一种昏昏欲睡的感觉逐渐袭扰着他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This decision reached, he finally felt a placid drowsiness steal over him. 想到这，来了一点平安的睡意。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 percolating   

n.渗透v.滤( percolate的现在分词 )；渗透；（思想等）渗透；渗入

参考例句：

• Bubbles simply supply a short cut for the faster-moving percolating gas. 气泡不过是对快速运动的渗透气体提供了一条捷径。 来自辞典例句
• I' ll percolate some coffee, ie make it by percolating. 我去用过滤法煮些咖啡。 来自辞典例句

7 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

8 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

9 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

10 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

11 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。