托福阅读背景材料之“久坐成病”

 　在工作过程中，很多人都习惯长时间坐着办公，但是也许大家不知道，久坐已成为了影响职场人士身体健康的一大杀手。 现在的大多数年轻人每天花大量的时间坐在椅子上，缺乏必要的运动，椅子已经成为危害我们健康的主要原因。下面，就进入我们今天的托福阅读材料：久坐危害健康。

　　You may hit the gym at lunchtime or go for a run when you get home. But such efforts will have minimal¹ effect if you spend the rest of your time doing what you are probably doing now - sitting down.

　　你或许在午休时会去健身房，或许下班后会去跑步。但如果其余时间里你都像现在这样--久坐不动，那么你的锻炼可能收效甚微。

　　In a glut² of new research on the subject, experts are warning that we should 'beware our chair', as spending too long in it can raise the risk of high blood pressure, a sluggish³ metabolism⁴ and weight gain.

　　在最近大量的研究发现中，专家们警告大众要“当心你的椅子”，因为长时间“黏”在椅子上可能面临患高血压，代谢减缓和体重增加的风险。

　　With the average person sitting down for just under nine hours a day at the office, at home or in the car, even a daily workout is unlikely to offset⁵ the risks of being seated for too long.

　　一般人每天有近9小时的时间坐在办公室、家中或者汽车上，即使每天坚持锻炼，也无法抵消久坐的危害。

　　Sit ups: Being chair-bound for too long can raise the risk of high blood pressure, a sluggish metabolism and weight gain.

　　从椅子上站起来!久坐对身体的危害包括高血压，代谢减缓和体重增加。

　　According to Swedish scientists, quoted in the British Journal of Sports Medicine recently, prolonged sitting should carry a public health warning.

　　《英国运动医学杂志》最近引述瑞典科学家的观点，久坐不动已成为威胁公众健康的隐患，应当引起重视。

　　So why is the humble⁶ chair being blacklisted? As the most passive activity behind lying down, being seated burns a bare minimum of calories - even eating an apple or fidgeting uses more energy than parking your bottom on a chair.

　　但为什么这次是“老实巴交”的椅子被列入黑名单呢?作为被动性仅次于躺的活动，“坐”的状态将人体热量消耗降至最低--吃一颗苹果或“坐立不安”的扭来扭去，都比“黏”坐在椅子上消耗的热量多。

　　While standing⁷ engages muscles in your back, shoulders and legs, sitting presents no positive physical challenge to the body, forcing it instead into an inactive state.

　　“站立”能锻炼背部，肩部和腿部的肌肉，而“坐”不但没有对身体提出积极的体力考验，反而强制它进入懈怠状态。

　　It is almost inevitable⁸, researchers say, that long-term sitters find their waistline expanding.

　　研究人员说，长期的“坐者”都不可避免的遭遇了腰围增大的现实。

　　While the action of standing up only burns a few calories, do it enough times a day and it makes a real difference.

　　虽然“站起来”一次只能消耗几卡路里的热量，但只要每天坚持做几次，就能起到明显的作用。

　　It's easy to burn 30 to 50 extra calories a day, which is enough to prevent a weight gain of 2lb to 3lb a year. Spend your time sitting down and the pounds will creep on unnoticed.

　　每日多消耗30到50卡路里并不难，但足以防止体重每年增加2到3磅。如果大量时间都处于 “坐”的状态，肥肉就会悄悄的降临到你身上。

1 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

2 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

3 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

4 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

5 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

6 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

7 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。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。