Education Report - Does Physical Activity Lead to Higher Grades?
教育报道 - 体育锻炼能够提高学习成绩吗？
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
Recently we told you about a finding that more years of school could help students get higher scores on intelligence tests. That was the finding of a study of teenage males in Norway. Now, other research shows that physical activity may help students do better in their classes.
最近我们讲述了关于上学时间更长能够帮助学生在智力测验中得到更高分数的一项发现，这是针对挪威青年男子的一项研究。现在其它研究表明，体育锻炼可能帮助学生在功课上做得更好。
The research comes as educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like physical education. They are using the time instead for academic subjects like math and reading.
这项研究正值一些国家的教育工作者减少体育课一类活动时间这样一个时期。他们把这些时间转而用于数学、阅读一类的学科。
Researchers at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam reviewed the results of fourteen studies. Twelve were from the United States, one from Canada and one from South Africa.
阿姆斯特丹自由大学医学中心的研究人员重新评估了14项研究的研究结果。其中12项来自美国，一项来自加拿大，一项来自南非。
The studies appeared between nineteen ninety-seven and two thousand nine. They included more than fifty-five thousand children, ages six to eighteen.
这些研究发表于1997年至2009年期间，涉及了超过5.5万名年龄在6到18岁的儿童。
Researcher Amika Singh says the studies showed a link between physical activity and scores on subjects such as math, English and reading.
研究人员阿米卡·辛格（Amika Singh）表示，这些研究表明了体育锻炼和数学、英语和阅读一类学科分数之间的关联。
AMIKA SINGH: "Based on the results of our study we can conclude that being physically active is beneficial for academic performance."
辛格：“根据我们的研究结果，我们可以得出结论，体育锻炼对学习成绩有帮助。”
Ms. Singh offers some possible explanations.
辛格女士提供了一些可能的解释。
AMIKA SINGH: "There are, first, physiological explanations, like more blood flow, and so more oxygen to the brain. Being physically active means there are more hormones produced like endorphins. And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved, which means you also perform better."
辛格：“第一种是生理方面的解释，如血液流动增加，所以向脑部的供氧增加。进行体育锻炼意味着产生更多激素，例如脑啡肽。脑啡肽使得你压力水平降低，情绪改善，这也就意味着表现更好。”
Also, students involved in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them. This could improve their classroom behavior and help them keep their mind on their work.
此外，参加有组织运动的学生能够从中学到规则以及如何遵守规则。这能够提高他们的课堂表现，帮助他们专心学习。
The study leaves some questions unanswered, however. Ms. Singh says it is not possible to say whether the amount or kind of activity affected the level of academic improvement. This is because of differences among the studies.
然而该研究还留下了一些未解之谜。辛格女士说，无法确定是运动量还是运动类型影响到学术水平的提高。因为这些研究之间存在差异。
Also, they were mostly observational studies. An observational study is where researchers do not do controlled comparisons. They only describe what they observe. So they might observe a link that students who are more active often have better grades. But that does not necessarily mean being active was the cause of those higher grades.
此外，它们大多数是观察性研究。观察性研究是指研究人员不作对照比较，只描述他们的观察结果。所以他们可能观察到体育锻炼更多的学生成绩更好。但那不一定意味着进行体育锻炼是成绩更好的原因。
The researchers said they found only two high-quality studies. They called for more high-quality studies to confirm their findings. They also pointed out that "outcomes for other parts of the world may be quite different."
研究人员表示，他们只发现两项高质量研究。他们呼吁进行更多高质量研究以确认他们的发现。他们还指出，“世界上其它地区的结果可能大不一样。”
Still, the general finding was that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school. Ms. Singh says schools should consider that finding before they cut physical education programs. Her Amike Singh's paper on "Physical Activity and Performance at School" is published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
尽管如此，总的结论是，喜欢运动的孩子更容易在学校表现更好。辛格女士说，学校应该在削减体育课之前，考虑一下这一研究发现。她的“体育锻炼和学校表现”论文发表在《儿科和青少年医学文献》上。
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Alex Villarreal.
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Contributing: Art Chimes, Jessica Berman and Christopher Cruise |