彭蒙惠英语：Hire Your Cat as Your Personal Trainer（在线收听）

Hire Your Cat as Your Personal Trainer

By Jean Anne Forsythe /

© Cat Fancy, September 2004

Why pay for a personal trainer? Just copy your cat’s movements.

If you want to be in shape, learn from your cat. Cats instinctively exercise to stay fit: They run, leap, stretch, climb, balance and relax. Consistently practice some of these simple exercises and you may find yourself feeling more supple, graceful and fit.

Cat pose. Cats stretch every day to keep themselves limber and flexible. Get on your hands and knees. Slowly exhale and pull your stomach as far into your spine as you can, raising your back up and dropping your head down to make an arch. Then inhale, lowering your back, pushing your ribs and stomach toward the floor, and raising your tailbone and head. Repeat five or six times. This stretch will help reduce tightness in your back and shoulders.

“Cat walk” balance. Find a place where you can walk in a straight line. Slowly place one foot directly in front of the other. Hold your arms up for balance, if needed. Stop occasionally, raise one foot off the ground, and balance on the other foot.

Kitty kickboxing. Plant your feet firmly. Make your hands into fists and push your arms out, one at a time, in quick jabs. Do several with each arm, or alternate arms. Try moving around as you jab, eventually adding front, side and back kicks. Initially keep your kicks low, and raise them as you become more fit.

Relaxation. After performing the previous exercises, walk around slowly until your breathing returns to normal. Then, curl up in your favorite spot. If your cat jumps onto your lap, focus on it, feeling the softness of its fur and listening to its purr. If you drift off, that’s fine. What better way to relax than a catnap!

Vocabulary

instinctively (adv) [in5stiNktivli] relating to the way people or animals naturally react or behave, without having to think or learn about it

supple (adj) [5sQpl] bending or able to be bent easily; not stiff

alternate (v) [C:l5tE:nit] to happen or exist one after the other repeatedly

drift off (v phr) to gradually start to sleep

Specialized Terms

kickboxing (n) 跆拳道 a sport and martial art in which competitors hit and punch each other, like in boxing, and kick each other with their feet, like in karate; adapted as an exercise routine of hitting and kicking

catnap (n) 小睡片刻，打盹 a short sleep

请猫来做你的个人健身教练

为什么花钱请个人健身教练？只要模仿你家猫的动作即可

蔡明颖 译

若想有良好体能，拜你的猫为师吧。猫天生就会运动来保持最佳体能状态：它们跑、跳、伸展、攀爬、平衡及放松。持续不断地练习这些简易的动作，或许你就会发现自己变得更柔软、优雅，体能也更好。

摆出猫的姿式。猫每天都做伸展动作，让自己灵活且充满弹性。跪下来，双手撑地。慢慢地吐气，将你的腹部尽可能地推向脊椎，抬高背、低下头以做出弧形。然后吸气，放低你的背，将你的肋骨与腹部推向地板，再抬起你的尾椎和头。反复五六次。这个伸展动作有助减缓你肩与背的紧绷状况。

走猫式平衡。找到一个你能走直线的地方。慢慢地将你的一只脚笔直地置于另一只脚之前。如果需要的话，把你的双臂举起来以维持平衡。偶尔停下来，将一只脚抬离地面，用另一只脚平衡。

练习猫式跆拳道。站稳脚步，双手握拳，然后一次一只手臂，快速地往前出拳。左右手各做数次，或轮流交替。试着在出拳的时候四处移动，最后再加上前踢、侧踢和后踢。一开始不用踢得很高，当你体能较好时，再将腿慢慢抬高。

放松。做完上述的动作后，慢慢地走一圈，直到你的呼吸恢复正常。接着，蜷缩在你最喜欢的地方。如果你的猫跳到你的膝上，就专注地与它玩耍，感觉猫毛的柔软，聆听它低沉的呼噜声。若你不小心坠入梦乡，无须担心。再也没有比小睡片刻更棒的放松方式了！