VOA慢速英语2018 美国人最喜欢做的事

Americans’ Favorite Thing To Do

Americans’ favorite activity has long been said to be baseball. But a new study by the U.S. government suggests that is not true. The Bureau¹ of Labor² Statistics³ says Americans seem to enjoy watching television more than anything else.

据说，美国人最喜欢的运动是棒球。然而，美国政府的一项新研究表明，事实并非如此。美国劳工统计局指出，美国人似乎最喜欢看电视。

Researchers examined how Americans age 15 and older spent their free time during the years 2013 to 2017. They learned⁴ that Americans spend almost three hours every day watching TV.

研究人员调查了15岁及以上的美国人在2013年至2017年间是如何打发空闲时间的。他们了解到，美国人平均每天花近三个小时看电视。

The activity includes watching movies, recorded programs, and live broadcasts.

观看的电视内容包括电影、录制节目和现场直播。

So who watches television the most? People over the age of 65, researchers found. Older people clock in at more than four and a half hours of television every day.

那么，哪个群体看电视最多呢？研究人员发现，年龄超过65岁的老人。老年人每天看电视的时间超过四个半小时。

Parents with small children spent the least amount of time in front of the tube⁵, as TV is sometimes called.

有小孩的父母看电视的时间最少（电视有时也被称为“TV”）。

Researchers discovered something else, too: Men watch about 30 minutes more television than women each day.

研究人员还有另一个发现：男性平均每天看电视的时间比女性多30分钟。

Words in This Story

clock in – expression to record or document time spent doing something

1 bureau   

n.提供或收集消息的机构；局，司，处；署

参考例句：

• The weather bureau makes daily reports on weather conditions.气象局每天报告天气状况。
• The Tourist Bureau arranged everything for our journey to Rome.旅游局已为我们去罗马旅行准备了一切。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

4 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

5 tube   

n.（英）地铁；管，软管，隧道；vt.把…装管，使通过管子

参考例句：

• You may get to the railway station by tube.你可以乘地铁到火车站。
• Take care not to break the test tube!当心别把试管打碎了！