VOA慢速英语--2018年国际瑜伽日:数百万人一起瑜伽

Millions Take Time to Breathe on International Day of Yoga

The number of people who do yoga around the world has been growing steadily¹ in the last 40 years. People in more than 180 countries will do the breathing and movement exercise on this year’s International Yoga Day. It is officially observed on June 21, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere². This year’s guiding idea is “peace.”

The Daily Star newspaper, published in Bangladesh, reports that people in China have “yoga fever.” The report says the country will have the most people after India observing International Yoga Day. Public yoga events will be held in parks, vacation places and even at the Great Wall.

The same report notes that in South Korea, sales of yoga mats and yoga towels have risen sharply³ this year.

In Vietnam, International Yoga Day has brought increased attention to the activity. The Economic Times reported that three years ago, 2,000 people there took part in yoga events on International Yoga Day. This year, more than 8,000 Vietnamese are expected to.

Dung Tien Nguyen runs a yoga center in Vietnam. Dung told reporters that long years of war in Vietnam affected⁴ people’s physical and mental health. Dung said, yoga is helping⁵ them feel better.

The United Nations declared June 21 the International Day of Yoga four years ago. The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, proposed the idea to the U.N. General Assembly. Modi noted⁶ that yoga was an ancient Indian tradition. He said the practice can unite mind and body, thought and action, people and nature.

Yoga has also been praised for improving balance, lowering blood pressure, increasing flexibility⁷, and providing a sense of calm. The secretary-general of the U.N., Ban Ki-Moon, said, "Yoga is a sport that can contribute to development and peace. Yoga can even help people in emergency situations to find relief from stress.”

But yoga has also been criticized.

A study by Australian and American researchers found that 10 to 20 percent of people felt pain or worsened injuries after doing yoga regularly. However, nearly 75 percent said regular yoga helped them feel less pain.

And researchers in Germany and England recently found that participating in yoga classes may make people think they are worthier⁸ than others.

Historically, yoga has aimed to limit the ego⁹.

I’m Anna Mateo.

Words in This Story

steadily - adv. happening or developing in a continuous way

flexibility - n. ability to bend

contribute - v. to help to cause something to happen

relief - n. a pleasant and relaxed feeling that someone has when something unpleasant stops or does not happen

stress - n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life

ego - n. the opinion that you have about yourself

1 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

2 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

3 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

8 worthier   

应得某事物( worthy的比较级 )； 值得做某事； 可尊敬的； 有（某人或事物）的典型特征

参考例句：

• I am sure that you might be much, much worthier of yourself.' 我可以肯定你能非常非常值得自己骄傲。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• I should like the chance to fence with a worthier opponent. 我希望有机会跟实力相当的对手击剑。

9 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。