新视野大学英语读写教程听力 第三册 te-unit02-c

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[00:00.00]喜欢hxen.net，就把hxen.net复制到QQ个人资料中！Exercise for the Old
[00:-1.00]1  As a scientist,
[00:-2.00]one of Steven Wolf's favorite questions to ask people at the end of a study is
[00:-3.00]"What can you do now that you couldn't do before?"
[00:-4.00]2  One of the best answers he's ever received
[00:-5.00]came from an 86-year-old man
[00:-6.00]who learned the ancient Chinese exercise from of tai chi
[00:-7.00]as part of Wolf's study of how exercise can help seniors prevent falls.
[00:-8.00]3  "The man smiled at me,
[00:-9.00]then lifted up one foot, bent over,
[00:10.00]and took off his shoe while balancing on his other leg,"
[00:11.00]recalls Wolf, a professor and researcher.
[00:12.00]"Then, still balancing on one leg,
[00:13.00]the 86-year-old gentleman stood back up,
[00:14.00]bent over again, and put his loafer back on.
[00:15.00]What impressed me the most was that he couldn't do this before studying tai chi."
[00:16.00]4  Although many people
[00:17.00]assume that balance and movement problems are inevitable with age,
[00:18.00]an increasing body of evidence demonstrates that exercise
[00:19.00]can help improve balance and strength in elderly individuals
[00:20.00]and reduce their chance of falling.
[00:21.00]In Wolf's study, published in May 1996,
[00:22.00]215 seniors aged 70 to 96 were divided into three groups.
[00:23.00]One group performed balance exercises on a computer-controlled platform once a week,
[00:24.00]one group took a weekly tai chi class,
[00:25.00]and a control group met for a weekly discussion.
[00:26.00]After 15 weeks,
[00:27.00]"the tai chi group did the best,
[00:28.00]and reduced the chance of having a fall by 47 percent," Wolf said.
[00:29.00]5  In addition,
[00:30.00]the tai chi group also showed significant improvement
[00:31.00]in the condition of their hearts and quality-of-life measurements,
[00:32.00]such as a reduced fear of falling
[00:33.00]and an increased sense of control over their lives.
[00:34.00]"Tai chi has been used in China as an exercise for older individuals
[00:35.00]for three centuries and as a military art for 2,000 years,"Wolf says.
[00:36.00]"The movements are very slow and careful
[00:37.00]and involve a great deal of body movement and standing on a single limb.
[00:38.00]Practicing these movements is like learning strategies
[00:39.00]you can use a avoid falling down."
[00:40.00]6  Tai chi is just one form of exercise
[00:41.00]studied for its fall-preventing benefits as part of a recently completed
[00:42.00]six-year project by the National Institute on Aging
[00:43.00]and the National Institute of Nursing Research.
[00:44.00]More than 1,500 seniors at seven sites around the country
[00:45.00]participated in the trials.
[00:46.00]"The studies showed that even a low level of exercise can reduce the risk of falls,"
[00:47.00]notes Washington University scientist Michael Province,
[00:48.00]whose analysis of the data on exercise
[00:49.00]and fall prevention appeared last year
[00:50.00]in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
[00:51.00]"Exercise can help older adults improve strength,
[00:52.00]balance, the ability to bend,
[00:53.00]and prevents them from tiring as easily,
[00:54.00]Improvements in one area often carry over into another."
[00:55.00]7  In general,
[00:56.00]"the evidence is increasing that the more
[00:57.00]older people can do in terms of exercise,
[00:58.00]the better off they are - with two pieces of advice,"
[00:59.00]says Province. First, older exercisers should be sure to check with a doctor
[-1:00.00]to make sure any new exercise program is safe and appropriate.
[-1:-1.00]Second, seniors should start under the guidance of a qualified teacher
[-1:-2.00]to make sure they're doing exercises properly and not doing too much,
[-1:-3.00]too soon - especially if they've been inactive.
[-1:-4.00]8  "The problem is that to improve balance,
[-1:-5.00]you've got to challenge balance,
[-1:-6.00]which is always risky,"
[-1:-7.00]says Mary E.Tinetti of the Yale University School of Medicine,