托福課外閱讀：奧運(yùn)年齡的秘密

　　倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)時(shí)至今日，中國(guó)首奪30枚金牌。這一屆奧運(yùn)會(huì)涌現(xiàn)出了許多年輕的小將，我們仔細(xì)觀察就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些運(yùn)動(dòng)員年齡普遍偏小。難道說(shuō)年輕的運(yùn)動(dòng)員更適合比賽嗎?這里有什么秘密嗎?下面是小馬過(guò)河網(wǎng)為大家整理的一段托福閱讀材料，希望能為大家的托福學(xué)習(xí)提供幫助。

　　In the past 3 summer Olympic Games, only 64 of the 1,707 athletes of team USA have been over the age of 40. The Washington Post created a data [w]visualization[/w] of average age ranges for Olympic sports, including an [w]interactive[/w] tool to see if you’d be too old to compete.過(guò)去三屆的夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)的1707名美國(guó)運(yùn)動(dòng)員中，僅有64名超過(guò)了40歲?！度A盛頓郵報(bào)》對(duì)奧運(yùn)運(yùn)動(dòng)員們的年齡進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)數(shù)據(jù)調(diào)查，使用了一個(gè)交互工具來(lái)統(tǒng)計(jì)年齡過(guò)大是否不適合競(jìng)技比賽。

　　As presented, athlete ages range from 15 for female gymnasts to nearly 60 for male sailors.根據(jù)調(diào)查結(jié)果，奧運(yùn)最年輕的運(yùn)動(dòng)員是年僅15歲的體操女孩，而年齡最大的是年近60歲的劃艇男運(yùn)動(dòng)員。

　　In a recent Washington Post profile on 45-year-old female swimmer Dana Torres, she discusses the effects of age on the body, and how she works to overcome these obstacles. Although muscles [w]deteriorate[/w] and recovery becomes slower, Torres believes that age is on her side. Since age comes with experience, the twelve-time Olympic medalist is more mentally prepared for the Games than any other female swimmer.在《華盛頓郵報(bào)》最近對(duì)于45歲的女游泳運(yùn)動(dòng)員Dana Torres的介紹中，文章探討了年齡對(duì)身體的影響以及她如何克服這些障礙的。盡管肌體素質(zhì)降低，肌肉復(fù)原率減慢，年齡對(duì)于她而言仍是很大的助力。因?yàn)榱魇诺臍q月化為了經(jīng)歷，從而幫助這位12度奧運(yùn)摘牌的選手比其他女性運(yùn)動(dòng)員具有更多的大賽經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

　　However, with sports such as gymnastics that require more flexibility than sheer force and power, younger bodies have a far greater advantage. Youth is so beneficial in gymnastics that a minimum age requirement of 16 was implemented to protect athletes with developing bodies from serious injuries.然而，像體操一樣的運(yùn)動(dòng)，比起直接的沖勁和力量，更需要好的靈活性。年輕的軀體在這方面具有更好的優(yōu)勢(shì)，而且16歲的年齡更適合體操這樣的運(yùn)動(dòng)，因?yàn)樗鼙Ｗo(hù)身體免受嚴(yán)重的傷害。

　　A recent Wired article provides an explanation for these[w=aberration]aberrations[/w]: people age at different rates and, although younger athletes are generally stronger and more flexible, people age at different rates, allowing some athletes to remain competitive – despite the ticking clock.最近Wired 雜志的一篇文章為這些差異性做出了解釋。人們老化的頻率是不同的。盡管年輕的運(yùn)動(dòng)員更強(qiáng)壯靈活，但正是因?yàn)槿藗兊睦匣l率不同，因此某些運(yùn)動(dòng)員盡管上了年紀(jì)仍具有很強(qiáng)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。