双语时事系列58:高个子在水里也有优势

2009-10-22 00:00:00来源：网络

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双语时事：高个子、大块头运动员在水里也有优势

A study in The Journal of Experimental Biology shows that larger, heavier athletes have an advantage in sports far removed from football or basketball: bigger bodies are better even in swimming.

发表在《实验生物学杂志》（The Journal of Experimental Biology）上的一项研究表明，个高、块头大的运动员除了在橄榄球或篮球运动上有优势外，他们甚至在游泳上也有优势。

Bigger Bodies Better in Pool

When Michael Phelps is out of the water, he towers over mere non-Olympic mortals. Then he slips into the pool, and makes record-breaking speed seem effortless. His height, it turns out, is no accident. According to research published in The Journal of Experimental Biology, winning athletes are getting taller, more slender, and yet heavier in comparison to the normal population.

Since 1900, the average person’s height has gone up by about two inches. But winning swimmers are four and a half inches taller than their old-time counterparts.

Researchers applied mathematical models of animal locomotion to show why height gives them a competitive advantage.

Coaches have said in the past that swimmers should lift their bodies out of the water because air has less drag. But researchers showed that larger bodies fall faster and more forward in the water and create a larger wave that helps push them ahead.

The authors suggest that in the future we might need weight classes for all sorts of sports, not just boxing or wrestling. That might give one of the shorter guys a chance to win an Olympic swimming event even with Michael Phelps in the race.

大块头运动员游泳更佳

当迈克尔·菲尔普斯不在泳池中的时候，他就比那些不是奥运会运动员的普通人高出很多。而他一旦进入泳池，就似乎豪不费力地游出破纪录的速度。结果发现，他的身高也并非偶然。根据发表在《实验生物学杂志》（The Journal of Experimental Biology）上的一项研究，获胜的运动员越来越高，越来越苗条，与正常人相比较，他们的体重也越来越重。

从1900开始，人们的身高平均增长了约两英寸。但是当今获胜游泳运动员的身高比以前的游泳运动员要高出4英寸半。

研究者们应用动物移动的数学模型表明为什么身高能带来竞争优势。过去教练们曾说游泳运动员应该把身体拉出水面，这是因为空气的阻力更小。但是研究者们的研究显示，大块头在水中能落得更快，更向前，从而产生更大的波浪，这可以帮助把他们向前推进。

该研究的作者们建议，将来对所有的各种运动，我们可能需要按重量分级别，这不仅限于拳击或摔跤。这样即使有迈克尔?菲尔普斯参加奥运会比赛，矮个子运动员也许也有获胜的机会。

Vocabulary:

Experimental：实验的

Athlete：运动员

Mortal：凡人；普通人

Effortless：毫不费力的

Height：高度

Slender：苗条的

Counterpart: 职位（或作用）相当的人；对应的事物

Mathematical: 数学的

Locomotion: 移动