一项发布在《内科学年鉴》（Annals of Internal Medicine）上的新研究发现，每天一次长距离步行比多次短距离步行更有利于心脏健康，特别是对锻炼量较少的人来说。
The study looked at more than 33,000 adults aged 40 to 79 in the UK who walked fewer than 8,000 steps a day. The researchers, from the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain, tracked their health over eight years.
这项研究分析了英国 33000 多名成年人，他们的年龄在 40 岁到 79 岁之间，每天走路的步数少于 8000 步。来自悉尼大学和西班牙马德里欧洲大学的研究人员在八年间对这些人的健康状况进行了追踪。
People who walked in longer stretches had a lower risk of heart problems than those who walked in short bursts. Whether that's because they were fitter to begin with isn't fully clear from the study, but the researchers did try to control for this by taking into account factors such as whether the person smoked, was obese or had high blood pressure.
每次走路时间更长的人比多次短距离走路的人出现心脏问题的风险更低。研究并未判明这是否是由于走路时间更长的人原本身体就更健康，但研究人员确实已经尝试了通过把多种因素考虑在内来控制这个变量，比如这个人是否曾吸烟、肥胖或患有高血压。
Even among the least active, those who walked under 5,000 steps a day, longer walks appeared to make a difference.
即使是在最不活跃的、每天步行少于 5000 步的人当中，进行更长距离的步行也显示出了一定的效果。
词汇表
tracked 追踪了
stretches （连续的）一段时间
bursts （短时间内）突然迸发出的力量、能量
clear 明确的，清楚的
taking into account 考虑到
obese 肥胖的
make a difference 产生影响
听力练习
一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。
1. The study tracked the walking habits of fit and healthy people only.
a. True
b. False
二、用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。
1. The research study was collaborative.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given
2. The study concluded that it's better to walk for longer stretches to…
a. strengthen the heart.
b. improve overall heart health.
c. lower the chance of having heart issues.
3. What did researchers consider as part of the study?
a. health and lifestyle factors
b. where the participants lived
c. marital status
4. Those with low daily activity levels still benefited more by taking longer walks than shorter ones.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given
三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）
1. The study looked at more than 33,000 adults aged ________________ in the UK, who walked fewer than 8,000 steps a day.
2. The researchers, from the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain, tracked their health ________________ years.
答案
一、听第一遍音频，回答问题。
1. b. …the researchers did try to control for this by taking into account factors such as whether the person smoked, was obese or had high blood pressure.
二、用一分钟阅读下列问题，然后听第二遍音频并回答问题。
1. a. True. The researchers, from the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain, tracked their health over eight years.
2. c. People who walked in longer stretches had a lower risk of heart problems than those who walked in short bursts.
3. a. …the researchers did try to control for this by taking into account factors such as whether the person smoked, was obese or had high blood pressure.
4. a. True. Even among the least active, those who walked under 5,000 steps a day, longer walks appeared to make a difference.
三、听第三遍音频，将句子补充完整。（提示：可以反复听，直到听清楚每一个词）
1. The study looked at more than 33,000 adults aged 40 to 79 in the UK, who walked fewer than 8,000 steps a day.
2. The researchers, from the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain, tracked their health over eight years.