The rise of walking football健步足球的兴起

任艳萍

健步足球運动让参加者步行而不是跑步，旨在帮助50岁及以上的中老年人保持健康或积极的生活方式，希望他们能多活动并感受运动带来的快乐。

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Created as recently as 2011， and mainly playedby those aged over 50， walking football is growing at agreat pace in Britain. The game， where players walkrather than run， is designed to help aged people get fitor maintain an active lifestyle no matter how their ageand fitness differ. According to a 2019 survey， therewere 1，200 registered clubs and an estimated 40，000 regular participants.

North Ferriby Walking Football Club in East Yorkshire is one such example.“Westarted in 2015，”explains Mark Leighton， the teams manager.“The first week we startedoff， we probably only had four or five players. Now we have 42 registered players takingpart in three separate sessions each week.”Marks immediate goal is to get the club to 50registered players across four sessions a week.

Andy Fairburn is a regular at the sessions. Now in his early seventies， Andy finds thegame still has plenty to offer him.“Ive been playing football since 16. Getting older， myknees start to hurt， and Ill know when its time to make a change. I am still competitive，though， and old habits die hard.”

It goes beyond kicking a football around for players like Andy.“Theres a serious foot?ball side if you want to win and a friendship side. Id rather stick to the latter. Its brilliantto socialize with people through walking football.”

Walking football is clearly a success story with much to be proud of. However， itsstriking that 87 percent of clubs report that less than 10 percent of players are female. Andnot all clubs are as fortunate as North Ferriby Walking Football Club， which operates on apay?as?you?go model and has secure sponsorship to reduce the cost burden.

Reading Check

1. What do we know about walking football？

A. It is becoming popular in and outside Britain.

B. It has been played for dozens of years.

C. It is aimed at improving elderly peoples welfare.

D. It has the same rules as normal football.

2. Why does the author mention North Ferriby Walking Football Club in paragraph 2？

A. To introduce a successful walking football club.

B. To illustrate the growth of walking football.

C. To praise Mark Leightons work for the club.

D. To suggest the ideal number of players in a club.

3. What does Andy Fairburn like most about walking football？

A. The sport is good for his knees.

B. He doesnt have to give up his habit.

C. Winning games makes him feel good.

D. He can make friends with new people.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about？

A. Theres work to be done to promote the game.

B. Most women dont like playing football.

C. Walking football clubs can be profitable.

D. The findings of the 2019 survey are wrong.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

The game， where players walk rather than run， is designed to help aged people get fitor maintain an active lifestyle no matter how their age and fitness differ. 在这项运动中，选手们步行而不是跑步，该运动旨在帮助老年人保持健康或保持积极的生活方式，无论他们的年龄和健康状况有何不同。

【点石成金】本句中，where引导的是一个定语从句，先行词为抽象化的地点名词The game；no matter how相当于however，引导让步状语从句。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

as recently as 早至……

at great pace 以极快的速度

rather than 而不是

maintain an active lifestyle 保持積极的生活方式

take part in 参加

stick to 坚持