活到老，锻炼到老

2023-12-02江丽

疯狂英语·新阅版 2023年9期

江丽

主题语境：运动与健康篇幅：340词建议用时：6分钟

1 On James Owens 70th birthday， he sawa video of himself bending the top of his bodyforward， raising his shoulders and back andwalking slowly up to the platform where he wasgiving a talk.“I looked like an old man，”saysOwen， who built a successful career on WallStreet. Even worse， he felt like an old man. Hewas about 25 pounds overweight and had trouble with his back， knees and shoulders.

2 Later， instead of giving in to age， Owen decided to set an ambitious five‑year goal.He wanted to be pain‑free， and he decided to get there by exercising—even though at thetime he couldnt do a single push‑up. Owen began walking though he was out of breathafter five minutes. But that didnt dishearten him. He kept at the walks every day， alongwith some stretching. Once he had those basics down， he started lifting weights and hired apersonal trainer to teach him and design a routine he could follow on his own. The lastpiece was finding other activities he enjoyed， which turned out to be cycling and swimming.

3 In less than five years， Owen was able to do three sets of 50 push‑ups each and walkfor miles each day. And yes， he was free of aches and pains.“Aging is only about 25%genes， and the rest is lifestyle，”he says.“As long as youre still mobile， its never too lateto become more healthy.”

4 Owen used his experience to write a book called Just Move！ A New Approach to Fit⁃ness After 50， in which he details how older adults can safely get off the couch and addmore movement to their lives. He says，“Think of it as movement， not exercise. Get startedeven if you walk just three blocks， which was all I could manage at first.”He adds，“Thekey is slow and steady progress. Not every investment pays off， but it is the best investmentIve ever made in my life.”

ReadingCheck

1. What can we learn about Owen from the video？

A. He was a tough man.

B. His body was in bad condition.

C. He was overweight but straight in shape.

D. He was wealthy and enthusiastic about exercise.

2. Why did Owen decide to set a five‑year goal？

A. To relieve pain.

B. To build a career.

C. To write a book.

D. To give a talk.

3. What does the underlined word“dishearten”in paragraph 2 mean？