英語聽力文摘拄著拐杖飛

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Flying in a Crutch

Who can walk faster, a ballet dancer whose leg muscles are extremely fit, or a couch potato whose legs are soft and flabby?

Did you ever have a broken leg? Or did you ever see someone else in a cast? If so, you may have noticed something odd when the crutchescome out.

You would think that person would be the slowest in the crowd, just hobbling along. But that is not so. Once someone becomes comfortable moving around on crutches, they can often move very quickly, even outpacing uninjured folks. What’s going on here?

The answer is found in the dynamics of walking. Ask yourself the following question: who can walk faster, a ballet dancer whose leg muscles are extremely fit, or a (1)couch potato whose legs are soft and flabby? We’re not talking about running now, just about walking.

The answer? Whichever one is taller.

Yep. Leaving aside issues such as weak knees and just speaking in general, muscular ability does not determine walking speed. It’s the length of the leg that does it. Little children have to run to keep pace with a walking adult not because their muscles are weak but because their legs are short.

Now, let’s think about the person with the broken leg. True, one leg is out of commission and there’s the extra weight of the cast. But if you watch a person on crutches walk, you’ll notice that they keep both legs together with their torso and pivot from the shoulder.

The body swings forward as the crutches (2)lean back, and (3)vice versa. That way they can move as if the majority of their body were two gigantic legs. Their stride effectively becomes that of someone about twice their actual height.

譯文：

你曾經(jīng)有過一條腿骨折嗎?或是你曾經(jīng)看到過別人腿上裹著石膏嗎?如果有的話，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)拄著拐杖時，會有奇怪的事發(fā)生。

你會認為那個拄著拐杖的人應(yīng)該是人群中走得最慢的，因為他們步履蹣跚。但事實并非如此。當(dāng)一個人習(xí)慣了用拐杖走路以后，他們就可以移動的很快，甚至超過沒有受傷的人。這是為什么呢?

我們可以在走路的動力學(xué)中發(fā)現(xiàn)答案。問問你自己以下問題：誰可以走得更快?是腿部肌肉非常健壯的芭蕾舞演員，還是腿部柔軟松弛，整天坐著看電視的人?我們不是說跑步，只是走路。

答案是?誰更高就走得更快。

是的。撇開膝關(guān)節(jié)疲軟不說，就一般來講的話，肌肉的能力并不能決定走路的速度，但腿的長度可以。小孩子要跑步才能跟上大人的步伐，并不是因為他們的肌肉不夠發(fā)達，而是他們的腿太短了。

現(xiàn)在我們來看看骨折的腿。的確，一條腿不能發(fā)揮作用了，并且還有額外石膏的重量。但是如果你看到一個人拄著拐杖走路，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的雙腿總是與身體和肩部的支點保持一致的。

當(dāng)拐杖向后靠時身體就向前擺動，反之亦然。這就是為什么他們可以走動，因為他們大部份的身體就像兩條巨大的腿。他們走路的速度可以和比他們高兩倍的人相提并論。

NOTES:

(1)couch potato 成天躺著或坐在沙發(fā)上看電視的人;極為懶惰的人

Bob, you're a typical couch potato.

鮑勃，你真是個典型的懶家伙。