10,000 daily steps to keep fit?

1Many people use their phones to count their steps.Their daily aim is 10,000 steps.Yet the concept of taking 10,000 steps a day to keep fit is rooted not in science but in a marketing trick.In the 1960s,a company in Japan invented a pedometer (计步器).Because the Japanese character for 10,000 looks like a person walking,the company called its device the 10,000-step meter.

2“If you get 10,000 steps,it seems like a good goal.But there wasn't really any basis for it,”says I-Min Lee,an epidemiologist (流行病学家) at Harvard Medical School.The current physical activity guidelines from the US Department of Health and Human Services,published in 2018,are still based on time.

3The experts recommended broad exercise ranges rather than step counts: 150 to 300 minutes of weekly moderate activity (for example,quick walking) or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity (for example,jogging) during the same period.There simply wasn't enough evidence to make a similar determination of steps.

4Now evidence of steps is starting to come in.In 2019,Lee published one of the first studies specifically investigating the actual effects of meeting the 10,000-step goal.Several other large studies followed.The result is that some movement is good,and more is better,but the benefitstaperat some point.Your personal peak depends on your age.People younger than 60 should indeed walk 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day to get the best benefits in terms of the lifespan and heart health.People older than 60 show the most benefit between 6,000 and 8,000 steps.

5Lee says,“Per step,older people expend more energy.As a result,they need fewer steps to achieve the same benefits.But adding a few thousand steps a day can beespecially meaningful for someone who isn't physically able to walk quickly.”She concludes that people who are the least active have the most to gain.

Reading

Check

1.What is the function of paragraph 1?

A.To prove the meaning of 10,000 steps per day.

B.To clarify the mistaken belief of 10,000 steps.

C.To introduce a Japanese technology product.

D.To explain why Japan invented a pedometer.

2.Who may benefit most from increased steps according to Lee?

A.Those who have broad exercise ranges.

B.Those who are older than 60 and love sports.

C.Those who seldom have physical activity.

D.Those who are able to walk quickly.

3.What does the underlined word“taper”mean in paragraph 4?

A.Decrease.B.Insist.C.Expand.D.Increase.

➢语篇解码

很多人用手机计算步数，希望完成每天10,000 步的目标。本文就10,000 步目标的实际效果展开专门的调查研究，研究发现10,000步定律并不适用于所有人。

➢语言学习

Ⅰ.语料荟萃

Ⅱ.语句分析

1.There simply wasn't enough evidence to make a similar determination of steps.只是没有足够的证据来对步数做出类似的测量。

【点石成金】本句使用了There be...句型；句中的determination意为“测量；计算”。

2.But adding a few thousand steps a day can be especially meaningful for someone who isn't physically able to walk quickly.但每天增加几千步对那些身体不能快速行走的人来说尤其有意义。

【点石成金】本句中，adding a few thousand steps a day 是V-ing形式作主语；who 引导定语从句，并在从句中作主语。

➢语言运用

Ⅰ.例句仿写

1.拐角处有一家餐馆。

____________________around the corner.

2.然后玛丽走了进来，我们之前一直在谈论她。

And then Mary walked in,_____________________.

Ⅱ.写作实践

假定你是某国际学校的学生李华，你校体育老师要举办马拉松社团活动，让有意愿参加的所有学生先完成每天8千米的跑步任务，你对此有意见，请你说明原因并提出建议。

注意：

1.词数80左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dearsportsteacher,

Yours,

LiHua