一項重要研究的結果顯示，每天走七千步可能就足以提高人的腦力並幫助預防多種疾病。不少人常把每天走一萬步作為保持健康的基準，但比起一萬步，7000 步似乎是一個更容易實現的目標。
If you’ve got a phone or a fitness tracker, you’re probably checking your steps each day. Reach 10,000 and you feel smug. Why? Well, we’ve been told it’s the number to aim for – the threshold for health gains.
如果你擁有一部手機或者一個健身追蹤器，你就很可能每天都會查看你的行走步數。一旦達到一萬步你可能就會沾沾自喜。這是為什麼呢？因為我們常常聽說應該以每天走一萬步為目標，它是令人更加健康的門檻。
But a review of previous studies in medical journal The Lancet, involving data on 160,000 adults worldwide, suggests a target of 7,000 steps brings plenty of health benefits, too, including reducing the risk of heart disease, dementia, depression, cancer and falls. The research found that even modest step counts of 4,000 per day were linked to better health, compared with very low activity of 2,000 a day.
但一篇研究綜述剛剛被發表在瞭醫學雜志《柳葉刀》上，這項研究囊括瞭全球 16 萬名成人的健康數據，研究結果顯示每天步行 7000 步也能為健康帶來許多益處，包括降低患心臟病、癡呆、抑鬱、癌癥和意外跌倒的風險。研究發現，即使每天僅走上 4000 步，和活動量非常小的 2000 步相比，也能改善健康狀況。
For most health conditions, the benefits tended to level off beyond 7,000 steps, although there were additional advantages to walking further for the heart. The review can’t prove that daily steps alone reduce the risk of disease. Some of the findings were based on only a small number of studies, but they say encouraging people to track their steps is a practical way to improve their health. And adding a step count target into official exercise guidance could be useful for everyone.
對於大多數健康問題來說，每天步行帶來的益處似乎在 7000 步以後就逐漸趨平，不再有明顯的變化，不過再多走一些對心臟健康還有其它好處。這篇綜述未能證明僅靠每天步行就能降低患病風險。雖然一些結論僅基於少量研究，但研究人員表示鼓勵人們追蹤每天所走的步數是改善健康的一種切實可行的方法；並且，在官方鍛煉指南中加入行走步數作為目標可能對所有人都有益。
詞匯表
fitness tracker 健身追蹤器
smug 沾沾自喜的，自鳴得意的
threshold 門檻，界限
gains 獲益，得利
target 目標
modest 適度的
level off 趨平，保持穩定
track 追蹤
step count 步數記錄
聽力練習
一、聽第一遍音頻，回答問題。
1. Walking 7,000 steps a day is…
a. the most beneficial for optimum health.
b. as good as walking 10,000 a day for reducing most health risks.
c. the average number most British people do a day.
二、用一分鐘閱讀下列問題，然後聽第二遍音頻並回答問題。
1. People tend to believe 7,000 daily steps is the best for health gains.
a. True
b. False
c. No given
2. What is 4,000 steps a day good for?
a. reducing the risk of illnesses like dementia
b. good general health
c. advantages to heart health specifically
3. All studies looked at in the review involved large data sets.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given
4. In what practical way can people improve their health?
a. track their steps
b. follow the official step count guidance
c. walk both inside and outside
三、聽第三遍音頻，將句子補充完整。（提示：可以反復聽，直到聽清楚每一個詞）
1. Well, we’ve been told it’s the number ________________ – the threshold for health gains.
2. The review ________________ daily steps alone reduce the risk of disease.
答案
一、聽第一遍音頻，回答問題。
1. b. For most health conditions, the benefits tended to level off beyond 7,000 steps.
二、用一分鐘閱讀下列問題，然後聽第二遍音頻並回答問題。
1. b. False. Reach 10,000 and you feel smug. Why? Well, we’ve been told it’s the number to aim for – the threshold for health gains.
2. b. The research found that even modest step counts of 4,000 per day were linked to better health.
3. c. Not given. The size of the data sets is not mentioned. The small number in this line refers to studies, not data sets. Some of the findings were based on only a small number of studies.
4. a. …they say encouraging people to track their steps is a practical way to improve their health.
三、聽第三遍音頻，將句子補充完整。（提示：可以反復聽，直到聽清楚每一個詞）
1. Well, we’ve been told it’s the number to aim for – the threshold for health gains.
2. The review can’t prove that daily steps alone reduce the risk of disease.
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