中国石油职称英语考试通用教材电子版（2007年）五a

5. Sports and Games(体育运动)
　　1. What fun it is to jump into a pool or go swimming in a river in summer! How joyful¹ and relaxing it is to have a game of
table tennis after a day of study at school! And how exciting it is to play or watch a close game of basketball or volleyball!
All over the world millions of people take part in different kinds of sports. Sports are perhaps the most popular form of relaxation²
that almost all can enjoy, whether boys or girls, men or women, young or old. 
　　1、夏天跳进池塘或到江河里游泳多么有趣!一天的学习之后打一场乒乓球赛多么令人轻松愉快!参加或观看一场势均力敌的篮球赛或排球赛多么令人兴奋!全世界千百万人们参加各种各样的运动。体育运动大概是几乎所有人都喜爱的最普遍的令人松弛的娱乐形式，男女老少都很喜欢体育运动。
　　2. Some people seem to think that sports and games are unimportant³ things that people do at times when they are not working,
instead of going to the cinema, watching TV, listening to the radio, or sleeping. But in fact sports and games can be of great value,
especially to people who work with their brains. They should not be treated only as amusements. 
　　2、有些人似乎认为体育活动不是什么重要的事情，只是人们在不工作的时候，不看电影，不看电视，不听广播，不睡觉时才去参加的活动。其实，体育运动很有价值，特别是对脑力劳动者大有好处。体育运动不应仅仅被当作娱乐活动来对待。
　　3. Sports and games build our bodies, prevent us from gaining weights, and keep us healthy. But these are not their only uses.
They give us valuable practice in helping⁴ the eyes, brain and muscles⁵ to work together. In table tennis, the eyes see the ball coming,
judge its speed and direction, and pass this information on to the brain. The brain then has to decide what to do, and sends its orders
to the muscles of the arms, legs, and so on, so that the ball is met and hit back where the player wants it to go. All this must happen
with very great speed, and only those who have had a lot of practice at table tennis can do this successfully⁶. For those who work with
 their brains, the practice of such skills is especially useful. 
　　3、体育运动增强体质，防止我们发胖，使我们保持身体健康。但体育运动的作用不仅仅限于这些方面。体育运动给我们的眼睛、大脑和肌肉以宝贵的锻炼，促使它们协同工作。打乒乓球时，眼睛看到球打过来，判断其速度和方向，马上将这个信息传给大脑。接着大脑得决定怎么办，并立即将其命令传达给手臂、腿等人体部分的肌肉，结果球被击回到运动员希望它着落的地方。整个行动必须以最快的速度发生，只有那些训练有素的人才能成功地完成。对那些脑力劳动者来说，这样的技能实践特别管用，尤其有益。
　　4. Sports and games are also very useful for character-training. In their lessons at school, boys and girls may learn about such virtues⁷ as selflessness, courage, discipline⁸ and love of one’s country, but what is learned⁹ in books cannot have the same deep effect on a child’s character as what is learned through experience. The ordinary school cannot give much practical training in living, because most of the students’