2014年高考英语天津卷 - 阅读理解D

People aren’t walking any more - if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
如果人们能找到一种避免走路的方式，他们就不会再走路了。

I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in any hurry, either. I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.
我一直以“走路”自豪，直到有一天我开车去寄一个小包裹。这段路程只需281步，但我还是开了车。其实我也不赶时间，我只是成了全国性疾病：习惯性开车的又一个受害者。

It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune, for I was brought up in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as a good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as a sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced and beat a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Statue of Liberty.
我曾以为自己对这种病有一定的免疫力，因为我从小就养成了靠两条腿走路的习惯。小时候，我们把25英里看作是一天内能走完的标准的步行路程，能在10小时内走完这段路程是一种有力量有能力的标志。当时我们没想过走路是一件困难的事，而效果是持久的。我45岁的时候在自由女神像的168级台阶上和人赛跑，击败了一位十几岁的足球运动员。

Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrahams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illness than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise - the most familiar and natural of all.
现在许多中年人认为跑步对心脏不好。但是最近有一位著名的英国医生，阿道夫·阿布拉姆斯爵士，指出：心脏和身体需要适当的运动。不怎么锻炼的人比经常锻炼的人更容易生病。步行是一种理想的运动方式——是大家最熟悉，也是最自然的运动方式。

It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flowers, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car.
亨利·梭罗向人们展示了徒步行走的好处。行走的人可以了解树、花、虫、鸟和动物，了解季节的意义，了解自己作为一个活着的生物在一个活着的世界中的感受。在汽车里学不到这些。

The car is convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic to turn green.
汽车是方便的交通工具，但我们已经把它作为我们的生活方式。许多人不敢再接近大自然；对他们来说，他们生来就喜欢的世界是一种威胁。对他们来说，安全就像一条钢铁河在混凝土上轰鸣(混凝土) 路他们的很多想法都发生在等待交通变绿的时候。
汽车是一种便捷的交通工具，但我们已经把它变成了我们的生活方式。许多人再也不敢接近大自然，本来要享受的世界变得满是威胁。对他们来说，安全就是在混凝土马路上呼而过啸的钢铁车流。在等待交通灯由红变绿的时候，他们各种各样的想法都有。

I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.
我认为森林的绿色是心灵最好的光。只有徒步的人才能够评说什么是基本和永恒。