​ A Stroll in the Mall | 运动新选择——到商场散步去！

by Marcus Maurice

Mall walking is a hit with senior citizens.

到商场散步成为年长族群喜爱的新运动方式。

Walking has always been praised as one of the best ways for elderly people to get some exercise. It is fairly easy, isn't overly _(1)_ on bones or joints, and doesn't make the heartbeat rise to dangerous levels. When most people think about taking a walk, they imagine briskly traveling on the streets or hiking in the mountains; _(2)_ do they picture the sterile, corporate world of the interior of a mall. However, over the past few decades, mall walking has become very popular, especially with senior citizens.

It makes a lot of _(3)_ for malls to open their doors early for walkers. First of all, the mall is usually _(4)_ except for maintenance workers, security guards, and shop workers who are getting ready for the day. Therefore, mall walkers are not _(5)_ with customer traffic at all. Secondly, mall walkers may _(6)_ in a food court after exercising and buy something to eat or drink. They may even spend the rest of the day shopping, adding to the economy of the mall. Finally, something as easy as unlocking the doors to the mall early can produce a lot of good publicity for a mall, which in turn, makes customers _(7)_.

Some mall walkers go to the same mall every time, while others vary their _(8)_ and visit different ones frequently. The malls with the biggest mall walking communities usually run special programs, which can _(9)_ a variety of things: blood pressure checks, free bottles of water, or even computerized cards that log the kilometers that have been walked. Many mall walkers now prefer the safety, comfort, and reliability of good weather in malls to actually taking a _(10)_ stroll around the park. The next time your grandmother or grandfather wants to get some exercise, have them head to the nearest mall.

说明：请依文意在所提供的 (A) 到 (L) 12 个选项中，选出最适当的10 个选项。

(A) include (B) loyal   (C) leisurely   (D) sense

(E) interfering (F) stressful   (G) surrounded  (H) rarely

(I) unoccupied  (J) congregate  (K) communicating   (L) routines

      走路一直被推崇为最适合年长者的运动方式之一，这种方式相当简单，对骨头或关节来说不会有过大负担，心脏也不会跳得过快造成危险。多数人想到散步，就会联想到在路上健走或是在山中健行，很少人会想到在冷冰冰的商场内部进行。然而，过去几十年来，商场散步变得相当流行，尤其在年长族群中更是大受欢迎。

　　商场早早开门开放给散步民众是相当合理的点子。首先，那个时间商场通常很空旷，里面只有维修人员、保全人员，以及准备开店的商场工作人员。因此，散步民众完全不会干扰到顾客逛街。再者，在商场散步的民众运动过后，或许会聚集在美食街买东西吃或喝。他们接下来的时间甚至会购物血拼，为商场带来经济效益。最后，对商场来说，为顾客提早开门这种简单的小事能为它带来不错的宣传效果，也间接让顾客的忠诚度更高。

　　有些到商场散步的民众每次都造访同一间商城，有些人则经常改变例行安排，到不同的商场运动。拥有大量散步族群的商场通常会安排特别企划，包括许多不同的事项，像是血压检测、免费饮水，或甚至是记录散步里程数的计算机卡片。现在许多到商场散步的民众喜爱其安全、舒适又保证天气良好的室内环境，胜过到公园悠哉的散步。下次你的爷爷或奶奶想要做点运动时，不妨让他们到最近的商场走一趟。

答案：  1. (F)  2. (H)  3. (D)  4. (I)  5. (E)  
6. (J)  7. (B) 8. (L)  9. (A)  10. (C)

For Your Information

一般人在说到瑜珈时，总会认为它并不是一个适合年长者的运动。然而一项由美国大学所做的最新研究发现，年长者练习瑜珈不仅有助骨骼健康、增加肌肉的强度及弹性，还能增强心肺功能。

这项研究是针对 24 位 65 岁以上的年长妇女所作的调查。研究结果发现，这些妇女在为期 9 星期的课程结束后，在行走速度及平衡感上均获得明显的改善。

医师则表示，年长者最怕的便是跌倒，因为跌倒往往是造成老人伤害甚至残疾的一大因素。而瑜珈对年长者最大的帮助便在于它能训练人的平衡感，增加肌肉的强度及弹性，如此一来，便大幅降低了摔倒的可能性。