TOEFL托福課外閱讀：奧運年齡的秘密
倫敦奧運會時至今日，中國首奪30枚金牌。這一屆奧運會湧現出了許多年輕的小將，我們仔細觀察就會發現，這些運動員年齡普遍偏小。難道說年輕的運動員更適合比賽嗎?這裡有什麼秘密嗎?下面是小馬過河網為大家整理的一段託福閱讀材料，希望能為大家的託福學習提供幫助。
In the past 3 summer Olympic Games, only 64 of the 1,707 athletes of team USA have been over the age of 40. The Washington Post created a data [w]visualization[/w] of average age ranges for Olympic sports, including an [w]interactive[/w] tool to see if you’d be too old to compete.過去三屆的夏季奧運會的1707名美國運動員中，僅有64名超過了40歲。《華盛頓郵報》對奧運運動員們的年齡進行了一項資料調查，使用了一個交互工具來統計年齡過大是否不適合競技比賽。
As presented, athlete ages range from 15 for female gymnasts to nearly 60 for male sailors.根據調查結果，奧運最年輕的運動員是年僅15歲的體操女孩，而年齡最大的是年近60歲的划艇男運動員。
In a recent Washington Post profile on 45-year-old female swimmer Dana Torres, she discusses the effects of age on the body, and how she works to overcome these obstacles. Although muscles [w]deteriorate[/w] and recovery becomes slower, Torres believes that age is on her side. Since age comes with experience, the twelve-time Olympic medalist is more mentally prepared for the Games than any other female swimmer.在《華盛頓郵報》最近對於45歲的女游泳運動員Dana Torres的介紹中，文章探討了年齡對身體的影響以及她如何克服這些障礙的。儘管肌體素質降低，肌肉復原率減慢，年齡對於她而言仍是很大的助力。因為流逝的歲月化為了經歷，從而幫助這位12度奧運摘牌的選手比其他女性運動員具有更多的大賽經驗。
However, with sports such as gymnastics that require more flexibility than sheer force and power, younger bodies have a far greater advantage. Youth is so beneficial in gymnastics that a minimum age requirement of 16 was implemented to protect athletes with developing bodies from serious injuries.然而，像體操一樣的運動，比起直接的衝勁和力量，更需要好的靈活性。年輕的軀體在這方面具有更好的優勢，而且16歲的年齡更適合體操這樣的運動，因為它能保護身體免受嚴重的傷害。
A recent Wired article provides an explanation for these[w=aberration]aberrations[/w]: people age at different rates and, although younger athletes are generally stronger and more flexible, people age at different rates, allowing some athletes to remain competitive – despite the ticking clock.最近Wired 雜誌的一篇文章為這些差異性做出了解釋。人們老化的頻率是不同的。儘管年輕的運動員更強壯靈活，但正是因為人們的老化頻率不同，因此某些運動員儘管上了年紀仍具有很強的競爭力。
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