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Five Hundred Million People Step Outside

CET-4

A national report says more than 500 million people in China now join outdoor sports, an industry worth about 3.17 trillion yuan.

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Five Hundred Million People Step Outside

A report published on the evening of October the sixteenth opened with two numbers that surprise many readers. More than five hundred million people in China now take part in outdoor sports, and the businesses built around them are worth about 3.17 trillion yuan. The figures came from a national report on outdoor sports, released at a conference held in the Changping district of Beijing. The meeting is in its fourth year, and this is the first time it has been held in the capital.

Part of the growth is easy to explain: people have more free time and more money than they did ten years ago, and they want to spend both on feeling well. But the report also shows how official support has changed the landscape. By the end of last year, the country had 2,626 places for ice and snow sports and 182,000 fitness trails with a total length of more than 430,000 kilometres. Both numbers have roughly doubled in five years. New climbing walls, riverside docks and mountain routes have appeared in smaller cities as well, not only in the big ones.

Perhaps the most interesting change is who goes outside. People between nineteen and forty-nine make up just over three quarters of the market, yet almost half of all spending now happens in third- and fourth-tier cities. Races have followed the same direction. Marathons alone drew 6.4 million runners last year, and cross-country events spread across twenty-nine provinces, with many of them held in counties and towns rather than in major cities.

There is a serious side to all this enjoyment. Mountain running and water sports carry real risk, and a new satellite-based system was announced at the same meeting to track high-risk races from start to finish. A country that walks, climbs and swims together needs both open air and careful rules. The five hundred million are, in the end, a sign of something simple: more people can afford a good afternoon.

Words to know:

长难句拆解 · 并列复合句与 only 的位置

第一句:People between nineteen and forty-nine make up just over three quarters of the market, yet almost half of all spending now happens in third- and fourth-tier cities. 这句由 yet 连接两个转折关系的并列分句。前一分句的主干是 People make up three quarters,between nineteen and forty-nine 是介词短语作后置定语修饰 people,也可理解成省略了 who are 的定语从句。后一分句主干是 half of all spending happens in cities,third- and fourth-tier 是复合形容词作定语。yet 比 but 更书面,常见于统计类说明文。 直译:十九到四十九岁的人占了整个市场的四分之三多一点,可如今几乎一半的消费却发生在三四线城市。

第二句:A country that walks, climbs and swims together needs both open air and careful rules. 主干是 A country needs both open air and careful rules。that walks, climbs and swims together 是定语从句,修饰 country,从句里三个动词并列,共同的主语是 that,即这个国家。both… and… 是关联并列结构,强调两者都要,缺一不可。这一句是全文的收束句,翻译时可以把定语从句稍微前置,让中文更顺。 直译:一个一起走路、攀爬、游泳的国家,既需要开阔的户外,也需要谨慎的规矩。

同义替换 · 雅思阅读利器

雅思阅读的题干很少照抄原文,它更喜欢把同一个意思换一种说法。下面这些替换在本题材里很常见,先自己盖住右边,试着回忆。

  • take part in outdoor sports → join activities in open air(参与人群的释义)
  • the businesses built around them → the industry that serves them(产业规模的替换)
  • official support has changed the landscape → government help has reshaped the scene(政策作用的改写)
  • roughly doubled in five years → grew about twice as large(增长的替换)
  • make up just over three quarters → form slightly more than 75 percent(比例的分数改写)
  • many of them held in counties and towns → spread beyond big cities(下沉趋势的模糊表达)
  • more people can afford a good afternoon → ordinary life has improved(结尾金句的改写)
阅读自测 · 3 题
  1. 判断正误:Most outdoor sports spending still happens in first-tier cities.
  2. 简答:How many marathons runners did the country draw last year?
  3. 选词填空:The new satellite system was created to ____ high-risk races. (A. advertise B. track C. shorten)
参考答案与解析
  1. False(错误)。原文说 almost half of all spending now happens in third- and fourth-tier cities。题干把「几乎一半在三四线城市」偷换成最接近相反的 Most… in first-tier cities,属「偷换结论 + 反转数据」的干扰项,almost half 与 most 也不能直接互换。
  2. Six point four million (6.4 million).(六百四十万。)原文为 Marathons alone drew 6.4 million runners last year,注意 alone 意味着这只是马拉松一项的人数。
  3. B. track。原文为新系统用来从前到后跟踪高风险赛事,track 对应这一含义。A 的 advertise 与安全监管目的无关、C 的 shorten 在文中没有任何依据,都是「偷换功能」的干扰项。
中文译文

十月十六日晚发布的一份报告,以两个让不少读者意外的数字开头。如今中国有超过五亿人参与户外运动,围绕他们形成的产业总值约三点一七万亿元。这些数字出自一份全国性的户外运动报告,发布会在北京昌平举行。这场大会已经办到第四届,而这是它第一次在北京举办。

其中一部分增长很容易解释:和十年前相比,人们有了更多空闲时间和更多收入,而且愿意把这两样都花在身体舒服上。但报告也显示,政策支持是怎样改变了这片格局。截至去年年底,全国有二千六百二十六处冰雪运动场地,健身步道十八点二万条、总长度超过四十三万公里。这两个数字在五年间大约都翻了一倍。新的攀岩墙、江边码头和山地线路,也出现在小城市而不只是大城市。

也许最有意思的变化是:出门的是哪些人。十九到四十九岁的人占了整个市场的四分之三多一点,可如今几乎一半的消费却发生在三四线城市。赛事也朝着同一个方向走。仅马拉松一项,去年就吸引了六百四十万人次跑者;越野跑赛事遍布二十九个省份,其中很多办在县城和乡镇,而不是大城市。

这份热闹背后也有严肃的一面。山地越野和水上运动确有真实风险,同一场发布会上宣布了一套新的卫星系统,用来从起点到终点跟踪高风险赛事。一个一起走路、攀爬、游泳的国家,既需要开阔的户外,也需要谨慎的规矩。说到底,这五亿人说明的是一件朴素的事:能负担得起一个好下午的人,更多了。