2月16日午间英语新闻：墨西哥学校用“自行车课桌”防肥胖

 Bike desks help Mexican students learn while burning calories

墨西哥学校用“自行车课桌”防肥胖

Rows of sleek new school desks equipped with bike pedals are allowing students in Mexico to power through their class work while cranking out some light exercise, burning off calories in a country known for its alarming obesity rates.

在墨西哥，一排排装有自行车踏板的时髦新式课桌让学生们在完成课堂作业的同时，还能进行些轻微的运动以燃烧卡路里。

For students at a high school just outside Monterrey, the new bike desks offer benefits beyond exercise. "When we're physically active, it also helps keep us focused," said a 13-year-old student. The school currently features two classrooms fully decked out with the new desks, but the plan is to gradually add them to all 21 classrooms.

对于蒙特雷市附近一所高中的学生来说，它给学生带来的好处不仅仅是能锻炼身体。一名13岁的学生表示：“当我们身体动起来时，我们也更能集中注意力。”目前，该校已经有两间教室装配了这种新式课桌，学校计划将这种课桌推广到全部21间教室。

Sanjuanita Garcia, the school's principal, points to the bike desks' post-pandemic benefits, especially for boys more vulnerable to excessive weight gain.

该校校长桑贾尼塔•加西亚表示，新冠疫情后，这种“自行车课桌”尤其有利于那些容易发胖的男生控制体重。

Mexico has a high obesity rate, with more than a third of its population dangerously overweight and more than 75% at a greater weight than is considered healthy. And as children age, many pack on the pounds. A recent national study showed about 8% of children under 5 were overweight or obese, which rises to almost 19% for kids 5-11 years old.

墨西哥的肥胖率很高，超过三分之一的人口超重，超过75%的人体重超过健康标准，儿童的体重也在不断上升。最近的一项全国性研究显示，墨西哥约8%的5岁以下儿童超重，5至11岁儿童的肥胖率更是几乎达到19%。

Large amounts of excess body weight during early years poses numerous dangers to children’s health, including increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, bone and joint problems, and asthma. Most children do not outgrow weight problems acquired in early life, and obesity in adulthood is known to contribute to strokes, heart disease, and dementia.

童年时期超重，会对儿童健康造成诸多危害，包括增加患糖尿病、高血压、骨骼和关节问题以及哮喘的风险。大多数儿童在成长过程中都无法摆脱在早年产生的体重问题，而成年后肥胖会导致中风、心脏病和失智症等疾病。

重点词汇：

 calories

英 /ˈkæləriz/

美 /ˈkæləriz/

n.卡路里（热量单位，calorie 的复数）

stroke

英 /strəʊk/

美 /stroʊk/

n.中风；（使用武器的）击，打；击球，一击，一抽；（划船用语）划桨，划法，划桨法；泳式，游泳姿势；（指挥船上其他桨手的）尾桨手；轻抚，抚摸；一笔，一划；（灵感的）突发，（天才的）一举；（突发或突然想到的）好事；斜线（号）；（雷电的）闪光；来回动作，上下动作；一系列重复运动的）节奏，律动；（鸟翼的）一次扑打；准时，准点；（一系列重复运动的）节奏，律动；（时钟报时的）鸣响，钟声

v. 轻抚，抚摸；轻挪，轻触，轻拭；击球；<美，非正式>讨好，奉承；在……上轻轻涂抹；当……的尾桨手，当……的领桨

asthma

英 /ˈæsmə/

美 /ˈæzmə/

n. 哮喘，气喘

dementia

英 /dɪˈmenʃə/

美 /dɪˈmenʃə/

n. 痴呆，精神错乱

Service consumption recovery gathers speed

服务业消费复苏开局强劲

China's economic recovery is on the right track, and the recovery of services consumption is off to a strong start, said experts at some foreign institutions. The country's offline consumer service sectors like tourism, movies and catering, which were severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, saw a strong rebound in demand during the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday in late January, said Fitch Ratings.

外国机构专家称，中国经济复苏步入正轨，服务业消费复苏开局强劲。惠誉评级表示，受新冠肺炎疫情严重打击的旅游、电影和餐饮等线下消费服务行业，在1月底春节黄金周期间需求强劲反弹。

Domestic tourist trips during the holiday jumped 23.1 percent year-on-year, recovering to around 90 percent of the pre-pandemic level during the same period of 2019, while tourism spending rose 30 percent year-on-year. Cinema box-office receipts reached the second-highest take on record, and the number of tickets sold was only slightly below the 2019 level, according to official figures.

今年春节假期期间，我国国内旅游人次同比增长23.1%，恢复到疫情前2019年同期水平的90%左右，旅游消费同比增长30%。官方数据显示，2023年春节档票房成绩位居中国影史第二，观影人次仅略低于2019年的水平。

National retail and catering revenues reported by key enterprises increased 6.8 percent year-on-year. Dine-in consumption at restaurants and eateries grew strongly by 15.4 percent year-on-year, with average restaurant spending up 10.8 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

全国重点企业零售和餐饮收入同比增长6.8%。根据商务部的数据，堂食消费额同比大增15.4%，餐馆平均消费额增长了10.8%。

The country's official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 50.1 in January, up from 47 in December, ending three months of contraction. The January rebound in PMI is in line with consumption figures during the Lunar New Year holiday, demonstrating a strong recovery in the Chinese economy. 

1月份，中国公布的制造业采购经理人指数（PMI）升至50.1，高于去年12月的47，结束了连续3个月的收缩。1月份PMI的反弹与春节期间的消费数据相符，表明中国经济强劲复苏。

This year, although slower exports will have a negative impact on China's economic growth, consumption growth in the country is expected to rebound to about 7 percent. In addition, investment is likely to stabilize at around 5.5 percent. Combined, these factors will hopefully drive the full-year economic growth to about 5 percent, said analysts at UBS CIO.

今年，尽管出口放缓将对中国经济增长产生负面影响，但中国的消费增长预计将反弹至7%左右。另外，投资也有可能稳定在5.5%左右。瑞银首席投资办公室的分析师说，综合这些因素，有望推动全年经济增长达到5%左右。