What's the Rush? 急什麽呢？
A new study finds people in major cities walking faster than before
一项最新研究显示大都会居民的步伐比从前更快了
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Is the pace of life in our cities increasing? Yes, according to a recent study. Last year researchers visited 32 cities and measured how fast pedestrians walked. They timed adults to see how long it took them to walk 18 m along a sidewalk. Then they compared their results with a similar study done in 1997.
Researchers found that walking speeds today are roughly 10 percent faster than a decade ago. They also noted that some of the biggest changes occurred in Asian cities. Singapore and Guangzhou had the largest increase in walking speeds.
Currently, over half the people in the world live in cities. For the first time in history more people live in cities than in the countryside. Certainly the world's pace of life is becoming faster and cities are becoming more crowded. But maybe the next study can tell us why people are walking faster. Do Singapore residents hurry to avoid being out in the hot, sticky weather? Do people in Guangzhou walk fast to avoid being mugged? Why does Copenhagen, a safe, quiet city in Northern Europe, rank number two on the list? Answers to these questions could make the study even more interesting!

    我们城市生活的步调是不是日渐增快了呢？根据最近一份调查，答案是肯定的。去年研究人员造访了三十二个城市，测量行人走得多快。他们为成人的步伐计时，看他们花多久时间在人行道上走完十八公尺，接着他们把结果跟一九九七年一项类似的研究相比。
    研究人员发现，当今的步行速度比十年前大约快了百分之十，也注意到有些很大的改变发生在亚洲城市。新加坡和广州在步行速度上提升幅度最剧。
    目前全世界有一半以上人口住在城市，这是史上城市人口首度超过乡间人口。显然这世界的生活步调愈来愈快，城市也愈来愈拥挤，但是或许下一份研究能告诉我们人们「为何」愈走愈快。新加坡居民是否不想在户外湿热天气久待而步调匆匆？广州人健步如飞是否为了避免被拦路抢劫？为什麽哥本哈根这个安全、静谧的北欧城市会排第二名呢？这些答案说不定会让研究更妙不可言喔！

Word Bank
pace (n)步调
Hey, your pace is too slow! Walk faster or we'll miss the bus.
time (v)计时
Helen ran around the track while the coach timed her.
roughly (adv)大约地；大概地
It takes roughly three hours to drive from Seattle to Portland.
currently (adv)目前
Currently, you're studying English with Studio Classroom.

More Information
pedestrian (n)行人；路人
resident (n)居民
mug (v)当众抢劫

Chat Room
sidewalk就是人行道，美国用词，在英国人行道叫pavement，在美国pavement指马路的路面
boardwalk：木板所铺成的人行道，通常建在海边，湿地

pace
速度
keep pace with someone：跟上某人的速度
1 The pace here is much faster than at my previous company.
这里的步调比我之前的公司快很多。
2 The project progressed at a slow pace.
这个案子进展速度缓慢。
3 He thinks very quickly, it's hard for me to keep pace with him.
他想事情的速度很快，我很难跟得上他。

pedestrian
重音在d后面的e上；pedestrian walk：人行道；pedestrian crossing：行人穿越道；pedestrian district：步行区
1 Some pedestrians were hurt during the riot.
暴动使一些过路的行人受了伤。

roughly
1 There were roughly 20,000 audience members at the concert.
大约2万人参加了这场演唱会。
2 Roughly speaking, these two anti-virus software programs are the same.
大致来说，这两款防毒软体是一样的。