The secret to a long and happy life… being lazy!

Joggers who get up early and run through the park, executives who try to work off stress with a game of squash, and people who do bodybuilding may all be shortening their lives. According to Peter Axt, a German researcher and ex-marathon runner, laziness is good for you.

'No top sportsman,' says Axt, 'has lived to a very advanced age.' Among the examples of athletes who have died young, he mentions Jim Fixx, the author of The Complete Book of Running, and the man who almost single-handedly launched the American fitness revolution. He died at the age of 52. As Axt says, 'Better not to start'.

With his daughter Michaela, a doctor, he has written a book called The Joy of Laziness. It says that there are three keys to long life: to play less sport, to reduce stress, and to eat less food. He gives the example of an Italian village with an unusually high number of centenarians which seems to owe its communal good health to following the Axt principles. No one runs, siestas stretch through the afternoon from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and the main activity seems to be sitting in the shade or gossiping.

The Axt’s ideas are based on research which argues that animals have only a limited amount of energy. Those who use up energy quickly live for a shorter time than those who conserve energy. So an executive who wants to compensate for a stressful day by going to the gym is in fact multiplying his problems.

However, Peter Axt believes that light exercise is beneficial. 'I jog gently for 20 minutes three or four times a week,' he said, 'but I have no time for men over 50 who insist on running several kilometres a day.'

Задание 12. Подчеркните ударный слог в следующих словах, переведите их.

jogger / squash / shorten / marathon /

laziness / athlete / launch /centenarian /

gossip / conserve / multiply / beneficial

Задание 13. Заполните пропуски словами из списка.

Several; run; limited; work; eat; do; reduce; ex-marathon; lived; fitness

1. __________ through the park

2. __________ off stress

3. __________ bodybuilding

4. __________ runner

5. __________ to a very advanced age

6. __________ revolution

7. __________ stress

8. __________ less food

9. __________ amount of energy

10. _________ kilometers a day

Задание 14. Прочитайте предложения и напишите T(True) после верных и F(False) после неверных, NM(not mentioned), если в тексте не упомянута эта информация.

1. Peter Axt regularly runs marathons.

2. He says that people who do too much sport will probably die younger.

3. Jimm Fixx got Americans to do more sports.

4. The Joy of Laziness is a bestseller.

5. The book says that the only important thing to help you live longer is to do less sport.

6. In the Italian village people are very healthy but not very active.

7. The book’s ideas are based on 5 years’ research.

8. He thinks that if you’ve had a very tiring day at work then you shouldn’t do physical exercise.

9. Axt doesn’t have time to run several kilometers a day.

Задание 15. Ответьте на вопросы.

1. What are the three keys to long life according to the Joy of Laziness?

Key number 1 –

Key number 2 –

Key number 3 –

2. Do you agree with these ‘keys to long life’?

3. What is the key to long life in your opinion?

Задание 16. Скажите, что вы делаете для поддержания своего здоровья (5 предложений)?

Образец:

I always eat healthy food.

I often …

I rarely …

I never…

I think it’s important to …

Задание 17. Раскройте скобки, употребляя глаголы в Present Perfect или Past Simple.

1. We (to travel) around Europe last year. 2. My father knows so much because he (to travel) a lot. 3. I (to see) Pete today, 4. She (to see) this film last Sunday. 5. Alex (to meet) his friend two hours ago. 6. I just (to meet) our teacher. 7. The children already (to decide) what to do with the books. 8. Yesterday they (to decide) to help their grandmother. 9. Helen speaks French so well because she (to live) in France. 10. She (to live) there last year.

Задание 18. Раскройте скобки, употребляя глаголы в Past Simple, Past Continuous и Past Perfect.

1. By eight o'clock yesterday I (to do) my home­work and at eight I (to play) the piano. 2. By six o'clock father (to come) home and at six he (to have) dinner. 3. By nine o'clock yesterday grandmother (to wash) the dishes and at nine she (to watch) TV. 4. When I (to meet) Tom, he (to eat) an ice-cream which he (to buy) at the corner of the street. 5. When I (to come) home, my sister (to read) a book which she (to bring) from the library. 6. When mother (to come) home, the children (to eat) the soup which she (to cook) in the morning. 7. When I (to ring) up Mike, he still (to learn) the poem which he (to begin) learning at school. 8. When I (to look) out of the window, the children (to play) with a ball which Pete (to bring) from home. 9. By ten o'clock the children (to settle) comfortably on the sofa and at ten they (to watch) a TV film. 10. When father (to come) home, we (to cook) the mushrooms which we (to gather) in the wood.