Recently a study, led by Pedro Hallal of the Federal University of Pelotas, suggests that nearly a third of adults,31%, are not getting enough exercise. That rates of exercise have declined is hardly a new discovery. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, technology and economic growth have helped to create a world in which taking exercise is more and more an option rather than a necessity. But only recently has enough good data been collected from enough places to carry out the sort of analysis Dr Hallal and his colleagues have engaged in.

There are common themes in different places. Unsurprisingly, people in rich countries are less active than those in poor ones, and old people are less active than young ones. Less obviously, women tend to exercise less than men-34% are inactive, compared with 28% of men. But there are exceptions. The women of Croatia, Finland, Iraq and Luxembourg, for example, exercise more than their male countrymen.

Malta wins the race for the most slothful country, with 72%of adults getting too little exercise，and Swaziland and Saudi Arabia are in close behind，with 69%.In Bangladesh，just 5%of adults fail to exercise enough. Surprisingly，six in ten Americans are active enough according to Dr Hallal's study，compared with fewer than four in ten British men.

These high rates of inactivity are worrying. Human beings seem to have evolved（进化）to benefit from exercise while deliberately avoiding it whenever they can. In a state of nature it would be impossible to live a life that did not provide enough of it. Actually lack of enough activity these days has nearly the same effect on lifespan（寿命）as smoking.

【小题1】What can we learn from Paragraph 1？

A．The decline of the rates of exercise is newly discovered.

B．The study suggests 31%of female adults get too little exercise.

C．The enough good data has been collected from only one country.

D．The industrial revolution has changed the way people live to some degree.

【小题2】According to the study，women of Luxembourg ___________.

A．have little time to exercise

B．hate to get regular exercise

C．take more exercise to lose weight

D．exercise more than men in their country

【小题3】The underlined word "slothful" in Paragraph 3 most probably means "__________".

A．powerful	B．rich
C．lazy	D．unpopular

【小题4】What can be the best title for the text？

A．Worldwide Lack of Enough Exercise

B．A New Health Discovery

C．Evolvement of Human Beings

D．Benefits of Taking Exercise