2017年12月四级第2套长篇阅读匹配原文翻译及答案

A) About 15 years ago, I was invited to join a knitting group. I agreed to give it a try.

大约15年前，我受邀加入一个编织小组。我同意尝试一下。

B) My mother had taught me to knit at 15, and I knitted in class throughout college and for a few years thereafter. Then decades passed without my touching a knitting needle. But within two Mondays in the group, I was hooked, not only on knitting but also on crocheting (钩织), and I was on my way to becoming a highly productive crafter.

我母亲在我15岁时教我编织，我在大学期间以及之后的几年里都在课堂上编织。然后几十年过去了，我没有碰过编织针。但在小组里两个星期一后，我就上瘾了，不仅对编织，还对钩织（钩织），我正朝着成为高效手工艺者的道路前进。

C) I've made countless baby blankets, sweaters, scarves, hats, caps for newborns. I take a knitting project with me everywhere, especially when I have to sit still and listen. As I discovered in college, when my hands are busy, my mind stays focused on the here and now.

我制作了无数的婴儿毯、毛衣、围巾、帽子、新生儿帽。我随时随地都带着一个编织项目，尤其是当我需要坐着不动和听讲时。正如我在大学时发现的，当双手忙碌时，思绪就专注于当下。

D) It seems, too, that I'm part of a national renewal of interest in needle and other handicrafts (手工艺). The Craft Yarn Council reports that a third of women ages 25-35 now knit or crochet. Even men and schoolchildren are swelling the ranks, among them my friend's three small grandsons. Last April, the council created a "Stitch Away Stress" campaign in honor of National Stress Awareness Month. Dr. Herbert Benson, a pioneer in mind/body medicine and author of The Relaxation Response, says that the repetitive action of needlework can induce a relaxed stats like that associated with meditation (沉思) and yoga. Once you get beyond the initial learning curve, knitting and crocheting can lower heart rate and blood pressure.

似乎我也成为了全国对针线和其他手工艺（手工艺）兴趣复兴的一部分。手工艺纱线协会报告称，25至35岁的女性中有三分之一现在编织或钩织。甚至男性和学生也加入了行列，其中包括我朋友的三个小孙子。去年四月，该协会为纪念全国压力意识月创建了“缝合压力”活动。心身医学先驱、《放松反应》作者赫伯特·本森博士说，针线活的重复动作可以诱发类似于冥想（沉思）和瑜伽的放松状态。一旦你克服了最初的学习曲线，编织和钩织可以降低心率和血压。

E) But unlike meditation, craft activities result in tangible and often useful products that can enhance self-esteem. I keep photos of my singular accomplishments on my cellphone to boost my spirits when needed.

但与冥想不同，手工艺活动会产生有形且通常有用的产品，从而增强自尊。我把我的独特成就照片保存在手机上，以便在需要时提振精神。

F) Since the 1990s, the council has surveyed hundreds of thousands of knitters and crocheters, who routinely list stress relief and creative fulfillment as the activities' main benefits. Among them is the father of a prematurely born daughter who reported that during the baby's five weeks in the intensive care unit, "learning how to knit infant hats gave me a sense of purpose during a time that I felt very helpless. It's a hobby that I've stuck with, and it continues to help me cope with stress at work, provide a sense of order in hectic (忙乱的) days, and allow my brain time to solve problems."

自20世纪90年代以来，该协会调查了数十万的编织和钩织者，他们通常将减压和创造成就感列为这些活动的主要好处。其中包括一位早产女儿的父亲，他报告说，在婴儿在重症监护室的五周里，“学习如何编织婴儿帽给了我一种目的感，在我感到非常无助的时候。这是一个我坚持的爱好，它继续帮助我应对工作压力，在忙乱的日子中提供秩序感，并让我的大脑有时间解决问题。”

G) A recent email from the yarn (纺纱) company Red Heart titled "Health Benefits of Crocheting and Knitting" prompted me to explore what else might be known about the health value of activities like knitting. My research revealed that the rewards go well beyond replacing stress and anxiety with the satisfaction of creation.

最近一封来自纺纱公司Red Heart的邮件，标题为“钩织和编织的健康益处”，促使我探索关于像编织这样的活动的健康价值还有什么已知信息。我的研究表明，回报远不止于用创造的满足感来替代压力和焦虑。

H) For example, Karen Hayes, a life coach in Toronto, conducts knitting therapy programs, including Knit to Quit to help smokers give up the habit, and Knit to Heal for people coping with health crises, like a cancer diagnosis or serious illness of a family member. Schools and prisons with craft programs report that they have a calming effect and enhance social skills. And having to follow instructions on complex craft projects can improve children's math skills.

例如，多伦多的生活教练Karen Hayes开展编织治疗项目，包括“编织戒烟”帮助吸烟者戒除习惯，以及“编织愈合”帮助应对健康危机的人，如癌症诊断或家庭成员的严重疾病。拥有手工艺项目的学校和监狱报告称，它们具有镇静效果并增强社交技能。而且，遵循复杂手工艺项目的指导可以改善儿童的数学技能。

I) Some people find that craftwork helps them control their weight. Just as it's challenging to smoke while knitting, when hands are holding needles and hooks, there's less snacking and mindless eating out of boredom.

有些人发现手工艺帮助他们控制体重。就像在编织时吸烟很困难一样，当双手握着针和钩时，吃零食和无聊时的盲目进食就会减少。

J) I've found that my handiwork with yarn has helped my arthritic (患关节炎的) fingers remain more dexterous (灵巧的) as I age. A woman encouraged to try knitting and crocheting after developing an autoimmune disease that caused a lot of hand pain reported on the Craft Yarn Council site that her hands are now less stiff and painful.

我发现，随着年龄增长，我的纱线手工艺帮助我患关节炎的手指保持更灵巧。一位在患上导致手部剧痛的自身免疫疾病后被鼓励尝试编织和钩织的女性在手工艺纱线协会网站上报告说，她的手现在不那么僵硬和疼痛了。

K) A 2009 University of British Columbia study of 38 women with an eating disorder who were taught to knit found that learning the craft led to significant improvements. Seventy-four percent of the women said the activity lessened their fears and kept them from thinking about their problem.

2009年英属哥伦比亚大学对38名患有饮食障碍的女性进行的研究发现，学习编织工艺带来了显著改善。74%的女性表示，该活动减轻了她们的恐惧，并让她们不再思考自己的问题。

L) Betsan Corkhill, a wellness coach in Bath, England, and author of the book Knit for Health & Wellness, established a website, Stitchlinks, to explore the value of what she calls therapeutic knitting. Among her respondents, 54 percent of those who were clinically depressed said that knitting made them feel happy or very happy. In a study of 60 self-selected people with persistent pain, Ms. Corkhill and colleagues reported that knitting enabled them to redirect their focus, reducing their awareness of pain. She suggested that the brain can process just so much at once, and that activities like knitting and crocheting make it harder for the brain to register pain signals. Perhaps most exciting is research that suggests that crafts like knitting and crocheting may help to keep off a decline in brain function with age. In a 2011 study, researchers led Dr. Yonas Geda at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester interviewed a random (随机的) sample of 1,321 people ages 70-89, most of whom were cognitively (在认知方面) normal, about the cognitive activities they engaged in late in life. The study, published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, found that those who engaged in crafts like knitting and crocheting had a diminished chance of developing mild cognitive disorder and memory loss.

英格兰巴斯的健康教练Betsan Corkhill是《编织健康与 wellness》一书的作者，她建立了一个网站Stitchlinks，以探索她所称的治疗性编织的价值。在她的受访者中，54%的临床抑郁症患者表示，编织让他们感到快乐或非常快乐。在一项对60名自选持续性疼痛患者的研究中，Corkhill女士及其同事报告说，编织使他们能够转移注意力，减少对疼痛的感知。她建议，大脑一次只能处理那么多信息，而像编织和钩织这样的活动使大脑更难记录疼痛信号。也许最令人兴奋的是，研究表明像编织和钩织这样的手工艺可能有助于防止随着年龄增长而出现的脑功能下降。在2011年的一项研究中，罗切斯特梅奥诊所的Yonas Geda博士领导的研究人员采访了1321名年龄在70-89岁之间的随机样本，其中大多数人在认知方面正常，询问他们晚年参与的认知活动。该研究发表在《神经精神病学与临床神经科学杂志》上，发现那些参与编织和钩织等手工艺的人患轻度认知障碍和记忆丧失的机会减少。

M) Although it is possible that only people who are cognitively healthy would pursue such activities, those who read newspapers or magazines or played music did not show similar benefits. The researchers speculate that craft activities promote the development of nerve pathways in the brain that help to maintain cognitive health.

尽管可能只有认知健康的人才会追求这样的活动，但那些阅读报纸或杂志或演奏音乐的人并没有显示出类似的好处。研究人员推测，手工艺活动促进了大脑中神经通路的发展，有助于维持认知健康。

N) In support of that suggestion, a 2014 study by Denise C. Park of the University of Texas at Dallas and colleagues demonstrated that learning to knit or do digital photography enhanced memory function in older adults. Those who engaged in activities that were not intellectually challenging either in a social group or alone, did not show such improvements.

为了支持这一建议，2014年德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校的Denise C. Park及其同事的一项研究表明，学习编织或数字摄影增强了老年人的记忆功能。那些参与社交团体或单独进行非智力挑战活动的人没有显示出这种改善。

O) Given that sustained social contacts have been shown to support health and a long life, those wishing to maximize the health value of crafts might consider joining a group of like-minded folks. I for one try not to miss a single weekly meeting of my knitting group.

鉴于持续的社交接触已被证明可以支持健康和长寿，那些希望最大化手工艺健康价值的人可以考虑加入一个志同道合的群体。就我个人而言，我努力不错过编织小组的每一次每周会议。