For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces.
“Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every morning. “You’ll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood hogging army. I’m alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet take a real pounding(重击)running down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week; it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.
What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
He felt it was worth a try.
He was very fond of it.
He was strongly against it.
He thought it must be painful.
From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood _____.
jogging became very popular
people jogged only during the daytime
Alex organized an army of joggers
Jogging provided a chance to get together
The underlined word “them” (paragraph 4) most probably refers to _____.
A.heart attacks |
B.back problems |
C.famous joggers |
D.physical weaknesses |
Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
He dislikes doing exercise outdoors.
He found it neither healthy nor interesting.
He was afraid of having a heart attack.
He was worried about being left alone.
From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that _____.
not everyone enjoys jogging
he is the only person who hates jogging
nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit
jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport