Britons are so lazy that one in six cannot be bothered to change television channel if the remote control is not working, according to a study.
More than half said they would take the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs to their workplace.
An entire generation risks being blighted by idleness, warned Nuffield Health, a non-profit organization which commissioned the poll.
“Ready-meals, remote controls and even Internet shopping are all contributing to a dangerously lazy and idle Britain,” said Doctor Sarah Dauncey, its medical director.
“The nation has fallen into a vicious circle of laziness that we must put a stop to,” she added.
And she warned: “If we don’t start to take control of this problem, a whole generation will become too unfit to perform even the most rudimentary of tasks.”
In the poll of more than 2,000 adults, 15 percent said that, if the television remote was broken, they would rather continue watching the same channel than getting up and switching to another program.
Thirty-six percent said they would not run to catch a bus, 59 percent took the elevator instead of walking up even two flights of stairs, and 52 percent of dog owners said they could not be bothered to walk their pet.
64 percent of parents were too tired to play with their children — fuelling concern over child obesity, which already afflicts one in six pre-school infants.
“People need to get fitter, not just for their own sake, but for the sake of their families, friends and evidently their pets too,” said Dauncey.(AFP)
調查顯示，如果遙控器壞掉，每六個英國人中就有一個人會懶到看電視不轉台。
超過半數的人表示，他們寧可搭電梯也不願爬兩層樓梯到工作場所。
委託進行該調查的非營利組織「納菲爾德健康」警告，英國整個世代都面臨因懶惰而頹喪的危機。
該機構醫療指導莎拉．丹西醫師說：「即食食品、遙控器，甚至網路購物，都是導致英國人高度懶散又怠惰的原因。」
她說：「英國已經陷入懶散的惡性循環，我們必須遏止這個情況。」
她也提出警告：「我們若不開始控制這個情況，整個世代的健康狀況會壞到連最基本的工作都無法勝任。」
在這項針對兩千多位成人進行的民調中，有一成五的受訪者表示，若電視機遙控器壞了，他們寧願一直看同一個頻道，也不願意起身轉台。
三成六的受訪者表示，他們不願意跑步追公車；五成九的民眾即使只到二樓也要搭電梯，不願爬兩層樓梯；還有五成二的狗主人表示，他們懶得遛狗。
六成四的父母累到沒力氣陪小孩玩，進而導致孩童肥胖問題；英國有六分之一的學齡前幼兒有過胖問題。
丹西醫師說：「英國人應該要讓自己更健康，這不僅是為了他們自己、他們的家人朋友，更是為了他們的寵物好。」（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
“Beep—beep—beep.” Your phone roars in the dead of night and wakes you up. Adrenaline surges as a low rumble shakes the pictures on the nightstand. Panic threatens, but you remember the earthquake drill you practiced. You drop to the ground, take cover under your desk, and hold on tight. Though the shaking intensifies, relief washes over you because you knew it was coming thanks to the warning. How do we get these precious seconds before an earthquake hits? Enter earthquake early warning systems, life-saving tools that provide a crucial head start for taking cover or evacuating. Operating through a network of
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Billy Lezra stood on the edge of a train platform, with her heart pounding and her mind clouded by despair. At 23, she faced her mother’s suicide attempt and spiraled into depression and alcohol addiction. She saw no way out, and just as she was about to take the final step, a stranger __1__ her with an unexpected request: “Excuse me, but would you mind taking my picture?” This simple, unforeseen meeting was enough to pull Billy back from the brink. __2__ that fateful day, Billy has been on a journey of recovery and discovery, determined to understand what drives people
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