Modern U.S. cities were designed to make exercise

　　Modern U.S. cities were designed to make exercise unnecessary. Cars and elevators once symbolized urban areas as machines for more efficient living. Now it is clear that these improvements provide great benefits but also ___26___ health costs. Recent studies show that urban ___27___ encourages more driving and is associated with heavier weight. This ___28___ suggests that the layout and design of cities can hinder or promote healthier lifestyle choices and it is ___29___ that urban planners bear this in mind.

　　Unfortunately, urban planning still centers in large part on solving the problems of the past. Of course cities still need to ___30___ standard public health practices, such as separating toxic facilities from homes and restricting heavy truck traffic through ___31___ residential areas. But it's also important to create healthier cities—and the discussion is already underway. More and more city planners are paying increasing attention to encouraging physical activity by making it easier and safer for people to recreate, walk, bike and take public transportation. Many studies of ___32___ show that people live the longest in environments where physical activity is part of everyday life.

　　Providing more walkable spaces, better protected bike lanes and more ___33___ spaces are important steps. But even smaller changes can be effective.

　　Cities can close off streets on weekends to encourage communities to get out and walk. They also can provide more seating in public places, so that less-fit residents can rest during their journeys. Using public spaces in cities as places where people can exercise promotes ___34___, rather than allowing physical activity to become restricted to private gyms with often-expensive monthly fees that ___35___ less wealthy people from joining.

　　（本题出自2023年12月六级真题卷三）

　　答案&解析：

　　26.G)impose

　　27.M)sprawl

　　28.A)correlation

　　29.F)imperative

　　30.E)foster

　　31.B)dense

　　32.D)longevity

　　33.K)recreational

　　34.D)equity

　　35.C)deter

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