The Speed of Cities

 A city’s pace of life reveals a lot about its size, success and culture
城市的速度-   一座城市的生活步調 大大透露出其大小、 成就與文化。

Are you a fast or slow walker? Is your city or town wealthy or poor? Believe it or not, research suggests walking speed and a city's prosperity may be related! Citizens of bigger affluent cities tend to walk faster, while residents of poorer cities tend to take things a little slower. Why is that? A social psychologist named Robert Levine wanted to know, so he went out into the streets to get answers.

A worldwide experiment
With help from all over the world, Levine conducted an experiment. What's the average speed of a pedestrian over a distance of 18.29 meters? Volunteers in big cities in 31 countries timed pedestrians as they covered this distance and submitted their results. The fastest pedestrians lived in Ireland, crossing the distance in an average of 11.13 seconds. The slowest walkers hailed from Brazil, where they got from point A to point B at a more leisurely 16.76 seconds.

Levine found that these results were strongly related to economic success. Residents of cities that struggled or were still developing moved at a slower pace, and residents of wealthy cities moved faster. The motto "Time is money" seems to be true!

Pace of life
Walking speed is only part of the pace of life in any city. The pace of life also includes how fast people talk, how quickly a bank teller gives out change and how accurate everyone's watch is. Levine also researched some other factors and found that the pace of life was fastest in Western Europe and Japan. East Asian economic powers like Hong Kong and South Korea landed in the middle, along with Canada and the U.S. The slowest pace seemed to be in Central and South America and In Indonesia.

Along with wealth, population size and culture also affect the pace of life. But how does pace affect the well-being of people in the fast lane? Studies show that "time urgency" predicts heart disease. People who move fast and feel stressed about time are more likely to die of heart disease than those who live slower lives. So does walking fast make people ill? Or is the fast-paced, stressed lifestyle the culprit? While some people thrive under stress, most don't and should slow down.

What's your city's speed? Is it better to be fast and pursue economic success or to move more slowly and live a healthier life?

Grammar Gym:
"......while residents of poorer cities tend to take things a little slower."
to take things - to handle or respond to situations.
Edward likes to take things one at a time.
Sam doesn't take things too well whenever he's hungry and tired.

Vocabulary Tips:
pace of life -生活节奏`。
pace -节奏，步调，速度，走路的速度。
*Helen is still adjusting to the fast pace of city life. 适应。。快节奏。。
*The girl's pace quickened when she felt someone was following her. 加快脚步。。。
teller - who work as a cashier or register. 柜台人员。
*The bank teller is verifying the check with her supervisor.
*The bank teller is very friendly to her customers.
ATM = automatic teller machine.
urgency - important, have to do immediately.紧急。
*The urgency of her phone call caused us to drive over to her apartment immediately.
*The urgency of situation requires our instant response.
urgent (adj) - need to do as soon as possible. to do now.紧急的
*There's an urgent need for drinking water and food in the flooded area.
thrive - doing very well. success. 兴旺，茁壮生长，
*William's business thrived even during the recession.
thrive on - 靠什么，在何情形（况）下 用'on'.
*Pants thrive on sunlight, water and fresh air.
affluent - rich and wealthy. 富裕的，有钱的，富足的。you and your neighbors all have a lot of money.
*Tina lives in an affluent neighborhood in Miami.
*Jacky was born and raised in an affluent family.
pedestrian - person who are walking. -have the right of the way.行人。  'pedes' -refer to 'legs and feet'. 有‘脚“的 意思。
*Pedestrians are not commonly seen in Los Angeles.
pedestrian (adj) -徒步的。
a pedestrian zone 行人徒步区。
a pedestrian bridge.- 专供行人徒步的路桥。
hail from -come from, came from. 生于，来自于。
*The band hailed from Sydney, Australia.
*The girl hails from a wealthy family, but she's very down to earth.
motto -座右铭。
*My father's motto is "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper."  -乞丐
culprit - your culprit, your are to blame for.
well-being - whole body include mental, physical, spiritual and thoughts.
conduct - to do, to experiment it.
down to earth - 实事求是，平凡实在，脚踏实地。

Language Tips:
speed/ pace -速度，机器，车，船等的速度/ 速度，人的生活，走路的步调
The Speed of Cities.
A city's pace of life.
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change - 不可数n.不加‘s。 零钱，兑换，找开来的钱。找零钱。
I have some loose change in my pocket. 一些铜板，零钱。
Do you have change for a hundred?你能换开这百元大钞吗？
.....how quickly a bank teller gives out change...
exact change - 恕不找零钱。



Notes taking of Studio Classroom