《中英對照讀新聞》Children spend only half as much time playing outside as their parents did 孩童在外玩樂時間 僅父母年幼時一半

◎孫宇青

Children today spend half the time their parents did playing outside, a survey suggests.

一項調查指出，現在的小孩在外頭玩樂的時間只有父母年幼時的一半。

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96% of the 1,001 parents with children aged between four and 14 quizzed for the National Trust thought it was important their children had a connection with nature and thought playing outdoors was beneficial for their development.

「國民信託組織」訪問的這1001名父母，他們的小孩年齡介於4到14歲之間。其中，有96％的父母認為，小孩接觸大自然十分重要，因為在外玩樂對他們的成長有所助益。

The research found, on average, children were playing outside for just over four hours a week, compared to 8.2 hours a week when the adults questioned were children.

這項研究發現，現在的小孩在外玩樂的時間平均一週只有4小時，但他們的父母年幼時在外玩耍的時間一週卻有8.2小時。

The Trust has a list of 50 things for children to do before they turn 11 and three-quarters to get them engaging with the outdoors, including climbing a tree, hunting for bugs, building a den, explore inside a tree and tracking wild animals.

國民信託組織整理出建議小孩在11歲前進行的50種遊戲，其中有4分之3都必須走出戶外，包括爬樹、抓昆蟲、蓋秘密基地、在樹洞裡冒險、跟蹤野生動物等。

National Trust hopes that instilling a love for nature in our children now encourages them to continue to protect the beauty of the great outdoors for years to come.

國民信託組織希望向小孩灌輸愛護大自然的觀念，好讓他們在未來繼續保護自然之美。

新聞辭典

den：名詞，洞穴；藏身處。例句：When we were kids, we used the attic as our den. （我們小時候把閣樓當成秘密基地。）

track：動詞，跟蹤。例句：The police tracked the kidnapper and managed to capture him alive. （警方一路跟蹤綁匪，並設法活逮他。）

instill：動詞，灌輸；教導。例句：Parents need to instill a positive attitude toward frustration in their children’s minds. （父母必須灌輸孩子面對挫折時該有的正向態度。）