近年来，跑马拉松越来越流行。前几天，一名运动员在两小时内跑完了马拉松全程，突破了很多人心中的“极限”。那么，从理论上说，人类跑马拉松能达到多快呢？
How fast can humans run a marathon?
by Claire Maldarelli
On Saturday morning, Eliud Kipchoge accomplished a feat that athletes and scientists alike had long speculated might be impossible: He ran a marathon in under two hours. The 34-year-old Kenyan athlete's time – one hour, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds – marks a major breakthrough not just in the sport of distance running, but in our understanding of what the human body can handle.
accomplish /əˈkʌmplɪʃ/ v. 实现、达到
feat /fiːt/ n. 壮举、杰出成就
athlete /ˈæθliːt/ n. 运动员
alike /əˈlaɪk/ adv. 两者都
speculate /ˈspekjuleɪt/ v. 猜测、推测
marathon /ˈmærəθ(ə)n/ n. 马拉松
Kenyan /ˈkenjən/ adj. 肯尼亚的（肯尼亚是东非国家）
mark /mɑːk/ v. 标记着
major /ˈmeɪdʒə(r)/ adj. 主要的、重大的
breakthrough /ˈbreɪkθruː/ n. 突破
handle /ˈhænd(ə)l/ v. 处理、应对
The marathon – a 42.2-kilometer run – was one of the original events held at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The winner, Greek runner Spyridon Louis, crossed the finish line in two hours, 58 minutes, and 50 seconds. Since then, men and women have handily outpaced that performance, and marathon times have dropped drastically over the course of the last century. Kipchoge holds the official world record for men with his 2:01:39 run at the 2018 Berlin marathon.
original /əˈrɪdʒ(ə)n(ə)l/ adj. 一开始的
Olympic Games 奥运会
Greek /ɡriːk/ adj. 希腊的（希腊是东南欧国家）
handily /ˈhændɪli/ adv. 轻易地
outpace /ˌaʊtˈpeɪs/ v. 比…更快
performance /pəˈfɔːməns/ n. 表现、成绩
drastically /ˈdræstɪk(ə)li/ adv. 急剧地、大幅度地
course /kɔːs/ n. 发展过程
official /əˈfɪʃ(ə)l/ adj. 官方的、正式的
world record 世界纪录
Berlin /bɜːˈlɪn/ n. 柏林（德国首都）
Before Roger Bannister ran a 3:59.4 in 1954 on a track at Oxford University in England, doctors thought that running a mile in less than four minutes was not only impossible, but likely fatal: A human being could not move their body at that fast a pace for so long, they thought, without breaking down. Bannister, a doctor himself, came through unscathed（未受伤的）. Less than two months later, a competitor named John Landy ran a mile in 3:58. More than 1,400 athletes have managed a sub-four-minute mile ever since.
track /træk/ n. 跑道
mile /maɪl/ n. 英里（=1609米）
fatal /ˈfeɪt(ə)l/ adj. 致命的
pace /peɪs/ n. 步调、速度
break down 出故障
competitor /kəmˈpetɪtə(r)/ n. 比赛者
manage /ˈmænɪdʒ/ v. 成功做到
sub- 前缀，意思是“低于”
Shattering the notion that humans can't run 42.2 kilometers in less than two hours could actually be the key to making us all run a bit faster. And recent research hinted that this day would eventually come.
shatter /ˈʃætə(r)/ v. 粉碎、打破
notion /ˈnəʊʃ(ə)n/ n. 观念
key /kiː/ n. 关键
hint /hɪnt/ v. 暗示
eventually /ɪˈventʃuəli/ adv. 最终、终于
In a 1991 paper, the Mayo Clinic's Michael Joyner postulated（假设） that under absolutely ideal conditions, a world-class marathoner could run a time of 1:57:58. He arrived at that precise number by combining physiological（生理的） data from elite runners, including their VO2max (how much oxygen their muscles can take in and use at once – the higher the better), lactate（乳酸盐） threshold (the point at which lactate, which builds up as our muscles use glucose for fuel, starts to interfere with their function), and running economy (how much energy a runner needs to go from point A to point B).
paper /ˈpeɪpə(r)/ n. 论文
ideal /aɪˈdɪəl/ adj. 理想的
condition /kənˈdɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 条件、状态
world-class 世界级的
marathoner /ˈmærəθ(ə)nə(r)/ n. 马拉松运动员（由marathon加上表示人的后缀-er）
precise /prɪˈsaɪs/ adj. 精确的
combine /kəmˈbaɪn/ v. 组合、合并
data /ˈdeɪtə/ n. 数据
elite /ɪˈliːt/ adj. 最杰出的
oxygen /ˈɒksɪdʒən/ n. 氧气
muscle /ˈmʌs(ə)l/ n. 肌肉
threshold /ˈθreʃhəʊld/ n. 阈值
build up 积累
glucose /ˈɡluːkəʊs/ n. 葡萄糖
interfere /ˌɪntəˈfɪə(r)/ v. 干扰
function /ˈfʌŋkʃ(ə)n/ n. 功能
economy /ɪˈkɒnəmi/ n. 经济
There are many marathons to run in and lots of people eager to run in them, so the right conditions could fall into place for the right athlete someday. As was the case with Bannister's four-minute feat, it's possible that Kipchoge's mastery（精通） over the marathon will be enough to kick-start a new era of endurance running. Now that they know it can be done, runners around the world could feel spurred to do it for themselves.
eager /ˈiːɡə(r)/ adj. 急切的
someday /ˈsʌmdeɪ/ adv. 将来某个时候
kick-start 启动、使开始
era /ˈɪərə/ n. 时代
endurance /ɪnˈdʒʊər(ə)ns/ n. 耐力
spur /spɜː(r)/ v. 鞭策、激励
（如果您发现某些行的最后一个单词被分成两半了，请把您使用的浏览器升级到最新版本就能正常显示了。）
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