广泛的托福阅读背景知识积累，有助于托福阅读速度和准确率的提升。托福阅读文章分为自然科学、人文科学、互联网等几大类，如果同学们平时能对这些种类的文章都有所涉猎，托福阅读考试中遇到相关的话题就会有非常熟悉的感觉。下面天道教育给大家提供一篇关于奥运运动员年龄调查的背景材料，希望能拓宽同学们的阅读面。
　　In the past 3 summer Olympic Games, only 64 of the 1,707 athletes of team USA have been over the age of 40. The Washington Post created a data visualization of average age ranges for Olympic sports, including an interactive tool to see if you'd be too old to compete.过去三届的夏季奥运会的1707名美国运动员中，仅有64名超过了40岁。《华盛顿邮报》对奥运运动员们的年龄进行了一项数据调查，使用了一个交互工具来统计年龄过大是否不适合竞技比赛。
　　As presented, athlete ages range from 15 for female gymnasts to nearly 60 for male sailors.根据调查结果，奥运最年轻的运动员是年仅15岁的体操女孩，而年龄最大的是年近60岁的划艇男运动员。
　　In a recent Washington Post profile on 45-year-old female swimmer Dana Torres, she discusses the effects of age on the body, and how she works to overcome these obstacles. Although muscles deteriorate and recovery becomes slower, Torres believes that age is on her side. Since age comes with experience, the twelve-time Olympic medalist is more mentally prepared for the Games than any other female swimmer.在《华盛顿邮报》最近对于45岁的女游泳运动员Dana Torres的介绍中，文章探讨了年龄对身体的影响以及她如何克服这些障碍的。尽管肌体素质降低，肌肉复原率减慢，年龄对于她而言仍是很大的助力。因为流逝的岁月化为了经历，从而帮助这位12度奥运摘牌的选手比其他女性运动员具有更多的大赛经验。
　　However, with sports such as gymnastics that require more flexibility than sheer force and power, younger bodies have a far greater advantage. Youth is so beneficial in gymnastics that a minimum age requirement of 16 was implemented to protect athletes with developing bodies from serious injuries.然而，像体操一样的运动，比起直接的冲劲和力量，更需要好的灵活性。年轻的躯体在这方面具有更好的优势，而且16岁的年龄更适合体操这样的运动，因为它能保护身体免受严重的伤害。
　　A recent Wired article provides an explanation for these aberrations: people age at different rates and, although younger athletes are generally stronger and more flexible, people age at different rates, allowing some athletes to remain competitive-despite the ticking clock.最近Wired 杂志的一篇文章为这些差异性做出了解释。人们老化的频率是不同的。尽管年轻的运动员更强壮灵活，但正是因为人们的老化频率不同，因此某些运动员尽管上了年纪仍具有很强的竞争力。