WHEN caught in pouring rain without an umbrella, most people pick up their pace. But an old tale advises that a person who runs in the rain gets wetter than one who walks.
沒帶雨傘卻遭遇瓢潑大雨，多數人會加快腳步。但有句古話說的卻是，在雨里跑比走會淋得更濕。 It sounds reasonable that when someone runs up and down, the body is exposed to more drops of water.
這聽起來似乎不無道理，因為人們在跑動時，身體暴露得多，淋到的雨也多。
But several studies have put this saying to the test and found it not to be true. One such test was carried out in 1987 and was published in European Journal of Physics magazine. The Italian physicist who did the experiment said that if the distance is short enough, running gets a person less wet than walking. But running only keeps you about 10 per cent drier. That is to say, running isn't worth the effort.
可是，有幾項研究對這種說法進行了驗證，卻發現事實并非如此。其中的一項研究就是1987年的一個試驗，發表在歐洲物理雜志期刊上。做這項實驗的意大利物理學家說如果距離足夠短的話，人們跑比走會少受雨淋。但是，跑比走使人們僅僅少淋10％的雨。這就是說，并不值得跑步躲雨。
Another study, published in 1995 by a British researcher, found that it made no difference whether a person walked or ran.
一名英國研究者在1995年發布的另外一項研究指出，在雨中不管走還是跑都沒有什么差別。
Perhaps the final word came from two American scientists at the National Climatic Data Centre in North Carolina recently. They thought that earlier studies overestimated the average walking pace. So, they did a much more careful experiment than any of the previous ones.
或許，北卡羅來納州國家氣候數據中心的兩名美國科學家最近的研究可以一錘定音。他們認為早期研究過高估算了走路的步速。因此，他們做的試驗比以前更為細致。
They noticed that the direction of the wind really matters to the results of the experiment. They also found that runners like to lean forward, hiding the front of their bodies from rain, but exposing the back.
他們發現，實際上風向影響著實驗結果。他們還發現跑著的人習慣向前傾，把身體前面擋起來，可是后面卻暴露在外。
The researchers used themselves as guinea pigs in the test. Over a distance of 100 metres, they found that running in heavy rain kept them drier by as much as 40 per cent.
研究者把自己當作豚鼠親自進行實驗。他們發現，在大雨中跑100米能使他們少淋40％的雨。
The bottom line is running in the rain probably keeps you drier than walking. But do remember to take an umbrella with you! For long distances, without an umbrella, the results are the same, no matter you run or walk.
在雨里跑可能至少比走要少淋雨，但切記還是要帶把雨傘！如果路途長，不管是走還是跑，沒有傘淋雨的結果都是一樣的。
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