樂趣無窮的尊巴健身舞蹈

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Started in an aerobics▼ classroom in Columbia, Zumba is now practiced across the globe.
源自哥倫比亞一間有氧健身教室的尊巴健身舞蹈，如今世界各地都有人在跳。

　　Zumba is an exercise trend that’s popular around the world. Mixing dance with exciting Latin music, it was created in the 1990s by a Columbian man named Beto Perez. Perez grew up in poverty and by the age of 14, he had taken on three jobs to help support his family. Perez loved dancing, and for one of his jobs, he worked as an aerobics instructor▼.
　　Perez usually played American pop songs during his classes. However, before one class in 1986, Perez left his regular music tape at home. So, he used a tape of Latin▼ songs that he had with him instead. The music was faster, so Perez had to adjust the usual dance moves to match the new songs. Perez told his students this was going to be a special class, but he could never have imagined how special it would be.
　　Perez’s students absolutely loved the change of pace, and word about his new class spread quickly. Perez’s dance fitness classes soon had long waiting lists and were attracting interest from celebrities. The famous singer Shakira even hired him to train the dancers in her videos. With big dreams of becoming a star in the US, Perez founded his company Zumba Fitness in 1998.

▲本圖提供 Stefano Ember / Shutterstock.com

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1. fitness n. 健康，健壯
Eric is trying to improve his fitness by jogging.
艾瑞克試著藉由慢跑來增進他的健康。
2. trend n. 趨勢，傾向
The latest marketing trend is to advertise products through social media.
最新的行銷趨勢是透過社群媒體來幫產品打廣告。
* advertise vt. 為……做廣告，宣傳
3. in poverty　　處於貧窮中
poverty n. 貧窮，貧困
The closure of the factory brought poverty to this town.
工廠的倒閉使得這座城鎮陷入貧苦之中。
* closure n. 停業，倒閉
4. take on... / take...on　　接受∕承擔……（工作、責任等）
Cynthia felt tired because she took on too much work.
辛西亞因為接下太多工作而覺得很累。
5. adjust vt. 調整
The chair was too high, so I needed to adjust it.
椅子太高了，因此我必須把它調整一下。
6. absolutely adv. 完全地；絕對地（強調語氣用）
Michael is very experienced, so he is absolutely the right person for the job.
麥可經驗豐富，所以他絕對是這個工作的不二人選。
7. pace n.（移動的）步調；（發生的）速度
John can’t stand it when people in front of him walk at a snail’s pace.
約翰很受不了他前方的人以龜速走路。
* at a snail’s pace　　非常慢地，緩慢地
8. found vt. 創立，創辦（三態為：found, founded, founded）
The man founded a clinic that treats patients with no health insurance.
那名男子創辦了一間診所來醫治沒有健保的病患。

▼ aerobics n. 有氧健身操
▼ instructor n. 教練
▼ Latin a. 拉丁語的

word 的用法
1. word 這個字在生活中十分常見，但除了大家最熟悉的「字；單詞」之外，其實還有一些其他意思，像在本文中為「消息；信息」之意，為不可數名詞。
例 Has there been any word from George since he moved to Paris?
自從喬治搬去巴黎後，你有聽過他的消息嗎？
2. word 表「文字」或「言詞」時，為可數名詞，有下列用法：
have a word with sb　　與某人談談∕說幾句話
例 Can you come into my office? I need to have a word with you.
你可以進來我辦公室一下嗎？我得和你談談。
3. word 表「吵架，口角」時，恆用複數，有下列用法：
have words with sb　　跟某人起口角
例 The couple often have words with each other over trivial matters.
這小倆口常為小事爭執。
4. word 表「諾言」時，為不可數名詞，有下列用法：
a man / woman of his / her word　　信守諾言的人
keep sb’s word　　某人堅守承諾
例 Chris is a man of his word. If he says he’ll do something, he will.
克里斯是個言而有信的人。他總是說到做到。
例 I’ll keep my word and take my family on a trip to Hawaii.
我會遵守諾言，帶我家人去夏威夷旅行。

樂趣無窮的尊巴健身舞蹈
源自哥倫比亞一間有氧健身教室的尊巴健身舞蹈，如今世界各地都有人在跳。　

　　尊巴是一種在世界各地都很受歡迎的運動風潮。混和了舞蹈與激昂拉丁樂曲的尊巴是於 1990 年代、由一位名為貝托‧培瑞茲的哥倫比亞男子所創立。培瑞茲在貧困的環境中長大，而且在十四歲之前就已經做了三份工作來幫忙維持家計。培瑞茲很愛跳舞，他的其中一份工作就是擔任有氧健身教練。
　　培瑞茲上課時通常會播放美國流行歌曲。然而在 1986 年某堂課上課前，培瑞茲把他經常用的音樂帶遺忘在家裡。因此，他改用了帶在身邊的一捲拉丁歌曲錄音帶。裡面音樂的節奏比較快，所以培瑞茲必須調整平常的舞步來配合這些新歌。培瑞茲告訴他的學生這會是一堂特殊課程，但是他絕對無法想像這堂課會變得有多特別。
　　培瑞茲的學生十分喜愛這種節奏上的變化，而有關他新型態課程的消息也迅速傳開。很快地，培瑞茲的舞蹈健身課程就有一長串等候上課的名單，並且還吸引了名人關注。知名歌星夏奇拉甚至曾聘他去訓練她音樂錄影帶裡的舞者。由於懷抱著在美國成為明星的遠大夢想，培瑞茲於 1998 年成立了他的尊巴健身公司。

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