If you are caught in a downpour, it is better to run for shelter than walk, researchers in the US advise. This may sound obvious, but an earlier study in Britain suggested that you would get just a sweet running as walking.

　　In 1995, Stephen Belcher of the University of Reading and his student calculated how much water falls on top of your head and how much you sweep up on your front as you move forward. Obviously, you would get wettest standing still, and less wet the faster you moved forward But the Reading team found that the benefits of running faster than about 3 meters per second which they described as a walking pace were tiny.

　　Thomas Peterson and Trevor Wallis, meteorologists at national Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North

　　Carolina, had a hunch that this was wrong. They realized that the Reading team had overestimated the average walking pace, so they reworked the calculations for a walking pace of 1.5 meters per second and a running~ speed of 4 meters per second.

　　Peterson and Wallis conclude in the latest issue that a walker would get 16 per cent wetter than a runner over a distance of 100 meters in drizzle. In heavy ram, this would rise to 23 per cent. When the researchers allowed for the way that runners tend to lean forward, sheltering the front of their bodies but increasing the rainfall on their backs they found that a walker would get 36 per cent wetter than a runner in heavy rain. .

　　Not content with theory alone, Peters~ arid Wallis decided to test their ideas. "If verification requires an $ 80 million satellite, one may ~$~to forgo verification, says Peterson. "But if it involves a simple experiment that's another matter. "Peterson and Wallis are roughly the same size. Wearing identical clothing, one ~:~00':~ters in heavy rein and the other walked.

　　They weighed their clothes before and after the experiment, This showed that the" walker bad absorbed 0.22 kilograms of water, while the runner had soaked up only 0. 13 kilograms. This is a- bout 40 per cent less, i~'~ with the model's predictions.

　　Belcher says that this team. was a bit of fun, and that apart from the confusion over what a typical walking speed is, their results were similar to those of Peterson and Wallis. "I'm delighted to see that their experiments gave results in qualitative agreement with the model," says Belcher.

　　But why not just take an umbrella .For anyone thinking of taking the easy way out, Wallis

　　has warning: Running with an umbrella has a negative impact on your aerodynamics.

　　1 The Reading Team and the American meteorologists presented different results in investigating

　　A. how far people can run per second in a downpour~

　　B. the benefits of running for shelter in a downpour.

　　C. whether people can run fast in a downpour.

　　D. the average walking pace in a downpour.

　　2. According to the American researchers, the Reading team made an error in calculating

　　A. the average walking pace B. the amount of the rainfall

　　C. the time and distance D. the running speed

　　3. Which of the following, according to the American researchers, gets the least wet?

　　A. Running in drizzle. B. Walking in drizzle.

　　C. Running in heavy rain. D. Walking in heavy rain.

　　4. They verified their model predictions by experimenting

　　A. on themselves B. with a satellite

　　C. on the twins of the same size D. with sophisticated calculation devices

　　5. The similar results, according to Belcher, refer to

　　A. the amount of rain water absorbed B. the average running speed

　　C. the average walking pace D. all of the above