今日のテキスト POLLUTION MARS BEIJING MARATHON

Air pollution in the Chinese capital deterred many runners from taking part in Sunday's Beijing International Marathon.
About 30,000 runners, including invited foreign athletes, took part in the event. They ran through a hazy Tiananmen Square and other parts of the city center.
The average density in Beijing of an air pollutant called PM 2.5 for the past 24 hours was 16 times the WHO limit. The substance is known to cause respiratory diseases.
Many participants, concerned about their health, wore face masks. The local media say a good number of runners did not take part or dropped out halfway through. The organizers asked the participants to immediately stop running if they felt ill. Additional medical staff and ambulances were deployed along the course.
Many criticisms were posted on the Internet. Some said the purpose of a marathon is to improve people's health and that the organizers had their priorities wrong.