阅读理解 Children are getting so fat they may be the first generation to die before their parents, an expert claimed yesterday. Today''s youngsters are already falling prey to potential killers such as diabetes because of their weight. Fatty fast-food diets combined with sedentary lifestyles dominated by televisions and computers could mean kids will die tragically young, says Professor Andrew Prentice, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At the same time, the shape of the human body is going through a huge evolutionary shift because adults are getting so fat. Here in Britain, latest research shows that the average waist size for a man is 36~38 in and may be 42~44 in by 2032. This compares with only 32. 6 in 1972. Women''s waists have grown from an average of 22in in 1920 to 24 ins in the Fifties and 30in now. One of the major reasons why children now are at greater risk is that we are getting fatter younger. In the UK alone, more than one million under— 16s are classed as overweight or obese-double the number in the mid-Eighties. One in ten four-year-olds are also medically classified as obese. The obesity pandemic—an extensive epidemic—which started in the US, has now spread to Europe, Australia, Central America and the Middle East. Many nations now record more than 20 per cent of their population as clinically obese and well over half the population as overweight. Prof Prentice said the change in our shape has been caused by a glut of easily available high-energy foods combined with a dramatic drop in the energy we use as a result of technology developments. He is not alone in his concern. Only last week one medical journal revealed how obesity was fuelling a rise in cancer cases. Obesity also increases the risk factor for strokes and heart disease. An averagely obese person''s lifespan is shortened by around nine years while a severely obese person by many more. Prof Prentice said: "So will parents outlive their children, as claimed recently by an American obesity specialist?" The answer is yes-and no. Yes, when the offspring become grossly obese. This is now becoming an alarmingly common occurrence in the U.S. Such children and adolescents have a greatly reduced quality of life in terms of both their physical and psychosocial health. So say No to that doughnut and burger.
单选题 What does the word "sedentary (Para. 2)" mean?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】指代题。sedentary出现在Fatty fast-food diets combined with sedentary lifestyles dominated by televisions and computers could mean kids will die tragically young…句意为“脂肪含量过高的快餐饮食,加上电视和电脑使得孩子们养成了sedentary的生活方式,极有可能大大缩短年轻一代的寿命”,“电视和电脑”是养成孩子们sedentary的生活方式的原因,由此可见,sedentary指“久坐不动”。
单选题 Which statement is TRUE?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】判断题。文章第三段提到In the UK alone,more than one million under 16s are classed as overweight or obese-double the number in the mid-Eighties.“仅仅在英国,就有100多万16岁以下的儿童被归为超重或者肥胖,比80年代中期多了一倍,可见C)项符合。A),B)项未指出这只是英国的现象,文中未提到南美洲是否也有肥胖问题。D)项不对。
单选题 According to Prof Prentice, what are the reasons for the change in our shape?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节题。Prof.Prentice指出…the change in our shape has been caused by a glut of easily available high-energy foods combined with a dramatic drop in the energy we use as a result of technology developments.意为“导致我们体形变化的原因是,现代生活中高热量食物随处可见,随手可得,而科技的发展使得人们每天消耗的热量却大大减少”,符合句意的是D)项。
单选题 Obesity increases the risk factor of________.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节题。文章开头就指出diabetes“糖尿病”是肥胖引起的病症,其后陆续提到cancer,strokes and heart disease,最后还有…adolescents have a greatly reduced quality of life in terms of both their physical and psychosocial health,即psychosocial illness也与肥胖有关,没有提到“近视”,而且obesity本身就是fatty,因此符合的只有B)项。
单选题 What does the author mean by "So say No to that doughnut and burger"?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】意图理解题。此句意为“所以,就让我们向油炸圈和夹肉饼说‘不’吧”,这不是回答“孩子们的寿命是否会比他们的父母还短呢?”,其意图是呼吁人们要有健康的生活方式,不是要禁止油腻食物,也不是要人们一起减肥。因此C)项符合作者意图。