单选题 Is it any wonder that America is also a country of dangerously overweight people?
According to a recent study by the National Centre for Health Statistics, the number of adults characterized as overweight in the United States has jumped to an astonishing one-third of the population. Overweight in this case means being about 20 percent or more above a person's desirable weight. Since the figures for 'desirable weight' have moved upward over the last decade or so, total poundage—even at 20 percent over—may be considerable.
So are the attendant health risks. Excess weight has been linked to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, adult-onset diabetes and some forms of cancer, among other diseases.
Once, when work and school and the grocery store were a two-mile hike away, Americans could afford the calories they consume. But not now, not when millions spend four or five hours a day in front of a TV set—along with a bag of chips, a bowl of buttered popcorn and a six-pack—and there's a car or two in every driveway.
'There is no commitment to obesity as a public health problem,' said Dr. William Dietz, director of clinical nutrition at the New England Medical Centre in Boston. 'We've ignored it, and blamed it on gluttony and sloth.'
If one definition of a public health problem is its cost to the nation, then obesity qualifies. According to a study done by Dr. Graham A. Colditz, who teaches at Harvard Medical School, it cost America an estimated $68.8 billion in 1990. But what's wrong blaming it on gluttony and sloth? True, some unfortunate overweight people have an underlying physical or genetic problem. But for most Americans, the problem is with two of the seven deadly sins.
Losing weight is a desperately difficult business. Preventing gain, however, is not. Consumer information is everywhere and there can be few adults who truly believe that hot dogs, fries, a soda and a couple of Twinkies make a good lunch. But they eat them anyway.
As more and more Americans became educated to the risks of smoking, more and more Americans gave up the habit. Now it appears that Americans need an intensive education in the risks of stuffing themselves and failing to exercise as well.
Given the seductiveness of chocolate and cheese, the couch and the car, that habit will be hard to break. But if an ounce of prevention can obviate a pound of fat, it is well worth the struggle.

单选题 The author setting up the standard of overweight people based on the fact that ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】细节题。根据第二段Overweight in this case means being about 20 percent or more above a person's desirable weight. Since the figures for 'desirable weight' have moved upward over the last decade or so, total poundage—even at 20 percent over—may be considerable. 可知超重的定义是指体重超过理想体重的20%及以上，但是对于理想体重的定义也随着时代的前进提高了，所以现在人们对于理想体重的标准改变了，和B选项表达一致。

单选题 By saying 'So are the attendant health risks' in Paragraph 3, the author means ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】推断题。若想理解So are the attendant health risks. 必须和下文联系起来，Excess weight has been linked to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, adult-onset diabetes and some forms of cancer, among other diseases. 超重带来一系列的疾病：心血管病、高血压、成年发作的糖尿病和一些癌症，以及其他的疾病。Attendant作为形容词有“伴随的，随之而来的”意思，所以第三段首句意思是“随之(超重)而来的是对健康造成的危害”。

单选题 What does William Dietz think of overweight?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】细节题。根据William Dietz定位至原文第五段There is no commitment to obesity as a public health problem...We've ignored it, and blamed it on gluttony and sloth. 威廉·狄亚茨认为人们没有把肥胖症当成公共健康问题，肥胖症长期受到忽视，只是被归咎于暴饮暴食和懒惰。所以威廉·狄亚茨的观点是肥胖应该被当作公共健康问题。通读选项，A选项与该句子的内容一致。

单选题 Most Americans believe that ______.

单选题 In order to solve the overweight problem, the author suggests that everyone need to ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】细节题。根据第七段Losing weight is a desperately difficult business. Preventing gain, however, is not. 可知减肥很困难，但是防止增重并不难。和答案A的prevent gaining weight相对应。根据第八段Now it appears that Americans need an intensive education in the risks of stuffing themselves and failing to exercise as well. 进一步可知美国人现在需要的教育，提高对肥胖危害的意识，education和答案A的taught相对应，综合七、八段可知答案应该是A。