单选题
As people in rich countries know very well, eating
too much food and burning too few calories is why a substantial number of us are
overweight or obese. Now, however, a remarkable change in perspective has come
from the discovery that obesity actually provides people with temporary
protection from the harmful effects of fat. The insight has
come from re-examining the common assumption that fatness itself drives the
development of metabolic syndrome, which is what causes so much of the actual
damage. The syndrome comes with a mixture of fife-threatening effects, with
cardiovascular disease (diseases relating to the heart and blood vessels)
and type 2 diabetes being among the most serious. In fact, it now seems that
body fat may be a barrier that stops millions of Americans and fatty citizens
elsewhere from going on to develop the syndrome. And the real damage is caused
by the inflammatory effect of high levels of fat in the bloodstream. And
ironically, it's fat cells that protect us from this by serving as toxic dumps,
locking away the real villains of the modem diet. The problem
is that this protection only lasts so long, until there is simply no more room
inside the fat cells. That's when they start to break down, leading to a toxic
spill into the bloodstream. This sets off an inflammatory response that causes
various kinds of damage to body tissues. In this way, every excess calorie takes
people closer to metabolic syndrome. So what can we do to stop
a superabundance of fat triggering the syndrome? Of course there's no substitute
for a healthy diet and exercise, but incitation to this effect seem to be of
limited use. As with cigarettes and alcohol, a tax on calories-pricing foods by
their energy content-is increasingly seen as another "lever" to change behaviour
by malting obesity too costly. The new research may even
suggest treatments to combat metabolic syndrome, such as antiinflammatory drugs.
One promising candidate is salsalate, an arthritis drug related to aspirin, and
the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston is now considering large-scale
trials. What might be more helpful, though, is simply a wider
recognition that fatty and sugary foods are more directly toxic than we had
assumed. Ideally, people should be as well informed about the harmful effects of
what they eat as, for example, pregnant women are about drinking and
smoking. There is a consolation-you have your fat tissue to
protect you when you consume that extra burger or sweetened soda. But now you
know the perils of pushing your friendly fat cells beyond their natural
limits.
单选题
It's implied in the first paragraph that the reasons for obesity
include overeating and
A. lacking exercise.
B. absorbing fats.
C. keeping unhealthy diets.
D. burning calories.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
From Paragraph 2 we know that the real villain of actual damages is
A. fat cells.
B. metabolic syndrome.
C. cardiovascular disease.
D. bloodstream fats.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】
单选题
The protective function of fat cells stop working once
A. their capacity reaches a limit.
B. toxin spills into the bloodstream.
C. an inflammatory response appears.
D. metabolic syndrome is developed.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
The author indicates in the text that obesity can be restricted by
A. putting fat's protective function to full use.
B. unifying people's diet and exercise habits.
C. raising the prices of cigarettes and alcohol.
D. manipulating food prices by their calorie content.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】
单选题
To combat metabolic syndrome, the author's suggestion is to
A. develop more anti-inflammatory drugs.
B. ask people to keep away from fatty food.
C. strengthen the awareness of the harms of fatty food.