You hear this: "No wonder you are fat.
All you ever do is eat." You feel sad: "I skip my breakfast and supper. I run
every morning and evening. What else can I do?" Basically you can do nothing.
Your genes, not your life habits, determine your weight and your body constantly
tries to maintain it. Albert Stunkard of the University of
Pennsylvania found from experiments that, "80 percent of the children of two
obese (肥胖的) parents become obese, as compared with no more than 14 percent of
the offspring of two parents of normal weight." How can obese
people become normal or even thin through dieting? Well, dieting can be
effective, but the health costs are tremendous. Jules Hirsch, a research
physician at Rockefeller University, did a study of eight fat people. They were
given a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day. After more than 10 weeks,
the subjects lost 45ka on average. But after leaving the hospital, they all
regained weight. The results were surprising: by metabolic (新陈代谢的) measurement,
fat people who lost large amounts of weight seemed like they were starving. They
had psychiatric problems. They dreamed of food or breaking their diet. They were
anxious and depressed; some were suicidal. They hid food in their rooms.
Researchers warn that it is possible that weight reduction doesn't result in
normal weight, but in an abnormal state resembling that of starved non-obese
people. Thin people, however, suffer from the opposite: They
have to make a great effort to gain weight. Ethan Sims, of the University of
Vermont, got prisoners to volunteer to gain weight. In four to six months, they
ate as much as they could. They succeeded in increasing their weight by 20 to 25
percent. But months after the study ended they were back to normal weight and
stayed there. This did not mean that people are completely
without "hope in controlling their weight. It means that those who tend to be
fat will have to constantly battle their genetic inheritance if they want to
significantly lower their weight. The findings also provide evidence for
something scientists thought was true—each person has a comfortable weight
range. The range might be as much as 9kg. Someone might weigh 60—69kg without
too much effort. But going above or below the natural weight range is difficult.
The body resists by feeling hungry or full and changing the metabolism to push
the weight back to the range it seeks.
单选题
The first paragraph tells us that our weight is determined by ______.
A. our eating habit
B. our life style
C. our work habit
D. our genes
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用题干关键词determine和weight等可以定位到第一段“Your genes, not your life habits, determine your weight...”，意为“是你的基因而非你的生活习惯决定了你的体重”。所以选项D是正确答案。
单选题
In Jules Hirsch's study, the subjects ______.
A. showed no health problem
B. gained weight rapidly
C. were all very short
D. lived only on liquid food
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用题干关键词Jules Hirschk可以定位到第三段“Jules Hirsch, a research physician at Rockefeller University, did a study of eight fat people. They were given a liquid formula providing 600 calories a day.”意为“Jules Hirsch，做了一项有关八个胖子的研究，给参加实验的八位胖子每天提供只含600卡路里的流质食物。”所以选项D为正确答案。
单选题
After leaving the hospital, the eight fat people ______.
A. attempted suicide
B. were back to normal weight
C. went mad
D. followed the advice of Hirsch's
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用题干关键词leave the hospital可以定位到第三段“But after leaving the hospital, they all regained weight.”意为“离开医院后，他们的体重最终又恢复到原来的状态。”所以选项B为正确答案。
单选题
In Ethan Sims study, the subjects were asked to ______.
A. stay in prison
B. eat as much as they could
C. battle their genetic inheritance
D. lower their weight
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用题干关键词Ethan Sims study可以定位到文章第四段“Ethan Sims，of the University of Vermont, got prisoners to volunteer to gain weight. In four to six months, they ate as much as they could.”意为“Ethan Sims从犯人中招募志愿者研究如何让瘦人增加体重。在四到六个月的时间里，受试者吃尽可能多的食物。”所以选项B为正确答案。
单选题
Which of the following statements is true?
A. Each person wants to eat to his heart's content.
B. Each person has a weight range of 9kg.
C. Each person has a natural weight range.
D. Each person wants to control his weight.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 判断题。利用四个选项的共同关键词each person可以定位到文章最后一段“The findings also provide evidence for something scientists thought was true—each person has a comfortable weight range.”意为“科学家们的发现证明了他们认为是正确的想法——每个人都有一个适合的体重范围，这个范围大概是9公斤。有些人可能在顺其自然的条件下就保持60到69公斤的体重。”所以选项C为正确答案。