英語四級閱讀練習(xí)附答案-36 肥胖

　　Like a needle climbing up a bathroom scale, the number keeps rising. In 1991, 15% of Americans were obese(肥胖的); by 1999, that proportion had grown to 27%. Youngsters, who should have age and activity on their side, are growing larger as well: 19% of Americans under 17 are obese. Waistbands have been popping in other western countries too, as physical activity has declined and diets have expanded. By and large, people in the rich world seem to have lost the fight against flab(松弛).

 

　　Meanwhile, poorer nations have enjoyed some success in their battles against malnutrition and famine. But, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it is more a case of being out of the frying pan and into the fire. The most striking example actually in the poor world comes from the Pacific islands, home of the world's most obese communities. In 1966, 14% of the men on this island were obese while 100% of men under the age of 30 in 1996 were obese.

　　This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast. As a result, undernourished and over-nourished people frequently live cheek by jowl(面頰). The mix can even occur within a single household. A study of families in Indonesia found that nearly 10% contained both the hungry and the fat. This is a mysterious phenomenon, but might have something to do with people of different ages being given different amounts of food to eat.

　　The prospect of heading off these problems is bleak. In many affected countries there are cultural factorsto contend with, such as an emphasis on eating large meals together, or on food as a form. of hospitality.Moreover, there is a good measure of disbelief on the part of policymakers that such a problem Could existin their countries. Add to that reluctance on the part of governments to spend resources on promoting dietand exercise while starvation is still a real threat, and the result is a recipe for inaction. Unless something is done soon, it might not be possible to turn the clock back.

　　練習(xí)題：

　　Choose correct answers to the question:

　　1.The first sentence of the passage most probably implies that ______.

　　A.many Americans are obsessed with the rising temperature in their bathroom

　　B.more people are overweighed in the United States

　　C.people are doing more physical exercises with the help of scales

　　D.youngsters become taller and healthier thanks to more activities

　　2.As physical exercise declines and diet expands, ______.

　　A.other western countries has been defeated by fat

　　B.obesity has become an epidemic(流行病)of the rich world

　　C.waistbands begin to be popular in other western countries

　　D.western countries can no longer fight against obesity

　　3.Which is NOT the point of the example of the Pacific Islands?

　　A.The poor community has shaken off poverty and people are well-fed now.

　　B.Obesity is becoming a problem in the developing world too.

　　C.Excessive weight increase will cause no less harm than the food shortage.

　　D.The problem of overweight emerges very fast.

　　4.Of tackling obesity in the poor world, we can learn from the passage that____

　　A.the matter is so complex as to go beyond our capacity

　　B.no matter what we do, the prospect will always be bleak

　　C.it is starvation, the real threat, that needs to be solved

　　D.we should take immediate actions before it becomes incurable

　　5.What is the main idea of this passage?

　　A.Obesity is now a global problem that needs tackling.

　　B.The weights increase fast throughout the whole world.

　　C.Obesity and starvation are two main problems in the poor world.

　　D.Obesity has shifted from the rich world to the poor world.

　　1.[B] 推理判斷題。根據(jù)第1段第2句可推斷第1句中的the number是指體重增加的人數(shù)，故答案為B。

　　2.[B] 推理判斷題。本題需要正確理解借代修飾手法。Waistbands have been popping形象刻畫出其他西方社會急劇肥胖化的過程，故答案為B。本題很明顯是考查因果關(guān)系的，第1段倒數(shù)第2句明確指出這個因果關(guān)系，只要根據(jù)該句做出選擇就可以了。如果看得過遠(yuǎn),反而有可能誤選A或D。

　　3.[A] 事實細(xì)節(jié)題。此處的例子是證明前一句話的，即But后面的內(nèi)容。同時，兩個年份的比較也突出問題發(fā)展的迅猛，從而印證下一段的主題句“This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast.”說明了貧窮與肥胖是并存的。例子一般是用來證明緊挨著的前面或后面的論述，此處證明的觀點在之前，其中的重點應(yīng)該是But后面的內(nèi)容，所以選項A與文中意思不符。注意本題要選的是NOT the point of the example。

　　4.[D] 觀點態(tài)度題。文章最后一句扭轉(zhuǎn)了整段的基調(diào)。作者呼吁解決這一問題，前文正是為此作鋪墊，突出問題的復(fù)雜性和時間的緊迫性。

　　5.[A] 主旨大意題。本文話題為obesity，作者從美國談到所有西方國家，最后重點討論其在發(fā)展中國家的最新發(fā)展趨勢以及種種可能的成因，并強調(diào)應(yīng)當(dāng)盡早解決問題，故選項A正確。肥胖問題的陣營沒有轉(zhuǎn)移，只是擴大了，故選項D不對。選項B只是片面信息，沒有包括最后一段關(guān)于如何解決肥胖問題的內(nèi)容。選項C中的starvation并非本文討論的主要話題。