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长篇阅读
Definitions of
Obesity
A) How does one
define when a person is considered to be obese and
not just somewhat
overweight? Height-
weight tables give an approximate guideline as to
whether one is simply
overweight or has
passed into the obese stage.
B) The
World Health Organization recommends using a
formula that takes into account a
person's height and weight. The
person's weight in kilograms by the
square of their height in meters, and is thus
given in units
of kg/m2. A BMI of
18.5-24.9 is considered to be the healthiest. A
BMI of between 25 and
29.9 is
considered to be overweight, while a BMI of over
30 is considered to be obese.
C)
However, it is recognized that this definition is
limited as it does not take into account such
variables as age, gender and ethnic
origin, the latter being important as different
ethnic
groups have very different fat
distributions. Another shortcoming is that it is
not applicable to
certain very muscular
people such as athletes and bodybuilders, who can
also have artificially
high BMIs.
Agencies such as the National Cholesterol
Education Program (NCEP) in the USA
and
the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) are
starting to define obesity in adults
simply in terms of waist circumference.
Health Effects of Obesity
D) Over 2000 years ago, the Greek
physician Hippocrates wrote that
naturally very fat are apt to die
earlier than those who are slender
very
true today. Obesity has a major impact on a
person's physical, social and emotional
well-being. It increases the risk of
developing diabetes mellitus type 2
(
diabetes
improves the levels
of blood glucose and blood fats, and reduces blood
pressure. The
association between
obesity and coronary heart disease is also well-
known.
Cancer
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E)
Furthermore, in 2001 medical researchers
established a link between being overweight
and certain forms of cancer, and
estimated that nearly 10,000 Britons per year
develop
cancer as a result of being
overweight. This figure was made up of 5,893 women
and 3,220
men, with the strongest
associations being with breast and colon cancers.
However, it is
thought that being
overweight may also increase the risk of cancer in
the reproductive organs
for women and
in the prostate gland for men.
F) The
link between breast cancer and nutritional status
is thought to be due to the
steroid
hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which are
produced by the ovaries, and
govern a
woman's menstrual cycle. Researchers have found
that the more a woman eats, or
the more
sedentary her lifestyle, the higher are the
concentrations of progesterone. This link
could explain why women from less
affluent countries have lower rates of breast
cancer.
Women from less affluent
nations tend to eat less food and to lead
lifestyles which involve
more daily
movement. This lowers their progesterone level,
resulting in
lower predisposition to
breast cancer.
G) The Times newspaper,
in 2002 reported that obesity was the main
avoidable cause of
cancer among non-
smokers in the Western world!
Aging
H) Research
published by St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK in
2005 showed a correlation
between body
fat and aging, to the extent that being obese
added 8.8 years to a woman's
biological
age. The effect was exacerbated by smoking, and a
non-overweight woman who
smokes 20
cigarettes a day for 20 years added 7.4 years to
their biological age. The
combination
of being obese an
d a smoker added at
least ten years to a woman’s biological
age, and although the study only
involved women, the lead researcher Professor Tim
Spector
believes the finding would also
apply to men.
I) The aging effect was
determined by measuring the length of telomeres,
tiny
ends of chromosomes, which help
protect the DNA from the ageing process. Indeed,
telomeres have been dubbed the
become progressively shorter, and can
be used to determine the age of the organism.
Beyond a certain point, the telomere
becomes so short that it is no longer able to
prevent the
DNA of the chromosome from
falling apart. It is believed that excess body
fat, and the
chemicals present in
tobacco smoke release free radicals which trigger
inflammation.
Inflammation causes the
production of white blood cells which increases
the rate of erosion of
telomeres.
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Dementia
J)
Recent research (2005) conducted in the USA shows
that obesity in middle age is linked to
an increased risk of dementia, with
obese people in their 40s being 74% more likely to
develop dementia compared to those of
normal weight. For those who are merely
overweight,
the lifetime risk of
dementia risk was 35% higher.
K)
Scientists from the Aging Research Centre at the
Karolinska Institute in Sweden have been
able to take information such as age,
number of years in education, gender, body mass
index,
blood pressure level, physical
activity and genetic factors, assigning each a
risk score. They
then used this
information to devise a predictive test for
dementia. This test will enable
people
at risk, for the first time, to be able to affect
lifestyle changes which will reduce their
risk of contracting dementia.
Other Problems
L)
The world-wide upsurge in obesity, particularly in
children, is of major economic concern,
liable to drain economies. Of further
concern is that research conducted in Australia
and
published in 2006, shows that up to
one third of breech pregnancies were undetected by
the
traditional
overweight
or obese
—
a growing
proportion of mothers. This means that such women
are not
getting the treatment required
to turn the baby around in time for the birth, and
in many
cases require an emergency
Caesarean section.
M) This is a true
health-care crisis, far bigger than Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
and
ultimately, even bigger than AIDS.
对应题目：
1. You can
judge whether one is simply overweight or has
passed into the obese stage
according
to the height-weight table.
2. Using
the
not takes into account many
variables such as age, gender and ethnic origin.
3. A person's emotional well-being
would be affected by obesity.
4.
Obesity has something to do with cancer in the
prostate gland for man.
5. Women from
less affluent nations tend to have much less
breast cancer.
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6. A non-overweight woman
who smokes 20 cigarettes a day for 20 years added
7.4 years to
her biological age.
7. The excess body fat, like the
chemicals present in tobacco smoke, can lead to
inflammation.
8. Obese
people in middle age run an increased risk of
dementia .
9. The predictive test for
dementia will help people to affect lifestyle
changes that will reduce
their risk of
contracting dementia.
10. The world-
wide upsurge in obesity, particularly in children,
will possibly drain economies.
仔细阅读练习题汇总
There
are three kinds of goals: short-term,medium-range
and long-term goals. Short-range
goals
are those that usually deal with current
activities,which we can apply on a daily
goals can be achieved in a week or
less,or two weeks,or possible should
be remembered that just as a building
is no stronger than its foundation ,out long-term
goals
cannot amount to very munch
without the achievement of solid short-term
completing our short-term goals,we
should date the occasion and then add new short-
term
goals that will build on those
that have been completed.
The intermediate goals bukld on the
foundation of the short-range might deal
with just one term of school or the
entire school year,or they could even extend for
several
time you move a step at a
time,you should never allow yourself to become
discouraged or overwhelmed. As you
complete each step,you will enforce the belief in
your
ability to grow adn as your list
of completion dates grow,your motivation and
desire will increase.
Long-range goals may be
related to our dreams of the future. They might
cover five years
or more. Life is not a
static should never allow a long-term goal to
limit us or our
course of action.
long-term goals mean a lot______.
we complete
our short-range goals
we cannot reach solid short-term goals
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we write down
the dates
we
put forward some plans
short-term
goals are bulid upon______.
years -term goals
t activities
goals that have been completed
we
complete each step of our goals ,______.
will win final
success
are
overwhelmed
should build up confidence of success
should strong desire for
setting new goals
our
goals are drawn up,_______.
should stick to them until
we complete them
may change our goals as we have new
ideas and opportunities
had better wait for the exciting news
of success
have made great decision
is implied but not stated in the
passage that ______.
who habe long-term goals will succeed
g down the
dates may discourage you
goal is only a guide for us to reach
our desination
should have a goal
答案：
adcbc
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The economy
of the United states after 1952 was the econnomy
of a well-fed,almost fully
employed
people. Despit occasional alarms, the country
escaped any postwar depression and
lived in a state of boom. A n economic
survey of the year 1955, a typical year of the
1950’s,
may be typical as illustrating
the rapid economic growth of the decade. The
national output
was value at 10 percent
above that of 1954 (1955 output was estimated at
392 billion dollars).
The production of
manufacturers was about 40 percent more than it
had averaged in the
years immediately
following World War 2. The country’s
business
spent about 30billion
dollars for new factories and
machinery. National income available for spending
was almost a
third greater than it had
been it had been in 1950. Consumers spent about
256 billion dollars;
that is about 700
million dollars a day ,or about twenty-five
million dollars every hour , all
round
the clock. Sixty-five million people held jobs and
only a little more than two million
wanted jobs but could not find them .
Only agriculture complained that it was not
sharing in
the room. To some observers
this was an ominous echo of the
mid-
1920’s . As farmer’s shre
of their products declined , marketing
costs rose. But there were , among the observers
of the
national economy, a few who were
not as confident as the majority . Those few
seemed to
fear that the boom could not
last and would eventually lead to the oppsite-
depression.
1.
What is the best title of the passage?
a. The Agriculatural Trends
of 1950
’
s b. The
Unemployment Rate of 1950
’
s
c. U.S. Economy
in the 50
’
s d. The Federal
Budget of 1952
2. In Line 3, the word
“
boom
”
could best be replaced by______.
a. nearby
explosion b. thunderous noise
c. general public support
d. rapid economic growth
3. It can be inferred the national from
the passage that most people in the United States
in 1955 viewed the national economy
with an air of _________.
a. confidence b. confusion c.
disappointment d. suspicion
4. Which of the following
were LEAST satisfied with the national economy in
the 1950
’
s?
a. Economists b. Frmaers c.
Politicians d. Steelworkers
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