2008年6月大學英語六級考試真題詳解（A

卷）

PartIWriting

范文：

WillE-booksReplaceTraditionalBooks?

Recentdecadeshaveseentherapiddevelopmentofinformationtechnology.Asaresult,

manyelectricinventions,includingE-books,havefoundtheirwayintooureverydaylifeand

havegainedincreasingpopularityamongcommonpeople.

It'snowonderthatsomepeopleholdtheideathatE-bookswillreplacetraditionalbooks

soonerorlaterbecauseE-bookshavevariousadvantagesoverthetraditionalones.Tostartwith,

alltheE-bookscanbedownloadedfromtheinternetdirectly,mostofwhicharefreeofcharge,

whilethetraditionalbooksinbookstoresaremuchmoreexpensive.Whafsmore,E-bookscanbe

storedmoreeasilyinourcomputersandaremoreconvenientforpeopletocarryaround.Lastbut

nottheleast,readingE-bookshasbecomeafashioninourlife,whichisparticularlyappealingto

ouryoungpeople.

AsfarasIamconcerned,nowadaystraditionalbooksarestilltheleadingmeansofreading.

(ll)However,withthefurtherdevelopmentofinformationtechnologyandwiththepopularityof

computerandinternet,E-bookswillsurelytaketheplaceoftraditionalbooksinthenearfuture.

PartIIReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)

l.D)o2.B)o3.A)o4.C)o

5.C)o6.A)。7.D)o8.artificialintelligence

9.weapons10.religion

PartHIListeningComprehension

SectionA

11.M:Goodnews!Iamnotgoingtohavesurgeryafterall.ThedoctorsaysIcanstartworking

outagainsoonandmaybeplayfootballlikebeforeinafewweeks.

W:That'stenific.ItwillbegreatifyoucouldgetbackinshapeintimefortheWorld'sCup.

Q:Whatdowelearnfromtheconversation?

A)o

12.M:Ireallyneedtomakesomeextramoney.Youknow,I'vepracticallyspentmyentirebudget

forthissemester.

W:WhynotcheckoutthenewcafeteriaatMarketStreet?Ithinktherearestillafewopening

suitableforseniorslikeyou.

W:Whatdoesthewomansuggestthemando?

D)o

13.M:IhearJohnlefthiscatinyourcarewhilehe'sonvacationabroad.Howareyougetting

alongwithit?

W:Well,itnevercomeswhenIcallit.Itspillsitsfoodandshedsallovertheplace.Ican't

waittillJohngetsback.

Q:Howdoesthewomanfindthecat?

C)o

14.W:Hello,ProfessorWhite,Igotmygradeinthemailthismorning,butIthinktheremightbe

amistakeinmymark.

M:Yeah,I'vegotseveralcalls,justlikeyours,theremustbeaproblemwithChecomputing

system.Itshouldbestraightenedoulinacoupleofhours.

Q:Whatdoesthemanmean?

A)o

15.M:ProfessorJohnson,lastnightwhenIwasputtingthefinishingtouchesonmypaper,a

computerfailurecompletelywipedoutmyfiles.DoyouthinkIcouldhaveanotherdayla

retypeit?

W:I'msorryRod.I'mleavingforaconferencetomorrowandrilbeawaytwoweeks.I

supposeyoucouldsendmeane-copy.

Q:Whydoesthemansayhecan'tsubmithisassignmentontime?

B)o

16.W:Ijustcalledthetravelagency.Ifsallset.OnJune1st,weareheadingforthemountains,

andwe'llbecampingthereforawholeweek.

M:Haveyoucheckedtheacademiccalendar?Myclassesaren'toveruntilthe8th.

Q:Whatdoesthemanimply?

A)o

17.W:Ithoughttherewerestilltimeformetoapplyforastudentloan,butsomeonejusttoldme

thattheclosingdatewaslastTuesday.

M:Areyousure?Ithoughtwestillhadanothermonth.Wait.Igotabrochurerighthere.Last

Tuesdaywastheopeningdate.

Q:Whatdoesthemanimply?

D)o

18.W:Lookatallthepollutantsgoingintotheairfromthosefactories.Doyouthinkthey'llever

getthatundercontrol?

M:Nowwiththenewlawsineffec[aedsocialawarenessincreasing,wearesuretoturnthings

around.

Q:Whatdoesthemanmean?

C)o

ConversationOne

W:Tellme,Peter,whatmakesHarolcfssofamous?

M:Well,it'sthebiggestdepartmentstoreintheUK,anditsfoodhallandEgyptianhallarevery

famous.PeoplecometoHarold'sjusttoseethem.

W:(19)Whatisspecialaboutthefoodhall?

M:(19)Itsellsmanydifferentkindsoffood.Forexample,ithastwohundredandfiftykindsof

cheesefromallovertheworld,andmorethan180kindsofbread.Customersalsoloveallthe

differentkindsofchocolate.Theybuyahundredtonseveryyear.

W:That'samazing,and(20)whyistheEgyptianhallsofamous?

M:Well,(20)whenpeopleseeittheyfeelthey'reinanotherworld.ItlookslikeanEgyptian

buildingfrom4000yearsago,anditsellsbeautifulobjects.Theyarenot4000yearsold,ofcourse.

W:(21)IsittruethatHarold'sproducesitsoweelectricity?

M:(21)Yes,ildoes.70%,enoughforasmalltown.Tolighttheoutsideofthebuildingweuse

11,500lightbulbs.

W:Really,tellme,(22)howmanycustomersdoyouhaveocanaverageday?Andhowmuchdo

theyspend?

M:(22)About30,000peoplecomeonanaverageday.Butduringthesales,thenumberincreases

to300,000customersaday.Howmuchdotheyspend?Well,onaverage,customersspendabout

1.5millionpoundsaday.Therecordforonedayis9millionpounds.

W:9millionpoundsinoneday?

M:Yes,onthefirstdayoftheJanuarysales.

W:Harold'ssaysitsellseverythingtoeverybodyeverywhere,isthatreallytrue?

M:Oh,yes,ofcourse.Absolutelyeverything.

19.WhatisthefoodhallofHarold'snotedfor?

B)o

20.WhatdoestheEgyptianhallseemliketothecustomers?

A)o

21.WhatmaycustomersfindsurprisingaboutHarold's?

D)o

22.AbouthowmanycustomerscometoHarold'sonanaverageday?

B)o

ConversationTwo

W:Hi,Kevin.

M:HI,Lora,longtimenosee.Whathaveyoubeenuptolately?

W:NotmuchIcanassureyou.Andyou?

M:MuchthesameexceptIdohavesomebignews.

W:Comeon,thesuspenseiskillingme.

M:Notreally,whathaveyoubeendoingthesepastfewweeks?(23)ThelasttimeIsawyou,you

werelookingforanewjob.

W:Well,(23)that'snotexactlytrue.Iwasthinkingaboutchangingjobs.Luckily,theyofferedme

anewpositionintheaccountingdepartment.

M:Astepupinthebigbusinessworld.

W:Iwouldn'texaggerate,butTmpleased.(24)1hadbeenhopingtogetpromotionforawhile,so

whenitfinallycamethroughIwasrelieved.Actually,that'swhyIwaslookingforanewjob.I

justdidn'twanttoworkthereanymoreiftheyweren'tgoingtorecognizemyefforts.

M:Right,sometimesyoucandoyourbestanditseemsliketheothersdon'tknowyouexist.I

hopethemoneyisbetter.

W:Igotareasonableraise.Now,enoughaboutme.I'mdyingtohearyournews.

M:(25)I'mgettingmarried.

W:(25)No,yousaidyou'dnevergetmarried.

M:Thatwasthen,andthisisnow.You'vegottomeetAndrea.Sheisgreat.

W:Thisisallnewstome.Ididn'tevenknowyouweredating.

M:Weweren't.We\ejustbeendatingfortwoweeksnow.

W:Andyouaregettingmarried?

M:Iknow.Ican'thelpit.Ijustknowsheistheone.

W:Well,congratulations.That'sfantastic.

M:Thanks,I'mgladtohearyoufeelthatway.

23.Whatwasthewomandoingwhenthemanlastsawher?

C)o

24.Whydoesthewomansayshewasrelieved?

A)。

25.Whyisthewomansurprisedattheman'snews?

B)o

SectionB

PassageOne

Waterscootersarewatervehiclesthatlookverymuchlikemotorcycles.(26)Nowadays

speedycolorfulwaterscoolersaregaininginpopularity.Theycantravelanywhereasmallboat

canandaretypicallypopularwithyoungpeople.Therisingpopularityofthecrafthasraiseda

questionofwaterscooterregulation.Inthiscase,theargumentforstrictregulationiscompelling.

(26)Waterscootersareaparticularlydeadlyformofwaterrecreation.Forexample,twowomen

werevacationinginLongboatKey.Whiletheywerefloatingonarubberboatalongtheshore,a

waterscootercrashedintothemandkilledthem.Also,waterscooteroperatorshavebeenkilled

andseriouslyinjuredincollisionswithotherwatercraft.Othershavebeenstrandedatseawhen

theirscooterseitherfailedorsankfarfromshore.(27)Manywaterscooteroperatorsaae

inexperiencedandignorantofnavigationalrules,whichincreasesthepotentialforaccidents.The

increasingpopularityofthescooterhasaggravatedtheproblem,providingmorewatervehiclesto

competeforthesamespace.Crowdedwaterwaysaresimplyanopeninvitationtodisaster.In

additiontotheinherentoperationalhazardsofwaterscooters,(28)theyarnprovingtobea。

environmentalnuisance.Beachresidentscomplainofthenoiseofthescooters.ThePacificWhale

Foundationonthewestcoastexpressedtheconcernthat(28)thescootersanefrighteningawayan

endangeredspeciesofwhalethatmigratestoHawaiiforbreeding.(29)Regulations,suchas

minimumoperatingage,restrictedoperatingareas,andcompulsoryclassesinwatersafety,are

essential.Withoutsuchregulations,tragediesinvolvingwaterscootersaresuretomultiply,which

makesmanybeachesunsafeforrecreation.

26.Whatdoesthespeakersayaboutwaterscooters?

D)o

27.Whatismentionedasoneofthecausesofwateraccidents?

A)o

28.Inwhatwayarewaterscooterssaidtobeanenvironmentalnuisance?

B)o

29.Whatdoesthespeakerproposetoensurethesafetyofbeachesforrecreation?

D)o

PassageTwo

ItseemstomethatneighborsaregoingoutofstyleinAmerica.Thefriendnextdoorfrom

whomyouborrowedfoureggsoraladderhasmovedandthepeopleintherenowarestrangers.

Someofthetraditionalstoriesofneighborlinessareimpracticalorsilly,anditmaybejustaswell

that(30)ourrelationswithourneighborsarechanging.ThesayingintheBible“LoveThy

Neighbor"wasprobablyapoortranslationofwhatmusthaveoriginallybeen"RespectThy

Neighbor."Lovecan,tbecalleduponorder.(31)FewerthanhalfthepeopleintheUnitedStates

liveinthesamehousetheylivedinfiveyearsago,sothere'snoreasontolovethepeoplewholive

nexldoortoyouiustbecausetheyhappenedtowanderintoarealestateofficethatlistedtheplace

nextdoortoyours.Theonlythingneighborshaveincommon,tobeginwith,isproximity,and

unlesssomethingmoredevelops,thatisn'treasonenoughtobebestfriends.Itsometimeshappens

naturally,butthechancesareverysmallthatyourneighborswillbeyouchoiceasfriends.Orthat

youwillbetheirs,either.

(32)Thebestrelationshipwithneighborsison。offriendlydistance.Yousayhello,you

small-talkifyouseethemintheyard,youdiscussproblemsastheyariseandyouhelpeachother

inanemergency.Thedrivewayorthefencebetweenyouisnotreallyacoldshoulder,butaclear

boundary.Wealllikeclearly-definedboundariesforourselves.

30.Whatdoesthespeakersayabouttherelationsamongneighborsnowadays?

D)o

31.Whydoesthespeakersayitmaybedifficultforpeopletolovetheirneighbors?

B)o

32.Whatshouldneighborsdointhespeaker'sopinion?

C)o

PassageThree

Articlesinmagazinesandnewspapersandspecialreportsonradioandtelevisionreflectthe

concernofmanyAmericansabouttheincreasingdropoutrateinourjuniorandseniorhigh

schools.(33)Coupledwiththisfactisthewarningthatsoonwewillnolongerhaveworkforce\o

fillthemanyjobsthatrequireproperly?educatedpersonnel.Thehigheststudentdropoutrateisnot

arecentdevelopment.Tenyearsago,manyurbanschoolswerereportingdropoutratesbetween35

and50percent.Someadministratorsmaintainthatdropoutsremainthesinglegreatestproblemin

theirschools.Consequently,muchefforthasbeenspentonidentifyingstudentswithproblemsin

ordertogivethemmoreattentionbeforetheybecomefailures.(34)Sincethedropoutproblem

doesn'tstartinseniorhighschool,specialprogramsinjuniorhighschoolfocusonstudentswho

showpromisebuthavearecordoftruancy,thatis,stayingawayfromschoolwithoutpermission.

Undertheguidanceofcounselors,thesestudentsareplacedinclasseswithteacherswhohavehad

successinworkingwithsimilaryoungpeople.(35)Strategiestomotivatestudentsinhighschool

includerewardingacademicexcellencebydesignatingscholarsofthemonth,orbyissuingarticles

ofclothing,suchasschoolletterjacketsformallygivenonlytoathletes.Nooneworkingwith

thesestudentsclaimstoknowhowtokeepallstudentsinschool.Counselors,teachers,and

administratorsareinthefrontlinesofwhatseemsattimestobealosingbattle.Actually,this

problemshouldbeeveryone'sconcern,sinceuneducated,unemployedcitizensaffectusall.

33.WhyaremanyAmericansconcernedwiththeincreasingdropoutrateinschool?

D）o

34.WhatdowelearnaboutthestudentdropoutprobleminAmerica?

B）o

35.Whatismentionedasoneofthestrategiesusedtomotivatestudents?

C）o

SectionC

36.survive37.complicated38.offenders

39.whereby40.incurring41.influence

42.serving43.restore

44.Thealternativetocapitalpunishmentislongersentences,buttheywouldcertainlycostthetax

payers'muchmoney.

45.thatdoesnotmeanthatthepersonisn'tguiltyofthecrime,orthatheshouldn'tpaysocietythe

debtheowes.

46.alargepartofitinprisonforactsthathecommittedwhilenotinfullcontrolofhismind.

PartIVReadingComprehension（ReadinginDepth）

SectionA

47.causingareaction48.anemotionaldebate

49.Theapprovalofeveryvictim'sfamily50.exploitinganationaltragedy

51.raiseawareness

SectionB

PassageOne

52.B）。［精解］語義題。本題提問美國人感到屈辱的原因。第三段第1句指出，弱勢美元

是屈辱之源，因為貨幣是否堅挺在一定程度上體現了一個民族的自尊。由此可以得出，美國

人感到屈辱是因為他們的貨幣——美元——持續走弱。

53.C）。［精解］語義題。原文中很明顯地提到了美元的走弱造成的影響：進口物品的價格

上漲，對利率的壓力也不斷增大?對普通民眾影響較大的是前者，也就意味著民眾在購買進

口食品時需要花費更多資金，選項C）是對原文的同義轉述。

54.D）。［精解］推斷題。墨西哥一直是美國人比較喜愛的旅游目的地，文章中指出，現在

的許多歐洲人眼中的美國顯然就像美國人心中的墨西哥一樣，這說明歐洲人認為美國是他們

的比較理想的旅游目的地，所以選項D）正確。

55.C）。［精解］推斷題。面對美元貶值給美國人帶來的民族自尊上的困擾，文章末尾給美

國人提出建議：如果想避免傷痛，最好取消去英國的旅行，轉而前往新英格蘭旅行，換句話

說，就是取消去國外的旅行，轉而在國內進行旅行。

56.A）。［精解］語義題。本題主要考查對短語onadime的理解，其意思為“短時間內，立

即”，全句的意思是“美元不會在短期內發生轉變”，也就是說，美元現在的這種持續走弱的

形勢不會在短期內發生轉變，不會立即走強，選項A）是對這一句的意思的正確解析。

PassageTwo

57.D）。［精解］推斷題。題干中的內容與原文首句幾乎無異。但是題干由why提問，考察原

因，從第一段的信息詞ourfirstchoice,aprizedemonstratinghowwellweraisedthem等，可

以看出孩子要上我們首選的大學，并且大學情況如何將表明我們對孩子的教育的優劣。處處

體現出家長的攀比心理。最后三句表明家長雖然不承認他們比孩子在上大學問題上更癡迷更

在意，但是他們卻承認在此基礎上所設計的種種理由都是不真實,有偏見和虛幻不切實際的。

最后一句更能體現作者的態度，對于他的孩子Aaron和Nicole而言，是否能上斯坦福大學

并不重要。由此可見，更在乎的是父母而不是孩子，即D）所述內容。

58.A）。［精解］推斷題。本題還是對原文的一種現象提問原因，原文并未直接提及，但是我

們可以從字里行間看出答案。第二段第一句說家長還是存在?種名牌大學的恐慌，即擔心孩

子無法進入名牌大學。由此萌生讓學生多申請的想法。第三句緊接著提出名校畢業生的種種

優勢，如能夠接受更好的教育，更有可能成功等等。由此推斷，家長們讓孩子向更多的大學

提出申請是為了保障孩子有更多的機會邁入名校門檻的。

59.0o［精解］語義題。題干中的count意為“很重要”，同C）中的areimportant是同義義

述。兩句中都用了比較級。題干中的kids指孩子本身，除學習以外的各種技能能力，同義

與C）中的kid'sactualabilities。賓語theircolleges也和C）中的collegebackgrounds屬同，'

范疇。

60.B）。［精解］細節題。第四段的最后兩句話介紹了普林斯頓經濟學家AlanKrueger的研究

結果：能夠有機會被這個頂端博士項目錄取的是能夠在GRE考試中有優異成績的，而不是

擁有名牌大學學位的人，進一步的來證明前面提出的觀點，上大學不是人生的唯一競爭，能

上名牌大學并不一定就代表在以后的人生路上就處處優越于別人。

61.C）?［精解］細節題。文章最后段提到我們把上名校和孩子的未來之間的利害關系過于

夸大，我們的這種行為to。muchpushiness會是毀滅性的。其結果是名校畢業生會在未來的

工作中有更多的不滿。

PartVCloze

62.A)o63.D)o64.A)o65.D)o

66.A)o67.C)o68.B)o69.A)o

70.C)o71.D)o72.D)o73.B)o

74.D)o75.A)o76.B)o77.D)o

78.C)o79.C)o80.A)o81.B)o

PartVITranslation

82.whodevote/dedicatetheirwholelivestopoems

［考點］①定語從句：先行詞為those,實際上指后面的they,所以連接詞使用who；②“致力

于"用devote/dedicate…to…表達。

83.or/otherwiseshewouldhavereplied/madeareplytomelastweek

［考點］①“早就該”的表達方式；②“否則”可以用or或者otherwise來表示。

84.havefinishedher/thechemicalexperiment

［考點］①完成時態；②chemicalexperiment表示"化學實驗”。

85.hastheoldcouplequarreledwitheachother

［考點］①倒裝結構：否定詞never置于句首，句子需要采用倒裝形式；②現在完成時態：從

句是since引導的過去時的句子，所以主句需要采用現在完成時態。

86.Thefutureprosperityofanationdependslargelyon/Toagreatextent,thefutureprosperityof

anationrelieson

［考點］①“在很大程度上”可以用toagreatextent或largely表示；②“有賴于”可以用depend

on或relyon表示；③"繁榮"的對應詞為prosperity。

2008年12月六級真題（A卷）

PartIwriting（30minutes）

注意：此部分試題在答題卡1上

PartIIReadingComprehension（Skimmingandscanning）（15minutes）

Supersizesuiprise

Askanyonewhythereisanobesityepidemicandtheywilltellyouthatit'saldowntoeatingtoo

muchandburningtoofewcalories.Thatexplanationappealstocommonsenseandhasdominated

effortstogettotherootoftheobesityepidemicandreverseit/yetobesityresearchersare

increasinglydissatisfiedwithit.Manynowbelievethatsomethingelsemusthavechangedinour

environmenttoprecipitate（促成）suchdramaticrisesinobesityoverthepast40yearsorso.

Nobodyissayingthatthe“bigtwo”—reducedphysicalactivityandincreasedavailabilityoffood

-arenotimportantcontributorstotheepidemic,buttheycannotexplainitall.

Earlierthisyearareviewpaperby20obesityexpertssetoutthe7mostplausiblealternative

explanationsfortheepidemic.Heretheyare.

1.Notenoughsleep

Itiswidelybelievedthatsleepisforthebrain,notthebody.Couldashortageofshut-eyealsobe

helpingtomakeusfat?

Severallarge-scalestudiessuggesttheremaybealink.Peoplewhosleeplessthan7hoursanight

tendtohaveahigherbodymassindexthanpeoplewhosleepmore,accordingtodatagatheredby

theUSNationalHealthandNutritionExaminationSurvey.Similarly,theUSNurses'HealthStudy,

whichtracked68,000womenfor16years,foundthatthosewhosleptanaverageof5hoursa

nightgainedmoreweightduringthestudyperiodthanwomenwhoslept6hours,whointurn

gainedmorethanwhosewhoslept7.

It'swellknownthatobesityimpairssleep,soperhapspeoplegetfatfirstandsleeplessafterwards.

Butthenurses'studysuggeststhatitcanworkintheotherdirectiontoo:sleeplossmayprecipitate

weightgain.

Althoughgettingfiguresisdifficult,itappearsthatwereallyaresleepingless.In1960peoplein

theUSsleptanaverageof8.5hourspernight.A2002pollbytheNationalSleepFoundation

suggeststhattheaveragehasfallentounder7hours,andthedeclineismirroredbytheincreasein

obesity.

2.Climatecontrol

Wehumans,likeallwarm-bloodedanimals,cankeepourcorebodytemperaturesprettymuch

constantregardlessofwhat'sgoingonintheworldaroundus.Wedothisbyalteringour

metabolic（新陳代新的）rate,shiveringorsweating.Keepingwarmandstayingcooltakeenergy

unlessweareinthe“thermo-neutralzone"，whichisincreasinglywherewechoosetoliveand

work.

Thereisnodenyingthatambienttemperatures（環境溫度）havechangedinthepastfewdecades.

Between1970and2000,theaverageBritishhomewarmedfromachilly13Cto18C.IntheUS,

thechangeshavebeenattheotherendofthethermometerastheproportionofhomeswithair

conditioningsrosefrom23%to47%between1978and1997.Inthesouthernstates-where

obesityratestendtobehighest-thenumberofhouseswithairconditioninghasshotupto71%

from37%in1978.

Couldairconditioninginsummerandheatinginwinterreallymakeadifferencetoourweight?

Sadly,thereissomeevidencethatitdoes-atleastwithregardtoheating.Studiesshowthatin

comfortabletemperaturesweuselessenergy.

3.Lesssmoking

Badnews:smokersreallydotendtobethinnerthantherestofus,andquittingreallydoespack

onthepounds,thoughnooneisnsurewhy.Itprobablyhassomethingtodowiththefactthat

nicotineisanappetitesuppressantandappearstoupyourmetabolicrate.

KatherineFlegalandcolleagresattheUSNationalCenterforHealthStatisticsin

Hyattsville,Maryland,havecalculatedthatpeoplekickingthehabithavebeenrespousiblefora

smallbutsignificantportionoftheUSepidemicoffatness.Fromdatacollectedaroud1991bythe

USNationalHealthandNutritionExaminationSurvey,theyworkedoutthatpeoplewhohadquit

inthepreviousdecadeweremuchmorelikelytobeoverweightthansmokersandpeoplewhohad

neversmoked.Amongmen,forexample,nearlyhalfofquitterswereoverweightcomparedwith

37%ofnon-smokersandonly28%ofsmokers.

4.Geneticeffects

Yourschancesofbecomingfatmaybeset,atleastinpart,beforeyouwereevenbom.childrenof

boesemothersaremuchmorelikelytobecomeobestthemselveslaterinlife.Offspringofmicefed

ahigh-fatdietduringpregnancyaremuchmorelikelytobecomefatthantheoffspringofidentical

micefedanormaldiet.Intriguingly,theeffectpersistsfortwoorthreegenerations.Grand-children

ofmicefedahigh-fatdietgrowupfateveniftheirownmotherisfednormally-soyoufatemay

havebeensealedevenbeforeyouwereconceived.

5.Alittleolder...

Somegroupsofpeoplejusthappentobefatterthanothers.surveyscarriedoutbytheUS

nationalcenterforhealthstatisticsfoundthatadultsaged40to79werearoundthreetimesas

likelytobeobeseasyoungerpeople.non-whitefemalesalsotendtofallatthefatterendofthe

spectreum:Mexican-americanwomenare30%morelikelythanwhitewomentobeobsess,and

blackwomenhavetwicetherisk.

IntheUS,thesegroupsaccountforanincreasingpercentageofthepopulation.between1970

and2000theUSpopulationaged35to44grewby43%.theproportionofHispanic-americansalso

grew,fromunder5%to12.5%ofthepopulation,whiletheproportionofblackAmericans

increasedfrom11%to12.3%.thesechangesmayaccountinpartfortheincreasedprevalenceof

obesity.

6.maturemums

Mothersaroundtheworldaregettingolder.intheUK,themeanageforavingafristchildis

27.3,comparedwith23.7in1970.meanageatfristbirthintheUShasalsoincreased,risingfrom

21.4in1970to24.9in2000.

Thiswouldbeneitherherenorthereifitwere*fortheobservationthathavinganolder

motherseemstobeanindependentriskfactorforobesity.ResultsfromtheUSnationalheart,lung

andbloodinstitute'sstudyfoundthattheoddsofachildbeingobeseincrease14%foreveryfive

extrayearsoftheirmother'sage,thoughwhythisshouldbesoisnotentirelyclear.

MichaelSymondsattheuniversityofNottingham,UK,foundthatfirst-bronchildrenhave

morefatthanyoungerones.Asfamilysizedecreases,firstbronsaccountforagreathershareofthe

population.In1964,britishwomengavebirthtoanaverageof2.95children;by2005thatfigure

hadfallento1.79.intheUSin1976,9.6%ofwomanintheir40shadonlyonechile;in2004it

was17.4%.thiscombinationofoldermothersandmoresinglechildrencouldbecontributingto

theobesityepidemic.

7.Likemarryinglike

Justaspeoplepairoffaccordingtolooks,sotheydoforsize.Leanpeoplearemorelikelyto

marryleanandfatmorelikelytomarryfat.Onitsown,likemarryinglikecannotaccountforany

increaseinobesity.Butcombinedwithothers-particularlythefactthatobesityispartlygenetic,

andthatheavierpeoplehavemorechildren-itamplifiestheincreaseformothercauses.

1.Whatisthepassagemainlyabout?

A)effectsofobesityonpeople'shealth

B)thelinkbetweenlifestyleanobesity

C)Newexplanationsfortheobesityepidemic

D)possiblewaystocombattheobesityepidemic

2.IntheUSNurse'HealthStudy,womenwhosleptanaverageof7houranight

A)gainedtheleastweight

B)wereinclinedtoeatless

C)foundtheirvigorenhanced

D)werelesssusceptibletoillness

3.Thepopularbeliefaboutobesityisthat

A)itmakesussleepy

B)itcausessleeploss

C)itincreasesourappetite

D)itresultsfromlackofsleep

4.Howdoesindoorheatingaffectourlife?

A)itmakesusstayindoorsmore

B)itacceleratesourmetabolicrate

C)itmakesusfeelmoreenergetic

D)itcontributestoourweightgain

5.Whatdoestheauthorsayabouttheeffectofnicotineonsmokers?

A)itthreatenstheirhealth

B)itheightenstheirspirits

C)itsuppressestheirappetite

D)itslowsdowntheirmetabolism

6.WhoaremostlikelytobeoverweightaccordingtoKatherineFlegafsstudy?

A)heavysmokers

B)passivesmokers

C)thosewhoneversmoke

D)thosewhoquitsmoking

7.AccordingtotheUSNationalCenterforHealthStatistics,theincreasingobesityintheUSis

aresultof

A)thegrowingnumberofsmokersamongyoungpeople

B)therisingproportionofminoritiesinitspopulation

C)theincreasingconsumptionofhigh-caloriefoods

D)theimprovinglivingstandardsofthepoorpeople

8.accordingtotheUSNationalHeart,LungandBloodInstitute,thereasonwhyoldermothers'

childrentendtobeobeseremainsnotentirelyclear

9.AccordingtoMichaelSymonds,onefactorcontributingtotheobesityepidemicisdecreaseof

familysize

10whentwoheavypeoplegetmarried,chancesoftheirchildrengettingfatincrease,because

obesityispartygenetiz

PartIII

SectionA

11.A)Heisquiteeasytorecognize

B)heisanoutstandingspeaker

C)helookslikeamoviestar

D)helooksyoungforhisage

12.A)consultherdancingteacher

B)takeamoreinterestingclass

C)continueherdancingclass

D)improveherdancingskills

13.A)themandidnotbelievewhatthewomansaid

B)themanaccompaniedthewomantothehospital

C)thewomanmaybesufferingfromrepetitivestraininjury

D)thewomanmaynotfollowedthedoctor'sinstructions

14.A)theyarenotinstyleanymore

B)theyhavecosthimfartoomuch

C)theynolongersuithiseyesight

D)theyshouldbecleanedregularly

15.A)hespilledhisdrinkontothefloor

B)hehasjustfinishedw