英语六级考试历年真题及答案

2008年6月大学英语六级考试真题详解（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］语义题。本题提问美国人感到屈辱的原因。第三段第1句指出，弱势美元

是屈辱之源，因为货币是否坚挺在一定程度上体现了一个民族的自尊。由此可以得出，美国

人感到屈辱是因为他们的货币——美元——持续走弱。

53.C）。［精解］语义题。原文中很明显地提到了美元的走弱造成的影响：进口物品的价格

上涨，对利率的压力也不断增大•对普通民众影响较大的是前者，也就意味着民众在购买进

口食品时需要花费更多资金，选项C）是对原文的同义转述。

54.D）。［精解］推断题。墨西哥一直是美国人比较喜爱的旅游目的地，文章中指出，现在

的许多欧洲人眼中的美国显然就像美国人心中的墨西哥一样，这说明欧洲人认为美国是他们

的比较理想的旅游目的地，所以选项D）正确。

55.C）。［精解］推断题。面对美元贬值给美国人带来的民族自尊上的困扰，文章末尾给美

国人提出建议：如果想避免伤痛，最好取消去英国的旅行，转而前往新英格兰旅行，换句话

说，就是取消去国外的旅行，转而在国内进行旅行。

56.A）。［精解］语义题。本题主要考查对短语onadime的理解，其意思为“短时间内，立

即”，全句的意思是“美元不会在短期内发生转变”，也就是说，美元现在的这种持续走弱的

形势不会在短期内发生转变，不会立即走强，选项A）是对这一句的意思的正确解析。

PassageTwo

57.D）。［精解］推断题。题干中的内容与原文首句几乎无异。但是题干由why提问，考察原

因，从第一段的信息词ourfirstchoice,aprizedemonstratinghowwellweraisedthem等，可

以看出孩子要上我们首选的大学，并且大学情况如何将表明我们对孩子的教育的优劣。处处

体现出家长的攀比心理。最后三句表明家长虽然不承认他们比孩子在上大学问题上更痴迷更

在意，但是他们却承认在此基础上所设计的种种理由都是不真实,有偏见和虚幻不切实际的。

最后一句更能体现作者的态度，对于他的孩子Aaron和Nicole而言，是否能上斯坦福大学

并不重要。由此可见，更在乎的是父母而不是孩子，即D）所述内容。

58.A）。［精解］推断题。本题还是对原文的一种现象提问原因，原文并未直接提及，但是我

们可以从字里行间看出答案。第二段第一句说家长还是存在•种名牌大学的恐慌，即担心孩

子无法进入名牌大学。由此萌生让学生多申请的想法。第三句紧接着提出名校毕业生的种种

优势，如能够接受更好的教育，更有可能成功等等。由此推断，家长们让孩子向更多的大学

提出申请是为了保障孩子有更多的机会迈入名校门槛的。

59.0o［精解］语义题。题干中的count意为“很重要”，同C）中的areimportant是同义义

述。两句中都用了比较级。题干中的kids指孩子本身，除学习以外的各种技能能力，同义

与C）中的kid'sactualabilities。宾语theircolleges也和C）中的collegebackgrounds属同，'

范畴。

60.B）。［精解］细节题。第四段的最后两句话介绍了普林斯顿经济学家AlanKrueger的研究

结果：能够有机会被这个顶端博士项目录取的是能够在GRE考试中有优异成绩的，而不是

拥有名牌大学学位的人，进一步的来证明前面提出的观点，上大学不是人生的唯一竞争，能

上名牌大学并不一定就代表在以后的人生路上就处处优越于别人。

61.C）»［精解］细节题。文章最后段提到我们把上名校和孩子的未来之间的利害关系过于

夸大，我们的这种行为to。muchpushiness会是毁灭性的。其结果是名校毕业生会在未来的

工作中有更多的不满。

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

［考点］①定语从句：先行词为those,实际上指后面的they,所以连接词使用who；②“致力

于"用devote/dedicate…to…表达。

83.or/otherwiseshewouldhavereplied/madeareplytomelastweek

［考点］①“早就该”的表达方式；②“否则”可以用or或者otherwise来表示。

84.havefinishedher/thechemicalexperiment

［考点］①完成时态；②chemicalexperiment表示"化学实验”。

85.hastheoldcouplequarreledwitheachother

［考点］①倒装结构：否定词never置于句首，句子需要采用倒装形式；②现在完成时态：从

句是since引导的过去时的句子，所以主句需要采用现在完成时态。

86.Thefutureprosperityofanationdependslargelyon/Toagreatextent,thefutureprosperityof

anationrelieson

［考点］①“在很大程度上”可以用toagreatextent或largely表示；②“有赖于”可以用depend

on或relyon表示；③"繁荣"的对应词为prosperity。

2008年12月六级真题（A卷）

PartIwriting（30minutes）

注意：此部分试题在答题卡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（新陈代新的）rate,shiveringorsweating.Keepingwarmandstayingcooltakeenergy

unlessweareinthe“thermo-neutralzone"，whichisincreasinglywherewechoosetoliveand

work.

Thereisnodenyingthatambienttemperatures（环境温度）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