考研英語閱讀理解命題思路透析和真題揭秘(37)

　　2008年Text 3

　　In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) listed at over seven feet. If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42. The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years, and managers have been more than willing to adjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger, longer frames.

　　The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing. Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago, today's people- especially those born to families who have lived in the U.S. for many generations- apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s. And they aren't likely to get any taller. "In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, we've pretty much gone as far as we can go," says anthropologist William Cameron Chumlea of Wright State University. In the case of NBA players, their increase in height appears to result from the increasingly common practice of recruiting players from all over the world.

　　Growth, which rarely continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrients - notably, protein - to feed expanding tissues. At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition and childhood infections got in the way. But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years, a pattern known as the secular trend in height. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average height- 5′9〞 for men, 5′4〞for women- hasn't really changed since 1960.

　　Genetically speaking, there are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During childbirth, larger babies have more difficulty passing through the birth canal. Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed by oversize limbs. "There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic architecture of the individual organism," says anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern University.

　　Genetic maximums can change, but don't expect this to happen soon. Claire C. Gordon, senior anthropologist at the Army Research Center in Natick, Mass., ensures that 90 percent of the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration. She says that, unlike those for basketball, the length of military uniforms has not changed for some time. And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment, Gordon says that by and large, "you could use today's data and feel fairly confident."

　　31. Wilt Chamberlain is cited as an example to

　　[A] illustrate the change of height of NBA players.

　　[B] show the popularity of NBA players in the U.S..

　　[C] compare different generations of NBA players.

　　[D] assess the achievements of famous NBA players.

　　[答案] A

　　[解題思路]

　　文章第一段主要談論了美國NBA運動員的身高在變高的趨勢，該段最后一句話指出"The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years, and managers have been more than willing to adjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger, longer frames"(近幾年那些身體狀況起到主要作用的職業(yè)運動都經(jīng)歷了巨大的變化，這些運動的經(jīng)理人們都非常樂意重新裁制隊服以適應球員們更高、更大的身材)，顯然正確答案為A。B和D選項與該段內容無關，而C選項的表述目的正是為了說明A，因此C選項也可以排除。

　　[題目譯文]

　　Wilt Chamberlain的例子用來

　　[A] 說明NBA球員的身高變化

　　[B] 說明NBA球員在美國很受歡迎

　　[C] 比較不同年代的NBA球員

　　[D] 評估著名NBA球員的成就

　　32. Which of the following plays a key role in body growth according to the text?

　　[A] Genetic modification.

　　[B] Natural environment.

　　[C] Living standards.

　　[D] Daily exercise.

　　[答案] C

　　[解題思路]

　　本題對應于文章第三段，該段第二、三句話指出"At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition and childhood infections got in the way. But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years, a pattern known as the secular trend in height"(在20世紀初的時候，營養(yǎng)不良和兒童疾病影響了人們身體的長高。但是隨著飲食和健康狀況的改進，兒童和青少年比20年前平均長高了約一個半英寸，這就是眾所周知的身高世俗趨勢)，可見最重要的因素還是生活水平，因此正確答案為C。B和D選項在原文中沒有提及，A選項與文章最后一段的第一句話"Genetic maximums can change, but don't expect this to happen soon"(基因的最大值可以改變，但是不要期望它們會很快地改變)意思相反，也可以排除。

　　[題目譯文]

　　根據(jù)文章，下面哪一項是身體長高的關鍵因素?

　　[A] 基因改變

　　[B] 自然環(huán)境

　　[C] 生活水平

　　[D] 日常鍛煉

　　33. On which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?

　　[A] Non-Americans add to the average height of the nation.

　　[B] Human height is conditioned by the upright posture.

　　[C] Americans are the tallest on average in the world.

　　[D] Larger babies tend to become taller in adulthood.

　　[答案] B

　　[解題思路]

　　本題可以采取排除法。A選項的內容在原文中沒有涉及，文章第二段只是談到移民家庭的身高達到了極限，因此A選項可以首先排除。C選項也是明顯錯誤的，因為文章只是關注美國人的身高問題，沒有將其與全世界作比較。D選項關于"large babies"在文章第四段中有所涉及，但是文章只是談到個子大的孩子通過產道順利出生的困難更大，至于成人以后的情況文章并沒有提到。而B選項對應于文章第四段的第三句話"Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed by oversize limbs"(此外，盡管人類直立行走已達百萬年之久，我們的腳和背總是很費勁地保持兩足姿勢、而且很難抵擋過大的身材帶來的巨大壓力)。因此B為正確選項。

　　[題目譯文]

　　作者會同意下面哪一項說法的觀點?

　　[A] 非美國人的加入使得該國人口的平均身高變高

　　[B] 人類身高受到直立姿勢的影響

　　[C] 美國人的平均身高在世界上是最高的

　　[D] 個子大的嬰兒往往成人后也比其他人更高