2016年12月大学英语六级模拟题及答案(三)

　　Passage 4

　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

　　Children are getting so fat they may be the first generation to die before their parents, an expert claimed yesterday.

　　Today’s youngsters are already falling prey to potential killers such as diabetes because of their weight. Fatty fast-food diets combined with sedentary lifestyles dominated by televisions and computers could mean kids will die tragically　young, says Professor Andrew Prentice, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

　　At the same time, the shape of the human body is going through a huge evolutionary shift because adults are getting so fat. Here in Britain, latest research shows that the average waist size for a man is 36-38in and may be 42-44in by 2032.

　　This compares with only 32.6in in 1972. Women’s waists have grown from an average of 22in in 1920 to 24 ins in the Fifties and 30in now. One of the major reasons why children now are at greater risk is that we are getting fatter younger. In the UK alone, more than one million under-16s are classed as overweight or obese — double the number in the mid-Eighties. One in ten four-year-olds are also medically classified as obese. The obesity pandemic — an extensive epidemic — which started in the US, has now spread to Europe, Australia, Central America and the Middle East.

　　Many nations now record more than 20 per cent of their population as clinically　obese and well over half the population as overweight. Prof Prentice said the change in our shape has been caused by a glut of easily available high-energy foods combined with a dramatic drop in the energy we use as a result of technology developments.

　　He is not alone in his concern. Only last week one medical journal revealed how　obesity was fuelling a rise in cancer cases. Obesity also increases the risk factor for strokes and heart disease. An averagely obese person’s lifespan is shortened by around nine years while a severely obese person by many more.

　　Prof Prentice said: “So will parents outlive their children, as claimed recently by an American obesity specialist?” The answer is yes — and no. Yes, when the　offspring become grossly obese. This is now becoming an alarmingly common occurrence in the US. Such children and adolescents have a greatly reduced quality of　life in terms of both their physical and psychosocial health. So say No to that　doughnut and burger.

　　36.What does the word “sedentary (Para. 2)” mean?

　　A) sit still. B) eat too much. C) study very hardh. D) passive thinking.

　　37.Which statement is TRUE?

　　A) The average waist size for a man is 36-38in.

　　B) The average waist size for a woman is 30in.

　　C) In the mid-Eighties, more than half million under-16s in the UK are　classed as overweight.

　　D) The obesity pandemic has now spread to South America.

　　38.According to Prof Prentice, what are the reasons for the change in our　shape?

　　A) We eat too much and refuse to do physical exercises.

　　B) High-energy foods are easy to get and technology develops fast.

　　C) High-energy foods are the main diet and we use technology.

　　D) High-energy foods are easy to get and we consume less energy.

　　39.Obesity increases the risk factor of ____.

　　A) diabetes, short sight, cancer, strokes

　　B) diabetes, cancer, strokes, psychosocial illness

　　C) cancer, strokes, fatty, heart disease

　　D) strokes, heart disease, diabetes, headache

　　40.What does the author mean by “So say No to that doughnut and burger”?

　　A) Answering the question “will parents outlive their children?”.

　　B) The doughnut and burger should be banned.

　　C) We should lead a healthy life.

　　D) We should begin dieting.