职称英语综合类考试阅读理解原文练习(四)

　　Find Yourself Packing It On?Blame Friends

　　Obesity can spread from person to person，much like a virus，researchers are reporting today.When one person gains weight，close friends tend to gain weight，too.

　　Their study，published in The New England Journal of Medicine，involved a detailed analysis of a large social network of 12，067 people who had been closely followed for 32 years，from 1971 to 2003.

　　The investigators knew who was friends with whom as well as who was a spouse or sibling or neighbor，and they knew how much each person weighed at various times over three decades.1 That let them reconstruct2 what happened over the years as individuals became obese.Did their friends also become obese?Did family members?Or neighbors?

　　The answer，the researchers report，was that people were most likely to become obese when a friend became obese.That increased a persons chances of becoming obese by 57 percent. 3 There was no effect when a neighbor gained or lost weight4，however，and family members had less influence than friends.

　　It did not even matter if the friend was hundreds of miles away，the influence remained. 5And the greatest influence of all was between close mutual friends.There，if one became obese，the other had a 171 percent increased chance of becoming obese，too.

　　The same effect seemed tO occur for weight loss，the investigators say.But since most people were gaining，not losing，over the 32 years，the result was，on average，that people grew fatter.

　　Dr.Nicholas A.Christakis，a physician and professor of medical sociology at Harvard Medical School and a principal investigator in the new study，said one explanation was that friends affected each others perception of fatness6.When a close friend becomes obese，obesity may not look so bad.

　　You change your idea of what is an acceptable body type by looking at the people around you，Dr.Christakis said.

　　The investigators say their findings can help explain why Americans have become fatter in recent yearseach person who became obese was likely to drag along some friends. 7

　　Their analysis was unique，Dr.Christakis said，because it moved beyond a simple analysis of one person and his or her social contacts and instead examined an entire social network at once，looking at how a persons friends friends，or a spouses siblings friends，could have an influence on a persons weight.

　　The effects，he said，highlight the importance of a spreading process，a kind of social contagion8，that spreads through the network.

　　Of course，the investigators say，social networks are not the only factors that affect body weight.There is a strong genetic component at work，too.

　　Science has shown that individuals have genetically determined ranges of weights，spanning perhaps 30 or so pounds for each person.But that leaves a large role for the environment in determining whether a persons weight is near the top of his or her range or near the bottom.As people have gotten fatter，it appears that many are edging toward9 the top of their ranges.The question has been why.

　　If the new research is correct，it may say that something in the environment seeded what some call an obesity epidemic，making a few people gain weight.Then social networks let the obesity spread rapidly.

　　词汇：

　　obesity/Eu5bi:sItI/n.肥胖，肥大 virus/5vaIErEs/n.病毒

　　detailed/5di:teIld/adj.细的，逐条的investigator/In7vestI5^eItE/n.调查人

　　spouse/spauz/n.配偶 sibling/5sIblIN/n.兄弟，姐妹

　　influence/5InfluEns/n.影响 principal/ 5prInsIpl/adj.主要的，首要的

　　highlight/5haIlaIt/v.使显著，强调 epidemic/7epI5demIk/adj.流行的，传染的，流行性的

　　注释：

　　1.　The investigators knew...over three decades.：调查人员了解被调查人的朋友以及夫妻、兄弟姐妹或者邻居，并且了解他们三十年来各个时期的体重。as well as表示和、又。

　　2.　reconstruct：重建，推想。re是表示又，再之义的词根。

　　3.　That increased a persons chances of becoming obese by 57 percent.：这使得发胖的几率增加了57%。chance这里指机率、可能性。

　　4.　gained or lost weight：体重增加或减肥。

　　5.　It did not even matter if the friend was hundreds of miles away，the influence remained.：即使朋友远在千里之外，这种影响仍然存在。

　　6.　verception of fatness：对于肥胖的感知。

　　7.　The investigators say their findings can help explain why Americans have become fatter in recent yearseach person who became obese was likely to drag along some friends：调查人员声称他们的发现可以帮助解释近年来美国人变得越来越胖的原因：每个发胖的人都可能带动朋友一起变胖。

　　8.　contagion：传染，传染病。

　　9.　edge toward：向缓慢或逐渐地前进。

　　练习：

　　1. Who had the greatest influence on people who became obese?

　　A) Their friends.

　　B) Their neighbours.

　　C) Their family members.

　　D) Their colleagues.

　　2. Which of the following statement about a friends influence is false according to the report?

　　A) Friends had more influence than family members on people who became obese.

　　B) Even ifthe friend lives far away, the influence still remained.

　　C) People were not likely to lose weight when they have skinny friends.

　　D) The greatest influence of all was between close mutual friends.

　　3. According to Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, what is the explanation for friends being the

　　greatest influence?

　　A) Friends usually spend a lot of time together.

　　B) Friends share similar eating habits.

　　C) Friends are more important than family members.

　　D) Friends affected each others feelings of fatness.

　　4. Which factor of becoming obese is not mentioned in this report?

　　A) Social contact.

　　B) Genetic information.

　　C) Life style.

　　D) Environmental influences.

　　5. In what way is obesity contagious and epidemic?

　　A) Social networks let the obesity spread rapidly.

　　B) Individuals have genetically determined ranges of weights.

　　C) Obesity can easily spread from one to another without any physical contact.

　　D) Obesity can spread rapidly and extensively by infection and affecting many individuals in an area or a population at the same time.

　　答案与题解：

　　1.　A 本题的答案可以在文章的第四段中找到。第四段中提到研究者发现，当周围朋友发福时，人最容易发胖。而邻居则不会对人产生影响，甚至家庭成员的影响也不如朋友大。至于同事，文章中并没有提到。

　　2.　C 这道题考察的是朋友如何对肥胖影响。A选项说的是朋友产生的影响大于家庭成员，是正确的;B选项也是正确的，因为第五段第一句话提到，即使朋友远在千里之外，这种影响仍然存在;第五段第二句符合D选项的意思：那些关系亲密的共同的朋友产生的影响最大：C选项的意思是， 当有很瘦的朋友时，本人也不可能会变瘦，这与原文表达的意思是相反的，第六段第一句话就提到，朋友也会对体重减轻产生同样的效果，也就是说，拥有瘦朋友会让体重减轻。

　　3.　D 第七段和第八段陈述了Dr.Nich01as A.Christakis对于这种现象的解释：朋友之间对于肥胖的感知是互相影响的。如果一个人的亲密好友很胖，那么他对于什么是可接受的体型的态度也会发生改变，肥胖在他看来也不会很令人不快。

　　4.　C 本题考察的是文中提到的导致人肥胖的因素。第九段和第十段主要分析了社会关系对肥胖的影响，第十一段和第十二段说的是遗传因素，同时也提到环境因素在遗传的基础上对人的体重也起很重要的作用。至于C选项的生活方式，文中并没有提到。

　　5.　A 本题问的是为什么说肥胖具有传染性。A选项说的是因为社会关系网的原因，肥胖传播的很快，这是文章的本意。而另外C、D两个选项都是平常意义上的传染，指疾病可以通过接触而传染或能够在一个地区或人群中迅速广泛地蔓延。B选项与题意无关。