最新雅思阅读测练题

　　READING PASSAGE 1

　　You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1526 which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

　　Questions 15-20

　　Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs, A-H.

　　Which paragraph contains the following information?

　　Write the correct letter A-H in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

　　15. a change of lifestyle can be an effective way of losing weight

　　16. some approaches have negative effects on human health.

　　17. research has shown that a genetic problem is the culprit of overweight

　　18 an unjustifiable explanation by obese people of their overweight

　　19.a new scientific breakthrough in an experiment on human bodies

　　20. an argument contrary to the claim of metabolic defects

　　Tackling Obesity in the Western World

　　A Obesity is a huge problem in many Western countries and one which now attracts considerable medical interest as researchers take up the challenge to find a cure for the common condition of being seriously overweight. However, rather than take responsibility for their weight, obese people have often sought solace in the excuse that they have a slow metabolism, a genetic hiccup which sentences more than half the Australian population to a life of battling with their weight. The argument goes like this: it doesnt matter how little they eat, they gain weight because their bodies break down food and turn it into energy more slowly than those with a so-called normal metabolic rate.

　　B This is nonsense, says Dr Susan Jebb from the Dunn Nutrition Unit at Cambridge in England. Despite the persistence of this metabolism myth, science has known for several years that the exact opposite is in fact true. Fat people have faster metabolisms than thin people. What is very clear, says Dr Jebb, is that overweight people actually burn off more energy. They have more cells, bigger hearts, bigger lungs and they all need more energy just to keep going.

　　C It took only one night, spent in a sealed room at the Dunn Unit to disabuse one of their patients of the beliefs of a lifetime: her metabolism was fast, not slow. By sealing the room and measuring the exact amount of oxygen she used, researchers were able to show her that her metabolism was not the culprit. It wasnt the answer she expected and probably not the one she wanted but she took the news philosophically.

　　D Although the metabolism myth has been completely disproved, science has far from discounted our genes as responsible for making us whatever weight we are, fat or thin. One of the worlds leading obesity researchers, geneticist Professor Stephen ORahilly, goes so far as to say we are on the threshold of a complete change in the way we view not only morbid obesity, but also everyday overweight. Prof. ORahillys groundbreaking work in Cambridge has proven that obesity can be caused by our genes. These people are not weak-willed, slothful or lazy, says Prof. ORahilly, They have a medical condition due to a genetic defect and that causes them to be obese.