Question

【題目】 People have grown taller over the last century, with South Korean women shooting up by more than 20cm on average, and Iranian men gaining 16.5cm. A global study looked at the average height of 18-year-olds in 200 countries between 1914 and 2014.

The results show that while Swedes were the tallest people in the world in 1914, Dutch men have risen from 12th place to claim top spot with an average height of 182.5cm. Latvian women, meanwhile, rose from 28th place in 1914 to become the tallest in the world a century later, with an average height of 169.8cm.

James Bentham, a co-author of the research from Imperial College, London, says the global trend is likely to be due to improvements in nutrition and healthcare.“An individual’s genetics has a big influence on their height, but once you average over whole populations, genetics plays a less key role,” he added.

A little extra height brings a number of advantages, says Elio Riboli of Imperial College.“Being taller is associated with longer life expectancy,”he said.“This is largely due to a lower risk of dying of cardiovascular（心血管的）disease among taller people.”

But while height has increased around the world, the trend in many African countries causes concern, says Riboli. While height increased in Uganda and Niger during the early 20th century, the trend has reversed in recent years, with height decreasing among 18-year-olds.

“One reason for these decreases in height is the economic situation in the 1980s,”said Alexander Moradi of the

University of Sussex. The nutritional and health crises that followed the policy of structural adjustment, he says, led to many children and teenagers failing to reach their full potential（潛力）in terms of height.

Bentham believes the global trend of increasing height has important implications “How. tall we are now is strongly influenced by the environment we grew up in,” he said.“If we give children the best possible start in life now, they will be healthier and more productive for decades to come.”

【1】What does the global study tell us about people’s height in the last century?

A.The increase in people’s height has been quickening.

B.The increase in women’s height is bigger than in men’s.

C.There is a remarkable difference across continents.

D.There has been a noticeable increase in most countries.

【2】What does Elio Riboli say about taller people?

A.They enjoy an easier life.B.They tend to live longer.

C.They risk fewer deadly diseases.D.They have greater expectations in life.

【3】What does the underlined word “reversed” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A.Slowed down.B.Gone upwards.

C.Changed to the contrary.D.Come to life again.

【4】What does James Bentham suggest we do?

A.Ensure children’s proper nutrition and healthcare.

B.Improve the economic situation of some countries.

C.Watch the global trend of increasing height closely.

D.Attach great importance to environmental protection.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】B

【3】C

【4】A

【解析】

這是一篇說明文。全球研究調(diào)查了上個世紀(jì)人們平均身高增長了的結(jié)論。全球身高增長的趨勢有著重要的影響。我們現(xiàn)在的身高很大程度上受到我們成長環(huán)境的影響。如果我們現(xiàn)在給孩子們最好的人生開端，他們在未來幾十年里會更健康，更年富力強(qiáng)。文章建議我們要確保孩子們的營養(yǎng)和醫(yī)療保健。

【1】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第一段內(nèi)容People have grown taller over the last century, with South Korean women shooting up by more than 20cm on average, and Iranian men gaining 16.5cm. A global study looked at the average height of 18-year-olds in 200 countries between 1914 and 2014.“在過去的一個世紀(jì)里，人們的身高不斷增長，韓國女性的平均身高增加了20厘米以上，伊朗男性的平均身高增加了16.5厘米。一項(xiàng)全球研究調(diào)查了1914年至2014年間200個國家18歲青年的平均身高。”可知，這項(xiàng)全球研究調(diào)查了1914年到2014年200個國家18歲年輕人的平均身高，得出了上個世紀(jì)人們平均身高增長了的結(jié)論。故選D項(xiàng)。

【2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第四段中Elio Riboli 所說的Being taller is associated with longer life expectancy可知，身材更高的人平均壽命更長。故選B項(xiàng)。

【3】詞義猜測題。根據(jù)畫線詞前面的While height increased in Uganda and Niger during the early 20th century“而在20世紀(jì)早期，烏干達(dá)和尼日爾的身高有所增加”和畫線詞后面的with height decreasing among 18-year-olds.“在18歲的人群中，隨著身高的下降。”可知，reversed的意思是“反轉(zhuǎn)”。故選C項(xiàng)。

【4】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段If we give children the best possible start in life now, they will be healthier and more productive for decades to come.“如果我們現(xiàn)在給孩子們最好的人生開端，他們在未來的幾十年里會更健康，更年富力強(qiáng)。”可知，他建議我們要確保孩子們的營養(yǎng)和醫(yī)療保健。故選A項(xiàng)。

做詞義猜測題時，利用上下文提供的情景和線索，進(jìn)行合乎邏輯的綜合分析進(jìn)而推測詞義，是閱讀過程中的一大關(guān)鍵，這也是近年來高考考查的熱點(diǎn)。最常見的就是利用上下文語境、常識和語法關(guān)系推斷詞義，尤其要抓住所需推斷詞匯前后的含義。本題第3小題，根據(jù)畫線詞前面的While height increased in Uganda and Niger during the early 20th century“而在20世紀(jì)早期，烏干達(dá)和尼日爾的身高有所增加”和畫線詞后面的with height decreasing among 18-year-olds.“在18歲的人群中，隨著身高的下降�！笨芍�，reversed的意思是“反轉(zhuǎn)”。故選C項(xiàng)