The American population was the tallest in the world from about the American Revolution to World WarⅡ ― that’s a long time. The U.S. had a very resource rich environment, with game, fish and wildlife. In fact we have data on disadvantaged people in America, such as slaves. They were obviously among the most mistreated populations in the world, but given the resource abundance，and given the fact that the slave owners needed their work, they had to be fed relatively fairly well. So the slaves were taller than European peasants. It’s no wonder that Europeans were just flooding to America.

Americans today are no longer the tallest people in the world. After World WarⅡ，many Western and Northern European countries began to adopt favorable social policies. There is universal health insurance in most of these societies ― that, of course, makes a difference in health care. You can also consider income inequality in the U.S., since people who are at the low end of the totem pole (圖騰柱) have considerable adversity making ends meet. I suspect the difference in height between Americans and Europeans is due to both diet and health care.

Americans today suffer from an additional problem: obesity (肥胖). If children are too well nourished, then they’re not able to grow best. There are certain hormones (荷爾蒙) that control the start of the adolescent (青春期的) growth and the start of adolescence. Nutrition is one of the factors, along with genetic and hormonal ones which are associated with the start of puberty (青春期). And if puberty comes too early, then the youth will peak out sooner, and will not become as tall in adulthood as someone who had better nutrition．Also, the overload of carbohydrates and fats in a fastfood diet may hinder (阻礙) the consumption of micronutrients necessary to growth．

63. The word “game” in Paragraph 1 refers to ______.

A. rich natural resources                            B. sports events to be held

C. activities played by kids                  D. animals hunted for food

64. Slaves in America were taller than European peasants because ______.

A. they were badly treated                   B. they did not do farm work

C. they had enough food to eat            D. they enjoyed better health care

65. It is implied in the second paragraph that ______.

A. Europeans could make more money than Americans

B. welfare helps Europeans grow taller than Americans

C. average Americans used to be shorter than Europeans

D. people on the totem pole are leading a comfortable life

66. According to the third paragraph, overweight children in the U.S ______.

A. tend to eat more food to grow taller

B. will fail to grow into an ideal height

C. will grow taller than average children

D. tend to have better nutrition for growth

練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

 (衡陽(yáng)市八中2008屆高三模擬試題B篇)

Skipping classes, particularly big lectures where an absence is likely to go undetected, is a tradition among college undergraduates.

These days, however, some professors say they’re seeing more absenteeism, as students make the most of new technologies as learning aids.

Americ Azevedo taught an “ Introduction to Computers ” at the University of California, Berkeley, US last semester. By visiting the course’s website, the 200 enrolled students could download audio recordings or watch digital videos of the lectures, as well as read the instructor’s detailed lecture notes.

But there was one big problem: So many of the undergraduates relied on the technology that at times only 20 or so actually showed up for class.

Doug Suda, 19, a student in Azevedo’s class last semester, said he skipped about three-quarter of the lectures. It’s largely because he was busy with an off-campus job and was taking the course to fulfill a business major requirement.

At the end of the term, Suda prepared hurriedly for the final exam by watching videos of about 15 lectures over three days.

“ If I hadn’t that… I would probably fail the class,” said Suda, who instead received a B-plus.

Despite the concerns about absenteeism, schools are increasingly experimenting with ways to let students watch or listen to lectures on their computers or digital music players, like ipods. Last month, Harvard Medical School began “ Podcasting ”lectures. Students can download them into digital musical players, and study while they, say, go for a walk.

As many academics accept the electronic innovation, others are pushing back. To encourage attendance, they are applying low-tech tactics, like giving more surprising quizzes or cutting back their online offerings.

Lee Chanian, a UCLA economics professor, says “ too much technology leads to passive learning environment and encourage more absenteeism”. He now puts fewer lecture materials online, and provides extensive notes only for the most complicated topics.

60.The word “ absenteeism ” in the 2nd paragraph most probably means      .

A. attending classes                B. having classes

C. giving classes                   D. skipping classes

61.At times only 20 or so undergraduates showed up for Americ Azevedo’s class because     .

A. so many undergraduates relied on digital learning aids 

B. so many undergraduates have off-campus jobs.

C. his lectures were boring               D. the exam was easy to pass

62.According to the passage, to encourage attendance, some academics are applying the following lower-tech tactics EXCEPT     .

  A. giving more surprise quizzes          

B. putting fewer lecture materials online

C. providing extensive notes only for the most complicated topics 

D. cutting off their online offerings

63.What could be the best title for this passage?

A. Lectures fight digital learning aids to up class numbers   

B. Lectures apply digital learning aids to up class numbers

C. Lectures fight lower-tech tactics to up class numbers

D. Schools are encouraging more absenteeism

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源： 題型：閱讀理解

       Erik Weihenmayer was born with an eye disorder. As a child his eyesight became worse and then, at the age of 13, he lost his sight completely. However, he did not lose his determination to lead a full and active life.

       Erik became an adventurer. He took up parachuting, wrestling and scuba diving. He competed in long-distance biking, marathons and skiing. His favorite sport, though, is mountaineering.

       As a young man, Erik started to climb mountains. He reached the summit of Mount McKinley in 1995 and then climbed the dangerous 1000-metre rock wall of EI Capitan. Two years later, while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya with his girlfriend, they stopped for a time at 13,000 feet above sea level－in order to get married. In 1999, he climbed Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South Americ a. And then, on May 25, 2001, at the age of 33, Erik successfully completed the greatest mountaineering challenge of all. He climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world.

       Erik invented his own method for climbing mountains. He carries two long poles: one to lean on and the other to test the way ahead of him. The climber in front of him wears a bell to guide him. Erik is a good team member. He does his share of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls.

       Although he could not enjoy the view, Erik felt the excitement of being on the summit of Everest. He hopes that his success will change how people think about the blind. “When people think about a blind person or blindness, now they will think about a person standing on top of the world.”

1．When was Erik born?

A．In 1968.              B．In 1995.              C．In 1967.              D．In 1969.

2．What was unusual about his wedding?

       A．He got married on the summit of Mount McKinley.

B．He got married when climbing Mount Everest.

       C．.His wedding was held after he prepared a lot.

D．His wedding was held at 13,000 feet above sea level.

3．What is Erik’s special method for climbing a mountain?

A．He takes his girlfriend with him.           

B．He does his share of the jobs.

C．He uses two long poles to help himself. 

D．He keeps a good team around him.

4．Which of the following shows the right order of what happened?

a．He topped Mount McKinley.                 

b．He became blind. 

c．He challenged Mount Everest.               

d．He reached the peak of Kilimanjaro.       

e. He climbed the rock wall of EI Capitan.

A．b, e, d, c, a      B．b, a, e, d, c      C．a(chǎn), b, e, d, c      D．b, d, a, c, d

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案