Question

【題目】 You have probably heard that Japan has among the highest life expectancy(預(yù)期壽命) in the world and that the island of Okinawa(沖繩) has the greatest concentration(濃度) of centenarians(百歲老人). But do you know that two-thirds of the centenarians are still functioning independently? That means they are in their own homes, cooking their own meals and living their lives fully - at about 100 years old!

The elders there are less likely than their counterparts in the United States to have heart disease, dementia(癡呆) or certain cancers. Their bones are stronger than those of similarly aged people around the world. Many of these residents are the subjects of one of the largest studies of centenarians ever conducted. Since 1976, nearly a thousand centenarians on the islands have been studied.

More than anything, the Okinawa diet has long captured the headlines. Before knowing what the Okinawans eat, there is a valuable lesson in how they eat.

Remember this term: hara hachi bu. It is translated into English as “Stop eating when you are 80% full.” With hara hachi bu, the philosophy is that you should still be a little hungry when you push the plate away. You are also advised to reduce your portion(食物的分量) sizes, use smaller plates and eat more slowly.

There is a basic biological (生物學(xué)的) reason this works. It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to send signals to the brain that it is full. Unfortunately, most people can shovel down another several hundred calories in that short time. Instead, if you push the plate away and just wait, you will have eaten less and still feel satisfied.

Eating less is associated with longevity, but of course, that also depends on what you eat. Okinawans typically eat seven different fruits and vegetables and 18 different foods a day, and more than 200 different foods and spices regularly in their overall diet.

However, the younger generations are eating more meat and fast food instead of fish and soy. The elderly there are still widely revered(崇敬), but there are fewer of them, and they are less often living to 100 than in decades past.

【1】What is the key to the high life expectancy in Okinawa?

A.What they eatB.How they eat

C.Where they liveD.When they exercise

【2】Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined part “shovel down” in Paragraph 5?

A.fill inB.put down

C.fill outD.push away

【3】Which of the following statements about Okinawa is true?

A.The elderly are in bad need of mutual respect.

B.There are an increasing number of the elderly.

C.The younger generations have a varied diet.

D.Things are starting to change for the worse.

【4】Which could be the best title for the passage?

A.Eat less to live longer.

B.Healthy diets build longevity.

C.The Okinawa: a place of longevity.

D.Improve life expectancy? Slow down.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】D

【4】A

【解析】

本文是說明文。日本沖繩島上的長壽老人密度最大。文章分析其中的原因是他們的飲食習(xí)慣：吃到八成飽就不再吃了，食物種類多樣。

【1】

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三段中“ there is a valuable lesson in how they eat.（他們怎么吃給人們上了寶貴的一課）”可知，沖繩島上的老人長壽比率高的關(guān)鍵是他們的飲食怎么吃。故選B 項(xiàng)。

【2】

詞義猜測題。根據(jù)第五段中劃線詞前一句提到“胃需要大約20分鐘才能向大腦發(fā)出飽腹的信號”；根據(jù)劃線詞后的部分“…another several hundred calories in that short time”，可以推斷該句句意為“大多數(shù)人可以在這么短的時(shí)間內(nèi)再吃進(jìn)幾百卡路里”。因此可以推測“shovel down”的意思與“fill in”相近；“shovel down”本意為“胡亂塞進(jìn)”。故選A項(xiàng)。

【3】

細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章最后一段中“The elderly there are still widely revered，but there are fewer of them, and they are less often living to 100 than in decades past.( 老人還是受到尊敬，但是老人比較少了。與過去幾十年相比，他們活到100歲的幾率降低了。)”可以推斷，在沖繩島上，老人的長壽情況沒有以前那么好了，開始變糟。故選D項(xiàng)。

【4】

主旨大意題。文章分析了日本沖繩島上的老人長壽的主要原因是他們的飲食習(xí)慣。文章第四段中提到“Stop eating when you are 80% full”當(dāng)你80%飽的時(shí)候就停止進(jìn)食；第六段中提到“Eating less is associated with longevity少吃多壽”，都是關(guān)于少吃和長壽的關(guān)系。因此文章的標(biāo)題應(yīng)為“少吃可以長壽”。故選A項(xiàng)。