Likeaneedleclimbingupabathroomscale,thenumberkeepsrising.In1991,15%ofAmericanswereobese(肥胖的);by1999,thatproportionhadgrownto27%.Youngsters,whoshouldhaveageandactivityontheirside,aregrowinglargeraswell:19%ofAmericansunder17areobese.Waistbandshavebeenpoppinginotherwesterncountriestoo,asphysicalactivityhasdeclinedanddietshaveexpanded.Byandlarge,peopleintherichworldseemtohavelostthefightagainstflab(松弛).
Meanwhile,poorernationshaveenjoyedsomesuccessintheirbattlesagainstmalnutritionandfamine.But,accordingtoresearchpresentedattheannualmeetingoftheAmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScience,itismoreacaseofbeingoutofthefryingpanandintothefire.ThemoststrikingexampleactuallyinthepoorworldcomesfromthePacificislands,homeoftheworld'smostobesecommunities.In1966,14%ofthemenonthisislandwereobesewhile100%ofmenundertheageof30in1996wereobese.
Thisincreaseinweighthasbeenunevenaswellasfast.Asaresult,undernourishedandover-nourishedpeoplefrequentlylivecheekbyjowl(面颊).Themixcanevenoccurwithinasinglehousehold.AstudyoffamiliesinIndonesiafoundthatnearly10%containedboththehungryandthefat.Thisisamysteriousphenomenon,butmighthavesomethingtodowithpeopleofdifferentagesbeinggivendifferentamountsoffoodtoeat.
Theprospectofheadingofftheseproblemsisbleak.Inmanyaffectedcountriesthereareculturalfactorstocontendwith,suchasanemphasisoneatinglargemealstogether,oronfoodasaform.ofhospitality.Moreover,thereisagoodmeasureofdisbeliefonthepartofpolicymakersthatsuchaproblemCouldexistintheircountries.Addtothatreluctanceonthepartofgovernmentstospendresourcesonpromotingdietandexercisewhilestarvationisstillarealthreat,andtheresultisarecipeforinaction.Unlesssomethingisdonesoon,itmightnotbepossibletoturntheclockback.
练习题：
Choosecorrectanswerstothequestion:
1.Thefirstsentenceofthepassagemostprobablyimpliesthat______.
A.manyAmericansareobsessedwiththerisingtemperatureintheirbathroom
B.morepeopleareoverweighedintheUnitedStates
C.peoplearedoingmorephysicalexerciseswiththehelpofscales
D.youngstersbecometallerandhealthierthankstomoreactivities
2.Asphysicalexercisedeclinesanddietexpands,______.
A.otherwesterncountrieshasbeendefeatedbyfat
B.obesityhasbecomeanepidemic(流行病)oftherichworld
C.waistbandsbegintobepopularinotherwesterncountries
D.westerncountriescannolongerfightagainstobesity
3.WhichisNOTthepointoftheexampleofthePacificIslands?
A.Thepoorcommunityhasshakenoffpovertyandpeoplearewell-fednow.
B.Obesityisbecomingaprobleminthedevelopingworldtoo.
C.Excessiveweightincreasewillcausenolessharmthanthefoodshortage.
D.Theproblemofoverweightemergesveryfast.
4.Oftacklingobesityinthepoorworld,wecanlearnfromthepassagethat____
A.thematterissocomplexastogobeyondourcapacity
B.nomatterwhatwedo,theprospectwillalwaysbebleak
C.itisstarvation,therealthreat,thatneedstobesolved
D.weshouldtakeimmediateactionsbeforeitbecomesincurable
5.Whatisthemainideaofthispassage?
A.Obesityisnowaglobalproblemthatneedstackling.
B.Theweightsincreasefastthroughoutthewholeworld.
C.Obesityandstarvationaretwomainproblemsinthepoorworld.
D.Obesityhasshiftedfromtherichworldtothepoorworld.
1.[B]推理判断题。根据第1段第2句可推断第1句中的thenumber是指体重增加的人数，故答案为B。
2.[B]推理判断题。本题需要正确理解借代修饰手法。Waistbandshavebeenpopping形象刻画出其他西方社会急剧肥胖化的过程，故答案为B。本题很明显是考查因果关系的，第1段倒数第2句明确指出这个因果关系，只要根据该句做出选择就可以了。如果看得过远,反而有可能误选A或D。
3.[A]事实细节题。此处的例子是证明前一句话的，即But后面的内容。同时，两个年份的比较也突出问题发展的迅猛，从而印证下一段的主题句“Thisincreaseinweighthasbeenunevenaswellasfast.”说明了贫穷与肥胖是并存的。例子一般是用来证明紧挨着的前面或后面的论述，此处证明的观点在之前，其中的重点应该是But后面的内容，所以选项A与文中意思不符。注意本题要选的是NOTthepointoftheexample。
4.[D]观点态度题。文章最后一句扭转了整段的基调。作者呼吁解决这一问题，前文正是为此作铺垫，突出问题的复杂性和时间的紧迫性。
5.[A]主旨大意题。本文话题为obesity，作者从美国谈到所有西方国家，最后重点讨论其在发展中国家的最新发展趋势以及种种可能的成因，并强调应当尽早解决问题，故选项A正确。肥胖问题的阵营没有转移，只是扩大了，故选项D不对。选项B只是片面信息，没有包括最后一段关于如何解决肥胖问题的内容。选项C中的starvation并非本文讨论的主要话题。
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