Last week the American Medical Association voted, for the first time, to declare obesity(肥胖) a disease. How should the rest of us respond? When we meet obese people, should we cast them a knowing glance of concern and ask how they are doing? Should we send flowers and “get well soon” cards to obese family members and friends?
Should the U.S. declare war on obesity, as we once did on cancer?
If obesity truly is a disease, then over 78 million adults and 12 million children in America just got classified as sick. Yet many sensible people know that declaring obesity a disease is a mistake. Simply put, obesity is not a disease. To be sure, it is a risk factor for some diseases.
Yet everyone who is obese does not get sick, and many normal-weight people do not stay healthy. I have known slim people who took good care of themselves throughout their lives yet fell ill and died young. Others who exhibited no particular interest in their health and did not watch their weight lived to an old age. In most cases, we simply cannot tell from a person’s weight what lies ahead for them in life. Consider Winston Churchill. Though average in height, Churchill weighed up to 250 pounds. He smoked cigars and drank relatively heavily. He did not work out. Yet he became perhaps the most important statesmen of the 20th century and one of the greatest politicians in history. He lived to age 90.
Is obesity bad for people? For some, especially patients who are extremely overweight, the answer is almost certainly yes. Would many overweight people benefit from exercising more and eating less? Again, the answer is likely yes. But this does not make obesity a disease. Many people are not harmed by carrying extra pounds, some may actually benefit from it. For these reasons, we should be careful before labeling obese people diseased.
| A．Over 90 million Americans are more or less overweight. |
| B．People with good sense would agree with the declaration. |
| C．More Americans suffer from obesity than any other diseases. |
| D．Obesity is the leading cause of most deadly diseases. |
| A．tell us slim people are more likely to die young |
| B．show how successful an overweight person can be |
| C．prove overweight people are not necessarily unhealthy |
| D．encourage people not to care much about their way of living |
| A．Favorable | B．Uncaring |
| C．Disapproving | D．Friendly |
| A．A government report |
| B．A popular science magazine |
| C．A website about losing weight |
| D．A book about famous people |
B
One night last February, a seventeen-year-old Duffy drove home along a winding road, he saw a strange light thrown against the tree. “I knew it wasn’t the moon”, he said. “I drive this road all the time and I notice little things out of place.”
Duffy stopped his car and got out to examine. Below him far down in the deep valley lay a broken car with its headlights on. Thirty minutes earlier, a man had driven off the edge of the road, which has no guardrail. His car fell and rolled end over end, landing on its top more than two hundred feet below.
Duffy rushed to call for help, then returned and got down to reach the injured driver. Snow covered the valley and the temperature was below freezing. After struggling back up the cliff, Duffy took off his jacket and shirt and wrapped the injured man in time, along with the blankets from his car.
Life-saving deeds are starting to become usual action for Duffy, the oldest of seven children. When he was 12, he saved his ten-year-old brother from drowning. Two years ago, his three-year-old sister ate rat poison, and Duffy cleaned out her mouth, make her drink milk to protect her stomach and called doctors.
“We have tried to teach the children good values, and it looks like we have got some reward for it.” His father says.
46. The strange light came from ________.
A. The bright moon.B. Duffy’s car.
C. The broken car in the valley D. an unknown place
47. The phrase” landing on its top” means the car lay_________.
A. on the top of the cliff B. with its wheels upward
C. with its head upward D. on the road as usual
48. Duffy wrapped the man because_________.
A. he was badly injured B. he had lost too much blood
C. he had nothing on D. it was too cold that day
49. From the above article, we can see Duffy has saved ________ at least.
A. two B. three C. four D. five
50. “We have tried to teach the children good values” may probably mean Duffy’s parents often tell their children_________.
A. to help people in danger B. how to save people’s lives
C. to remember the value of the car D. how to do business
阅读（共两节，15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
第一节：阅读理解。阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
This is a true story from Guyana. One day, a boy took a piece of paper from a box. He made a paper ball and pushed it into his nose. He couldn’t get it out. He ran crying to his mother. His mother couldn’t get the paper out, either. A week later, the paper was still in the boy’s nose. His nose began to have a bad smell.
So his mother took the boy to a hospital. The doctor looked up at the child’s nose, but she couldn’t get the paper out. She said she had to cut the boy’s nose to get the paper out.
The boy’s mother came home looking sad. She didn’t want her child to have his nose cut. The next day she took the boy to her friend Sidney who lived in a house with an old lady called May. May wanted to see the child, so the child let her look up his nose.
“Yes, I can see it,” May said. “It will be out soon.”
As she spoke, she shook some black pepper on the child’s nose. The child gave a mighty sneeze and the paper flew out. His mother was surprised. May told his mother to take the boy to the seaside for a swim, for the salt water would go up his nose and stop the bad smell.
So the lucky boy didn’t have to go to the hospital to have his nose cut.
41. After the boy pushed a paper ball into his nose, ____.
A. he took it out B. his mother took it out
C. he did nothing but cry D. he tried to take it out but failed
42. The paper ball stayed in the boy’s nose for ____.
A. at most seven days B. less than seven days
C. more than seven days D. exactly seven days
43. According to the story, _____ was most worried about the boy’s accident.
A. the boy’s mother B. Sidney C. May D. the doctor
44. Which of the following is TRUE?
A. The doctor helped to take the paper ball out of the boy’s nose.
B. May succeeded in taking the paper out.
C. The boy’s mother found some black pepper to solve the problem.
D. The boy had to have his nose cut at last.
45. The boy should be taken to the seaside for a swim because ____.
A. he needed to learn to swim
B. the sea water would stop the bad smell of his nose.
C. the sea water would wash out the paper ball.
D. he needed a rest
E
Dear Sir/Madam,
I read Alison Burnham’s review of When We were 12, and I do not agree with her. I thought the programme was wonderful — I found the old news pictures really interesting — they helped to bring to life the stories the people were telling.
The programme reminds me of many things from my own childhood. For example, one day when I was about five, I was going to school on the bus by myself (this was the late 1960s). My mother had given me exactly the right money for a return ticket. I held out my hand with the money in it — one big coin on top of one little coin. The bus conductor took the big top coin only and she gave me a ticket, but it was a pink one for a single journey. I needed a white one for a return journey, but I was too frightened to say anything. When school finished for the day, I couldn’t catch the bus home — I had to walk. As a grown-up, whenever I’ve been in a situation where I need to say something or take some action, this early memory of my bus ride comes back to me, and I’m able to take control of the situation.
I would like to say to the director, Bret Chrysler, carry on making this kind of programme. Too much TV these days is quiz shows and so-called “reality programmes”. I appreciate the human story that can make me laugh and cry.
Chris Daniels
72. What is Chris Daniels’ purpose of writing this letter?
A. To persuade Bret Chrysler to turn away from quiz shows.
B. To entertain other readers with old news pictures.
C. To express his appreciation of the programme.
D. To have his story told on the programme.
73. Chris Daniels tells the story about the bus ticket to_____.
A. describe how painful his early experience was
B. draw a direct response from Alison Burnham
C. show how the programme made him think
D. teach the readers of TV Weekly a lesson
74. According to the passage, Chris Daniels had to walk home because_____.
A. he hadn’t got a return ticketB. he had lost his bus ticket
C. he didn’t like big crowds D. he missed the bus home
75. What does Chris Daniels now think about his experience on the bus?
A. He should have told the conductor then. B. He should have been well treated.
C. He regrets going to school alone. D. He wishes it hadn’t happened.
D
One day in early March of 1993, Pauline and Tom Nichter and their 11-year-old son Jason, were shopping for a toy in Buena Park, California. Suddenly, Pauline saw a wallet lying on the floor. When she looked inside, she found $200. The family, homeless and without work, knew that could change their lives. But they took the wallet to the nearby police station and turned it in. The wallet was found to have some other pockets, and more money in — over $2000! The police called the man who lost the wallet to pick it up. The man thanked the Nichters and shook their hands, but did not reward them. Luckily for the family, a TV news reporter filmed the story. People from all over the world heard the story and sent them letters, money and even jobs. A businessman even let them live in his house for free for six months. So far, the family has received over $1, 000, 000. Now the Nichters’ future is bright.
68. The best title of the reading would be________.
A. Money Is Everything B. From Have-nots to Haves
C. A Kind Businessman D. A Lost Wallet and the Police
69. Who found out the “major part of the money” in the wallet?
A. The police.B. Jason.
C. Someone else in the shop. D. The man who lost the wallet.
70. The words “reward them” in the reading means “_______”.
A. speak highly of the Nichters B. give something to the Nichters
C. pay the policemenD. meet the news reporters
71. Which of the following is true about the Nichters?
A. They got lots of money from a reporter.
B. They made friends with the loser of the money.
C. They worked for a business for half a year.
D. They became known to many people.
C
A man from Sri Lanka on Friday broke the Guinness world record for the longest time spent watching TV. He finished with 69 hours and 48 minutes.
Suresh Joachim did his TV viewing in the lobby (门厅) of WABC-TV as part of the “Guinness World Record Breaker Week ” on the TV talk show “Live With Regis and Kelly”.
After passing the previous record of 50 hours and 7 minutes Thursday, Joachim continued until about 7 am Friday.
Sitting on a brown leather couch, he watched nothing but ABC shows.
“I’m going to be a little tired of watching TV after this,” Joachim told reporters by phone during a brief break.
Rules of Guinness for the couch potato honor, allow for a five-minute break every hour and a 15-minute break every eight hours. The viewer must be constantly looking at the screen.
The hardest part, Joachim said on Live With Regis and Kelly, was “I couldn’t watch the people” — the many waving passers-by on the street outside the ABC studio.
Joachim, who lives in Toronto but comes from Sri Lanka, now holds more than 16 Guinness records, including the longest duration (持续) balancing on one foot (76 hours, 40 minutes) and bowling for 100 hours. He does it, he says, to raise awareness of suffering children.
64. Which paragraph shows the main idea of the passage?
A. The first paragraph. B. The last paragraph.
C. The second paragraph. D. The sixth paragraph.
65. How long had Joachim spent when the new “couch potato” record was made?
A. Half a week. B. Less than two days.
C. 76 hours, 40 minutes. D. Nearly three days.
66. Which of the following phrases can replace the underlined word “constantly”?
A. All the time. B. At times. C. Some time. D. Once upon a time.
67. What’s the biggest pity for Joachim when he did his TV viewing?
A. That Joachim could eat nothing.
B. That Joachim couldn’t watch the people outside.
C. That Joachim felt very tired.
D. That Joachim didn’t have any time for a break.