Passage Twelve (We Should All Grow Fat and Be Happy)

Here’s a familiar version of the boy-meets-girl situation. A young man has at last plucked up courage to invite a dazzling young lady out to dinner. She has accepted his invitation and he is overjoyed. He is determined¹ to take her to the best restaurant in town, even if it means that he will have to live on memories and hopes during the month to come. When they get to the restaurant, he discovers that this ethereal creature is on a diet. She mustn’t eat this and she mustn’t that. Oh, but of course, she doesn’t want to spoil his enjoyment². Let him by all means eat as much fattening³ food as he wants: it’s the surest way to an early grave. They spend a truly memorable⁴ evening together and never see each other again.

       What a miserable⁵ lot dieters are! You can always recognize them from the sour expression on their faces. They spend most of their time turning their noses up at food. They are forever consulting calorie charts; gazing at themselves in mirrors; and leaping on to weighing-machines in the bathroom. They spend a lifetime fighting a losing battle against spreading hips⁶, protruding⁷ tummies and double chins. Some wage all-out war on FAT. Mere⁸ dieting is not enough. They exhaust themselves doing exercises, sweating in sauna baths, being pummeled and massaged⁹ by weird¹⁰ machines. The really wealthy diet-mongers pay vast sums for ‘health cures’. For two weeks they can enter a nature clinic and be starved to death for a hundred guineas a week. Don’t think it’s only the middle-aged¹¹ who go in for these fads¹² either. Many of these bright young things you see are suffering from chronic¹³ malnutrition¹⁴: they are living on nothing but air, water and the goodwill¹⁵ of God.

       Dieters undertake to starve themselves of their own free will; so why are they so miserable? Well, for one thing, they’re always hungry. You can’t be hungry and happy at the same time. All the horrible concoctions¹⁶ they eat instead of food leave them permanently¹⁷ dissatisfied. Wonderfood is a complete food, the advertisement says. ‘Just dissolve a teaspoonful¹⁸ in water…’. A complete food it may be, but not quite as complete as a juicy steak. And, of course, they’re always miserable because they feel so guilty. Hunger just proves too much for them and in the end they lash¹⁹ out and devour²⁰ five huge guilt-inducing cream cakes at a sitting. And who can blame them? At least three times a day they are exposed to temptation. What utter torture it is always watching others tucking into piles of mouth-watering food while you munch²¹ a water biscuit and sip²² unsweetened lemon juice!

       What’s all this self-inflicted torture for? Saintly people deprive themselves of food to attain²³ a state of grace. Unsaintly people do so to attain a state of misery²⁴. It will be a great day when all the dieters in the world abandon their slimming courses; when they hold out their plates and demand second helpings²⁵!

1.       The best title for this passage is
[A] On Fat.
[B] We Should All Grow Fat and Be Happy.
[C] Many Diseases Are Connected with Fat.
[D] Diet Deprives People of Normal Life.

2.       Why do they never see each other again?
[A] Because it is a memorable evening.
[B] Because she lets him eat as much fattening food as he wants.
[C] Because she does not eat this and drink that.
[D] Because eating fattening food is the surest way to an early grave.

3.       Which of the following ways is NOT mentioned for diet?
[A] Doing exercises.
[B] Not eating sugar.
[C] Not eating fat.
[D] Taking sauna baths.

4.       What is the author’s attitude toward diet?
[A] Persuasive²⁶.
[B] Critical.
[C] Indifferent.
[D] Adversative.

Vocabulary

1.       ethereal                                优雅的，飘渺的

2.       sour                                     愁眉不展的

3.       tummy                                 肚子

4.       protrude                               突出的，突起的

5.       wage                                    作（战），实行

6.       all-out                                  全面的

7.       sauna bath                                   桑拿浴

8.       pummel = pommel                 用拳头连打

9.       massage                               按摩

10.   weird                                          不可思议的，离奇的

11.   monger                                商人，贩子

12.   fad                                       一时流行的风尚

13.   concoction                           调制品，荤素混合菜，调和物

14.   wonderfood                          奇妙的食物

15.   lash out                                痛斥，鞭打

16.   at a/one sitting                       一口气

17.   munch                                 用力嚼

18.   inflict                                   予以打击，使遭受

19.   slim                                     苗条的，不足取的，无价值的

写作方法与文章大意

       文章论及“减肥及痛苦”。以先声夺人的男女约会入手，引入减肥的痛苦过程：首先是各种减肥的方法（全面战斗）；其次是痛苦的难熬；最后点出减肥的目的。号召人放弃减肥。三段式文章：引言，正文和结论。以讽刺的笔调，步步深入的手法劝人放弃减肥，过愉快的生活。

答案详解

1.       B 我们都该长得胖乎乎，心情愉快。这是文章的目的，也是文章最佳标题。答案见最后一段：“这一切自我折磨为了什么？圣洁的人们不吃饭菜是为了身材优美，不圣洁的人们不吃饭菜得到的是痛苦。当世界上所有的节食者都抛弃这减轻体重显得苗条的课程时当他们伸出盘子，要求再来一份（第二份食物）时，这将是一个伟大的日子。”
A. 论脂肪。似乎有点儿接近文章的内容。但文章涉及到的各个方面并不是单讲脂肪食品或饮食问题。C. 许多疾病和脂肪有关。文内第一段提到这方面的问题。D. 节食剥夺了人们正常生活。文内提到，但不是文章的总目的和内容。

2.       D吃脂肪食品早死。答案就在第一段“当他们来到饭店，他发现这位优雅的少女（飘逸的少女）是个忌口节食者。决不能吃这个，一定不能喝那个。喔，当然，她不想扫他的兴，让他想吃多少脂肪的食品就尽量吃。这是早早接近死亡的最有把握的途径。”这里传递两点信息。一个吃，一个不吃已经是格格不入，再加上“多吃脂肪东西早死亡”姑娘怎能嫁他，他一个人吃而那位姑娘瞧着，确实是难以忘怀的夜晚，他受得了？所以D是最接近不再见面的原因。
A. 因为这是一个值得纪念的夜晚。B. 她让他爱吃多少脂肪食物就吃多少。C.因为她不吃这个也不吃那个。这三项都是单独的事实或情况。

3.       B不吃糖。答案再第二段第二句开始“他们大部分时间对食品都不屑一顾。他们永远向热量表讨教咨询，照镜子，跳到浴室的磅秤上称重量。他们一声都在向臀部大，肚子突出，双下巴绽开一个准输无疑的战斗。有的对脂肪开展了全面战斗。光节食是不够的，他们运动以消耗体重，洗桑拿浴出汗，用奇异的机器按摩和击打。”
A. 运动做操。C.不吃脂肪。D.洗桑拿浴。

4.       B批评的态度。这在第二、三段都有明显的表示。第二段开始：“这些节食者是多么可怜的一群人啊！你总是可以从他们愁眉不展的表情上认出他们。”第二段倒数第四句开始：“这些真正有钱的节食大款为健康治疗支付大笔的款项。他们进到“自然门诊”。两个星期饿得要死，每星期付一百畿尼。别以为仅仅是中年人参与这种时尚活动。你可以见到许多青年正由于长期营养不良而遭罪。他们就靠空气、水和上帝的善意而活着。”第三段，“节食者甘愿忍饥挨饿，那么他们为什么那样难受悲惨呢？得，首先，他们总是感到饥饿。你不可能饿着肚子高兴。他们吃的不是食物，全是搭配好的东西，这永远不能使他们满意……”第三段倒数第三句“饥饿确实令他们感到太受不了了。最终，他们破釜沉舟，一口气就吞下了五大块使人内疚的奶油蛋糕。谁能责怪他们！他们一天至少三次面对引诱，老是看着别人大口吃着馋涎欲滴的食品，而你自己用力嚼一口水饼干和喝一口没有甜味的柠檬汁。这是一种什么样的折磨啊！”
A.劝导的。 C.漠不关心。这两项不对。D. 敌意的。不合适。