第十二篇

Obesity¹ Causes Global Warming

The list of ills attributable to obesity keeps growing: Last week, obese² people were accused of causing global warming.

This conclusion comes from Sheldon Jacobson of the University of Illinois, US, and a doctoral student, Laura McLay. Their study calculates how much extra gasoline is needed to haul fat Americans around. The answer, they say, is a billion gallons of gas per year. 　　(1)　　

There has been calls for taxes on junk food2 in recent years.　（2)　　"We tax　cigarettes partly because of their health cost," Schmidt said. "Similarly, leading a lazy lifestyle　will end up costing taxpayers³ more."

US political scientist Eric Oliver said his first instinct was to laugh at these gas and fast　food arguments. But such claims are getting attention.

At the US Obesity Society's annual meeting, one person correlated obesity with car　accident deaths, and another correlated obesity with suicides.　(3)　    "The funny　thing was that everyone took it seriously," Oliver said.

In a 1960s study, children were shown drawings of children with disabilities and without　them, and a drawing of an obese child. They were asked which they would want for a friend?　　(4)　　

Three researchers recently repeated the study using college students. Once again, almost no one, not even obese people, liked the obese person. "Obesity was stigmatized," the researchers　said.

But, researchers say, getting thin is not like quitting smoking. People struggle to stop smoking, and, in the end, many succeed. Obesity is different. But, not because obese people don't care. 　　(5)___ Genes⁶ also play a part.

词汇：

Obese adj. 肥胖的

haul/haul/v.运输

Correlate v. 与……相联系

stigma⁴ n.坏名声

stigmatize⁵ v.侮辱

注释：

1. carbon dioxide二氧化碳

2. junk food 垃圾食品

3. cause-and-effect relationship 因果关系

练习：

A　A meager⁷ diet may keep you thin.

B　It means an extra 11 million tons of carbon dioxide1.

C　The obese child was picked last.

D　US economist⁸ Martin Schmidt suggests a tax on fast food delivered to people's cars

E　Science has shown that they have limited personal control over their weight.

F　No one asked whether there was really a cause-and-effect relationship3.

答案与题解：

1. B  第二段讲到Sheldon Jacobson 和 Laura McLay 在一项研究中计算了搬运美国胖子一年需要多消耗10亿加仑的汽油。从所给的这些句子来看，只有B是连贯的。B说的是：It means an extra 11 million tons of carbon dioxide.这意味着多方出一千一百万吨二氧化碳。

2. D  第三段的第一个句子，即空格 前的句子，讲的是：最近一些年里，不断有人提出要给垃圾食品征税。这是个主题句，那么后面的句子讲得应该更具体一点。D说的更具体，是这么说的： US economist Martin Schmidt suggests a tax on fast food delivered to people's cars.美国经济学家Martin Schmidt建议对送到车上的快餐要征税。另外，从主体的发展来看，也只有这个句子最合适。

3.  F 第五段开始时说到，在美国肥胖协会的年会上，有人把车祸造成的死亡跟肥胖联系了起来，也有人把自杀跟肥胖联系了起来。从剩下的句子来看，只有填入F是连贯的。F说的是：No one asked whether there was really a cause-and-effect relationship.没有人问一问它们之间是否真正存在因果关系。

4. C  第六段主要是讲一个试验，先让儿童看一组画，画里有正常和残疾的儿童，还有一个小胖子，而后问哪个小孩他们愿意做朋友。C是对这个问题合适的回答。C是这么说的： The obese child was picked last.最后挑的是小胖子。

5. E　最后一段讲的是减肥跟戒烟不一样，在一定程度上受到基因的控制（最后一个句子），因此很难。所以只有E是合适的。E是这么说的：Science has shown that they havelimited personal control over their weight.科学已经表明，胖子自己几乎是无法控制体重的。