Passage Four
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
Exercise is one of the few factors with a positive role in long-term maintenance of body weight. Unfortunately, that message has not gotten through to the average American, who would rather try switching to “light” beer and low-calorie bread than increase physical exertion. The Centers for Disease Control, for example, found that fewer than one-fourth of overweight adults who were trying to shed pounds said they were combining exercise with their diet.
In rejecting exercise, some people may be discouraged too much by caloric-expenditure charts: for example, one would have to briskly walk three miles just to work off the 275 calories in one delicious Danish pastry (小甜饼). Even exercise professionals concede half a point here. “Exercise by itself is a very tough way to lose weight,” says York Onnen, program director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Still, exercise’s supporting role in weight reduction is vital. A study at the Boston University Medical Center of overweight police officers and other public employees confirmed that those who dieted without exercise regained almost all their old weight, while those who worked exercise into their daily routine maintained their new weight.
If you have been sedentary (极少活动的) and decide to start walking one mile a day, the added exercise could burn an extra 100 calories daily. In a year’s time, assuming no increase in food intake, you could lose ten pounds. By increasing the distance of your walks gradually and making other dietary adjustments, you may lose even more weight.
26. What is said about the average American in the passage?
A) They tend to exaggerate the healthful effect of “light” beer.
B) They usually ignore the effect of exercise on losing weight.
C) They prefer “light” beer and low-calorie bread to other drinks and food.
D) They know the factors that play a positive role in keeping down body weight.(B)
27. Some people dislike exercise because ________.
A) they think it is physically exhausting
B) they find it hard to exercise while on a diet
C) they don’t think it possible to walk 3 miles every day
D) they find consulting caloric-expenditure charts troublesome(B)
28. “Even exercise professionals concede half a point here” (Line 3, Para. 2) means “They ________”.
A) agree that the calories in a small piece of pastry can be difficult to work off by exercise
B) partially believe diet plays a supporting role in weight reduction
C) are not fully convinced that dieting can help maintain one’s new weight
D) are not sufficiently informed of the positive role of exercise in losing weight(B)
29. What was confirmed by the Boston University Medical Center’s study?
A) Controlling one’s calorie intake is more important than doing exercise.
B) Even occasional exercise can help reduce weight.
C) Weight reduction is impossible without exercise.
D) One could lose ten pounds in a year’s time if there’s no increase in food intake.(C)
30. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?
A) To justify the study of the Boston University Medical Center.
B) To stress the importance of maintaining proper weight.
C) To support the statement made by York Onnen.
D) To show the most effective way to lose weight.(D)
本文讲的是身体锻炼在减肥中的作用。全部材料共四个段落，各论述不同方面的内容。前两段可以作为一个整体，主要讲许多人在减肥时只节食不锻炼的事实(第一段)和原因(第二段);后两段也可以做为一个整体，主要论述材料的核心观点：体育锻炼对减肥的重要性，第三段从正面强调了这一观点，最后一段以走路为例对这一观点做了支持。
第一段指出了许多减肥中的美国人对体育锻炼不够重视的事实，引出材料的论题。第一句话实际上就已经提出了文章的中心论点：锻炼是对长期保持体重起积极作用的少有因素之一(Exercise is one of the few factors with a positive role in long-term maintenance of body weight)，只是文章没有马上对这个观点进行正面论述，而是先列出美国人普遍存在的不锻炼现象，以反托正。这里需要注意几点信息，一是锻炼对减肥的帮助体现在较长时期上，最后一段的例子也是围绕这一信息的。二是这里讨论的锻炼只针对于重视节食的减肥人群，不是普通人。
第二段解释了减肥人群不重视身体锻炼的原因。作者用数据说话：精神抖擞地步行3英里才只消耗掉一个小甜饼的热量——275卡路里(briskly walk three miles just to work off the 275 calories)。而后用专业人士的话做以总结：身体锻炼费力不讨好(a very tough way to lose weight)。
最后二段从正面对身体锻炼在减肥中的作用做了论述。作者引用波士顿大学医疗中心的研究成果，指出不锻炼的人的体重多数会反弹(those who dieted without exercise regained almost all their old weight)，而锻炼的人则不会(those who worked exercise into their daily routine maintained their new weight)。然后以走路为例向人们说明身体锻炼确实对减肥有所帮助。
26. What is said about the average American in the passage?
A) They tend to exaggerate the healthful effect of “light” beer.
B) They usually ignore the effect of exercise on losing weight.
C) They prefer “light” beer and low-calorie bread to other drinks and food.
D) They know the factors that play a positive role in keeping down body weight.(B)
本题问材料中关于一般美国人有何说法。
A， 他们倾向于夸大淡爽啤酒的健康作用。
B， 他们通常忽视身体锻炼在减肥上的作用。
C， 与其他饮料和食品相比，他们更喜欢淡爽啤酒和低卡路里的面包。
D， 他们知道哪种因素在减肥中扮演了积极的角色。
这道题的题干看似十分宽泛，需要读完一定的段落后综合考虑才能解答，但实际上并不复杂，只是对单句的考查而已。因为这是第一道题，它的答案只要到第一段的前半部分寻找就可以了。题目中的关键词是average American，在第一段中提到这个词的一句是——that message has not gotten through to the average American, who would rather try switching to “light” beer and low-calorie bread than increase physical exertion。这里的that message(那一信息)肯定应该在前一句，也就是Exercise is one of the few factors with a positive role in long-term maintenance of body weight.(锻炼是对长期保持体重起积极作用的少有因素之一)。词组has not gotten through to指的是“在……中并不流行”，这里的意思就是那一信息对于一般美国人来说并没有受到重视。
Who引导了一个从句，是对一般美国人的描述。这里使用了would rather ……than(宁可，也不)句型，意思是美国人宁可把兴趣投向淡爽啤酒和低卡路里面包，也不增加身体锻炼。
四个选项中，B的意思很显然符合文意。A的说法在这个句子中没有给出，C的说法应该把其他饮料和食品改成“身体锻炼”，D的说法与B正好相反。
27. Some people dislike exercise because ________.
A) they think it is physically exhausting
B) they find it hard to exercise while on a diet
C) they don’t think it possible to walk 3 miles every day
D) they find consulting caloric-expenditure charts troublesome(B)
题目问有些人不喜欢锻炼身体是因为什么。
A，他们认为锻炼太耗费体力。
B，他们发现节食的同时进行锻炼太辛苦了。
C，他们认为每天步行3英里是不可能实现的。
D，他们发现参考卡路里消耗表非常麻烦。
材料内第二段专门对有些人不喜欢锻炼的原因进行了说明。主要有二句话。第一句：some people may be discouraged too much by caloric-expenditure charts，这句话的意思是“卡[考试*大]路里消耗表会使有些人非常泄气”，后面给出了原因，即锻炼消耗的卡路里太少。由此看来，并不是他们觉得参考卡路里消耗表麻烦，D的说法不对。第二句借专业人士之口说出了原因：Exercise by itself is a very tough way to lose weight。Tough这个词强调艰苦、艰难性，也就是说用锻炼来减肥太过于艰难了。与前面消耗卡路里的说法结合起来就是：因为锻炼消耗的卡路里非常少，所以要想减肥的话，锻炼的投入要非常大才能起到效果。这样B就是对的。如果问“节食的同时”在第二段没有提到，可以参看前面的全文分析，整篇材料所指的锻炼减肥就是在节食的基础上进行的锻炼减肥。
A的说法也不对，如果锻炼如此耗费体力，那么它的效果一定就会非常明显了，相信人们就会趋之若鹜了。实际情况与此相反，锻炼消耗的卡路里非常少。C的说法在材料里不能体现。
28. “Even exercise professionals concede half a point here” (Line 3, Para. 2) means “They ________”.
A) agree that the calories in a small piece of pastry can be difficult to work off by exercise
B) partially believe diet plays a supporting role in weight reduction
C) are not fully convinced that dieting can help maintain one’s new weight
D) are not sufficiently informed of the positive role of exercise in losing weight(B)
这道题多数教育机构给出的答案是B，对此我们有不同的意见。
题目问Even exercise professionals concede half a point here这句话是什么意思。
这道题考查的是对句子的理解，必须把句子放在上下文环境中理解。
第二段讲的是有些人不愿靠锻炼身体减肥的原因。在这个句子前面的一句在第二题中已经做了分析，意思是卡路里消耗表会使有些人非常泄气，因为步行3英里仅仅消耗275卡路里的能量。暗含锻炼身体费力不讨好的意思。这个句子后面引用了专业人士的话，应该是对这一句子的具体说明。
再来分析这个句子。Even，甚至;exercise professionals是运动专家;concede意思是acknowledge, often reluctantly，即勉强承认;half a point，这里有一半道理是对的，实际上并不非要是一半的道理，笼统指有一定的道理;here，应该指的是“锻炼身体实际上对于减肥来说费力不讨好”这个观点——运动专家为了自己的利益，当然是极力支持运动的好处的，那么使他们勉强承认的东西自然是有碍他们利益的， “锻炼身体实际上对于减肥来说费力不讨好”这个观点恰恰[考试*大有碍于他们的利益。
A，他们承认一块小面饼中的卡路里通过锻炼消耗掉是困难的。“一块小面饼中的卡路里通过锻炼消耗掉是困难的”这句话是用来支持“锻炼身体实际上对于减肥来说费力不讨好”这个观点的，所以他们可以说是承认“一块小面饼中的卡路里通过锻炼消耗掉是困难的”这句话有一定的道理。A的说法正确。
B，他们部分地认为节食在减肥中起到了支撑作用。前面已经分析过，运动专家承认的是运动本身的一些局限性，他们没有对节食的作用提出任何观点。或许运动本身的局限性可以反衬出节食的支撑作用，但文中没有明确，绝对不能生造。
C，他们并不完全相信节食能够帮助保持住减肥过的体重。这是后面两段的内容。
D， 他们并未充分认识到锻炼在减肥中的积极作用。对于锻炼在减肥中的积极作用，应该不会有人比运动专家更清楚了。D的说法完全错误。
29. What was confirmed by the Boston University Medical Center’s study?
A) Controlling one’s calorie intake is more important than doing exercise.
B) Even occasional exercise can help reduce weight.
C) Weight reduction is impossible without exercise.
D) One could lose ten pounds in a year’s time if there’s no increase in food intake.(C)
题目问波士顿大学医疗中心的研究验证了什么。
A，控制卡路里摄入比身体锻炼更为重要。
B，即便是偶尔锻炼一次对减肥也是有帮助的。
C，不锻炼而实现减肥是不可能的。
D，如果没有在食物摄入量上的增加，一个人能够在一年内减轻十磅。
第三段对波士顿大学医疗中心的研究做了描述，其中直接出现了confirm一词，验证的内容是：those who dieted without exercise regained almost all their old weight, while those who worked exercise into their daily routine maintained their new weight，那些节食而不锻炼的人几乎全部反弹到原来的体重，而那些把锻炼身体列入日常项目的人则保持住了减肥后的体重。
从这句话不能判断出控制卡路里摄入是考试*大]否比身体锻炼更重要，因为有可能锻炼而不节食的人，其减肥效果也不明显。A不对。
从这句话也不能推出B的说法，另外B的说法本身也是不对的，从第四段的例子来看，偶尔一次锻炼对减肥没有帮助，必须长期坚持锻炼才有效果(文中提到的期限是一年)。
C的说法正确。节食而不锻炼的人几乎全部反弹到原来的体重，说明不锻炼的话根本无法实现减肥这个目的，almost强调这一现象涵盖几乎所有人，具有一般性。
D是第四段所举的例子中提到的内容，与该中心的研究无关。
30. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article?
A) To justify the study of the Boston University Medical Center.
B) To stress the importance of maintaining proper weight.
C) To support the statement made by York Onnen.
D) To show the most effective way to lose weight.(D)
题目问作者写作这篇文章的目的是什么。
A，证明波士顿大学医疗中心的研究是正确的。
B，强调保持合适体重的重要性。
C，支持York Onnen的言论。
D，向人讲述最有效的减肥方法。
从前面的分析可知，这篇文章主要讲的是身体锻炼在减肥中的重要性，A和C提到的人物和机构都只是作者用来支撑这一观点的论据而已，可以首先排除。B的说法也是明显错误的，文章讲的是如何保持合适的[考试*大]体重，而不是在强调其重要性。这样不必看D就可以直接选择了。作者强调了身体锻炼在减肥中的重要性，向人们说明最好在节食的同时参加体育锻炼，这可以说是介绍了一种最好的减肥方法。
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