2008年英语一阅读理解Text3

第一段

In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of the only three players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) listed at over seven feet. If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42. The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years, and managers have been more than willing toadjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger, longer frames.

单词&词组搭配

1. feet（常用词）foot的过去式，英尺，1米(m)=3.2808399英尺

2. dramatically [drə'mætɪkli] （出现7次）adv.显著地

3. frame [freɪm]（出现2次）n.框架，体格，骨架，模式；v.设计，指定

4. more than（极其，非常）

5. adjust...to fit（调整以适应）
   

本段翻译

20世纪60年代，张伯伦是被列入全国篮球协会超过7英尺的仅有三名球员之一。然而，假若上个赛季他还在打球的话，他就会是42名这样的球员中的一个员了。多年以来，从事主要职业运动的运动员身材发生了显著的变化，经理们一直在欣然调整队服，以适应越来越多更大更高的身躯。

第二段

The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing. Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago, today’s people—especially those born to families who have lived in the U.S. for many generations—apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s.And they aren’t likely to get any taller. “In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, we’ve pretty much gone as far as we can go,” says anthropologist William Cameron Chumlea of Wright State University. In the case of NBA players, their increase in height appears toresult from the increasingly common practice of recruiting players from all over the world.

单词&词组

1. obscure [əbˈskjʊr]（出现7次）v.使...模糊；adj.费解的；[僻义]adj.无名的，鲜为人知的

2. unrecognized [ʌnˈrekəɡnaɪzd] adj.未被注意的

3. anthropologist [ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒɪst] n.人类学家

4. recruit [rɪˈkruːt]（出现3次）n.新成员，新兵；v.征募，吸收，组建

5. In the case of（以至于）

6. result from（结果是）
   

本段翻译

然而，体育界的这种趋势可能正在掩盖一个未被注意到的事实：美国人的身高总体上已经停止增长。尽管比140年前普遍高约2英寸，但现在的美国人——尤其是那些出生于已在美国生活过好几代的家庭中的美国——在20世纪60年代初就明显已达身高极限。他们不大可能再有任何身高增长。莱特州立大学的人类学家威廉：“就当今总人群而言，在现有的基因和环境水平下，我们的身高几乎已经达到极限。他们身高的增长似乎是“从世界各地招募球员”这种日益普遍做法的结果

第三段

Growth, which rarely continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrients—notably, protein—to feed expanding tissues. At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition and childhood infections got in the way. But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years, a pattern known as the secular trend in height. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average height—5'9" for men, 5'4" for women—hasn’t really changed since 1960.

单词&词组

1. rarely [ˈrerli]（出现8次）adv.很少，难得

2. calory （常用词）n.卡路里

3. nutrient [ˈnjuːtriənt] n.营养

4. notably [ˈnoʊtəbli]（出现1次）adv.特别

5. tissue [ˈtɪʃuː]（出现2次）n.织物，纸巾，动植物组织

6. infection [ɪnˈfekʃn]（出现3次）n.传染性

7. adolescent [ˌædəˈlesnt]（出现3次）n.青少年

8. secular [ˈsekjələr] （出现7次）长期的，稳固的

9. get in the way（阻碍）
   

本段翻译

身高增长需要热量和营养——尤其是蛋白质——以满足组织扩展的需求。人在20岁以后很少会继续长高。20世纪初，营养不足和儿童传染病阻碍了身高的增长。然而，随着饮食和健康状况的改善，儿童和青少年的身高每20年平均增长约1.5英寸，这种模式被称为身高增长的长期趋势，然而根据疾病控制与预防中心的数据，平均身高——男性5英尺9英寸，女性5英寸4英寸——来自1960年以来并未真正改变过。

第四段

Genetically speaking, there are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During childbirth, larger babies have more difficulty passing through the birth canal. Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed byoversize limbs. “There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic architectureof the individual organism,” says anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern University.

单词&词组

1. substantial [səbˈstænʃl]

2. canal [kəˈnæl]（出现1次）n.管道，运河

3. upright（出现2次）adj.直立的，正直的，诚实的

4. bipedal [ˌbaɪˈpiːdl] adj.两足的

5. withstand [wɪðˈstænd]（出现1次）v.抵抗，经受住

6. oversize（合成词，超过尺寸的）

7. limb [lɪm]（出现1次）n.翼，树枝，肢体

8. constraint [kənˈstreɪnt]（出现3次）v.强迫，限制

9. architecture [ˈɑːrkɪtektʃər]（出现6次）n.建筑学

本段翻译

从基因角度看，避免身材的过高过大是有好处的。分娩时，较大的婴儿更难通过产道。此外，尽管人类已经直立行走几百万年，但两足和背部仍继续同两足行走的姿势相抗衡，因而难以轻易承受过大过长的肢体反复施加的压力。西北大学认了学家威廉称：对身高的一些真正限制是由个体有机体的基因结构所设定的。”

第五段

Genetic maximums can change, but don’t expect this to happen soon. Claire C. Gordon, senior anthropologist at the Army Research Center in Natick, Mass., ensures that 90 percent of the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration. She says that, unlike those for basketball, the length of military uniforms has not changed for some time. And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment, Gordon says that by and large, “you could use today's data and feel fairly confident.”

单词&搭配

1. by and large（总体来说）

2. alteration [ˌɔːltəˈreɪʃn]（出现5次）n.改变，改动

本段翻译

基因最大值可能会改变，但别期望它很快就会发生。马萨诸塞州某陆军研究中心的资深人类学家克莱尔保证，百分90的制服和工作台适应新兵，无需改动。她说，和篮球运动员的队服不同，军服尺寸一段时间以来从未改动。她还说，如果你需要预测在不久的将来人类的身高以设计一套装备，那基本上"你可以非常有把握地使用当前的数据"。

文章结构略读

本文的主要讲的是美国人的身高出现的一个基因极限问题。属于比较典型的结论论证型的文章。从05年以来，05年T1,05年T3，06年T1，07年T4都属于一个类型的题，都是开篇给出一个比较明确的结论。

本文以球员张伯伦为例说明美国运动员身高快速增长的趋势，但是后面出现了个大转折，作者提出了一个相反的趋势，也就是文章要论证的一个结论：美国人的身高总体是停止增长的。后面几段用大量的对比，列数据和引用的等方式分析出遗传因素是造成美国人身高停止增长的真正的原因。最后用人类学家的话重申了一遍结论。

5道题目

31. Wilt Chamberlain is cited as an example to .

[A] illustrate the change of height of NBA players

[B] show the popularity of NBA players in the U.S.

[C] compare different generations of NBA players

[D] assess the achievements of famous NBA players

32. Which of the following plays a key role in body growth according to the text?

[A] Genetic modification.

[B] Natural environment.

[C] Living standards.

[D] Daily exercise.

33. On which of the following statements would the author most probably agree?

[A] Non-Americans add to the average height of the nation.

[B] Human height is conditioned by the upright posture.

[C] Americans are the tallest on average in the world.

[D] Larger babies tend to become taller in adulthood.

34. We learn from the last paragraph that in the near future .

[A] the garment industry will reconsider the uniform size

[B] the design of military uniforms will remain unchanged

[C] genetic testing will be employed in selecting sportsmen

[D] the existing data of human height will still be applicable

35. The text intends to tell us that .

[A] the change of human height follows a cyclic pattern

[B] human height is becoming even more predictable

[C] Americans have reached their genetic growth limit

[D] the genetic pattern of Americans has altered

选项单词

1. illustrate [ˈɪləstreɪt] v.说明，解释

2. modification [ˌmɑːdɪfɪˈkeɪʃn] n.改变，改进

3. garment [ˈɡɑːrmənt] n.服装

4. cyclic [ˈsaɪklɪk] adj.循环的，周期的

5. predictable [prɪˈdɪktəbl] adj.可预料的

6. altered [ˈɔːltərd]v.改变

参考答案

ACBDC