2008考研英语阅读理解真题解析第三篇“话说身高”
高考填报志愿-潘迪生
2008 Text 3
In the early 1960s
Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in
the National
Basketball Association (NBA)
listed at over seven feet. ①If he had played last
season,
however, he would have been one of 42.
②The bodies playing major professional sports
have changed dramatically over the years, and
managers have been more than willing to
adjust
team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of
bigger, longer frames.
在20世纪60年代早期,Wilt C
hamberlain是美国国家篮球协会中仅有的身高超过7英尺的三个人
之一。可是如果他参加了上
个赛季的话,他就变成了42分之一了。这些年来在较大的职业体育运动中的
运动员的身体状况发生了很
大的改变,而他们的经理人也更愿意调整队员的运动服来适应队员们更大,更
高的身材。
association [ə'səusi'eiʃən] n.
联系,联想;交际,交往;协会,社团
【例】Let's form an association
to help blind people. 让我们建立一个协会来帮助盲人吧。
dramatically [drə'mætikli] ad.
从戏剧角度;戏剧性地,显著地
【例】I kept emphasizing how
dramatically things have changed.
我反复强调事情发生了多大的变化。
adjust [ə'dʒʌst]
vt. 调整,使适应于,校准 vi. 调整,适应于,校准
【例】This electric
pot can adjust the temperature automatically.
这种电饭锅能自动调节温度。
1. If he had played
last season, however, he would have been one of
42.
【译文】可是如果他参加了上个赛季的话,他就变成了42分之一了。
【解析】这句话是句虚拟语气,if + had done,后面接上would have
done,这句话是过去时的虚
拟语气,中间的however是插入语。
2. The
bodies playing major professional sports have
changed dramatically over the
years, and
managers have been more than willing to adjust
team uniforms to fit the growing
numbyyers of
bigger, longer frames.
【译文】这些年来在较大的职业体育运动中的运动员
的身体状况发生了很大的改变,而他们的经理人
也更愿意调整队员的运动服来适应队员们更大,更高的身
材。
【解析】这句话是个并列句,由and连接。前半句的主语是The
bodies,playing major professional
sport是对主语的补充,have changed是谓语,dramatically over
the years是状语。后半句中,
managers是主语,have been是谓语。
The trend in sports, though, may be
obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have
generally stopped growing. ③Though 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 to
result from the increasingly common practice of
recruiting
players from all over the world.
虽然体育界的这种趋势可能蒙蔽了一个没有被承认的现
实:美国人基本上停止生长了。虽然现在人们
比140年前高了2英寸,特别是那些出生在已移民美国很
多代的那些人,但是明显的,在二十世纪60年
代早期,已经到达了他们的身高的极限。他们已经不可能
再长得更高了。“在这个基因和环境的条件下,现
在整体的人们已经长到我们能够达到的范围了,”Wr
ight州大学的人类学家William Cameron
Chumlea
说道。拿NBA球员来说,他们身高的增加主要由于从世界各地招募到了球员。
obscure [əb'skjuə] a.
微暗的,难解的,含糊的,晦涩的,偏僻的,不著名的 vt. 使阴暗,隐藏,使含
糊
【例】The drafting of this section of the Bill is
obscure.
草案上的这一项含糊不清。
apparently
[ə'pærəntli] ad. 表面上,似乎,显然地
【例】Apparently he
wanted to be close to those common people.
他显然想接近那些平民。
genetic [dʒi'neitik] a.
遗传的,遗传学的
【例】An enzyme that catalyzes genetic
recombination.
催化重级酶能催化基因重组的一种酶。
anthropologist [ænθrə'pɔlədʒist] n.
人类学家
【例】The anthropologist contrasted two
cultures in his lecture.
这位人类学家在讲座中将两种文化进行对比。
recruit [ri'kru:t] n. 新兵,新分子,新会员,补给品
vt. 使恢复,补充,征募vi. 征募新兵,复
原
【例】We recruit all
our restaurant staff locally .
我们从本地招所有的餐厅职员。
3. 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.
【译文】虽然现在人们比140年前高了2英寸,特别是那些出生在已移民美国很多代的
那些人,但是
明显的,在二十世纪60年代早期,已经到达了他们的身高的极限。
【解析】这句话主语是today’s people,Though typically
about two inches taller now than 140
years
ago是状语,especially those born to families who have
lived in the U.S. for many
generations是对主语的补充,reached their limit是谓语,in
the early 1960s是时间状语。
④Growth, 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.
身
高的增长一般在20岁以后就停止了,而发育是需要能量和营养的,其中的蛋白质用来供给组织的
生长。
在20世纪初,营养不良和儿童疾病妨碍了整体的发育。但是当饮食和健康的促进,儿童和青少年
平均每20年都增长了大概1.5英寸,这就是长高的趋势。根据疾病防治中
心,从1960年开始,人们的
平均身高,男性5英尺9英寸,女性5英尺4英寸,就没有怎么改变了。
tissue ['tiʃu] n. 薄的纱织品,薄纸,棉纸,组织,连篇
【例】The process of dissolution and resorption
of bony tissue. 骨组织吸收骨组织分解和吸
收的过程。
adolescent [ædəu'lesnt] a. 青春期的,青年的n.
青少年
【例】an awkward bad-mannered adolescent
boy. 笨拙的没礼貌的青少年。
secular ['sekjulə]
n. 牧师,俗人a. 世俗的,现世的,不朽的,长期的
【例】The choir sings
both sacred and secular music. 唱诗班既唱圣乐也唱世俗歌曲。
4. Growth, which rarely continues beyond the
age of 20, demands calories and nutrients–
notably, protein – to feed expanding tissues.
【译文】身高的增长一般在20岁以后就停止了,而发育是需要能量和营养的,其中的蛋白质用来供给组织的生长。
【解析】这句话中Growth是主语,which rarely
continues beyond the age of
20是定语从句,
demands是谓语,calories and
nutrients是宾语。notably, protein – to feed expanding
tissues
是对宾语的补足。
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 by
oversize limbs. “There are some real
constraints that are set by the genetic
architecture of
the individual organism,” says
anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern
University.
总的说来,避免太高的身高是有很多优点的。在生产时,较大的婴
儿通过产道是有更多的问题的。而
且,就算人类已经直立行走已经几百万年了,我们的脚和背部继续对抗
着巨大的压力,这些压力来源于双
足直立的姿势和巨大的肢体。“有一些限制是个体器官的基因结构导致
的。”西北大学的人类学家William
Leonard说道。
substantial [səb'stænʃəl] n. 重要部分,本质 a.
实质上的,物质的,有内容的,结实的
【例】She realized a
substantial return on the investment.
她在那次投资中获得了实在的回
报
bipedal ['baipedl] a.
两足动物
【例】large carnivorous bipedal dinosaur
having huge claws. 爪巨大的大型食肉类两足恐龙。
strain
[strein] vt. 拉紧,绷紧;损伤,扭伤;紧张,勉强 vi. 尽力,使劲 n.
U拉紧,张力,应变;紧张
【例】The great mental strain and
overwork shattered his
mind.巨大的精神负担和过度劳累
使他心智受损。
architecture
['ɑ:kitektʃə] n. 建筑学,建筑术;建筑物;组织,结构
【例】The
study of ecclesiastical architecture and
ornamentation.教堂建筑学研究教堂建筑
及装饰的学科。
Genetic maximums can change, but don’t expect
this to happen soon. ⑤Claire 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.”
基因的最大化可以改变,但是不要期待它会马上就能发生。Mas
s州的Natick的军队研究中心的高级
人类学家Claire C. Gordon确信百分之九十
的入伍新兵不需要更换新的制服和工作站。她说,不像那些
篮球制服,军队的制服长度很长时间都没有改
变了。如果你需要在不远的将来预测人类的身高而去设计一
款新的设备,Gordon说基本上,“你都
能够使用现在的数据并且觉得非常地自信。”
5. 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.
【译文】Mass州的Natick的军队研究中心的高级人类学家Claire C.
Gordon确信百分之九十的入
伍新兵不需要更换新的制服和工作站。
【解析】这句话中Claire C. Gordon是主语,senior
anthropologist at the Army Research
Center in
Natick, Mass是对主语的补充,ensures是谓语,that 90 percent of
the uniforms and
workstations fit recruits
without alteration是that引导的宾语从句,90 percent of the
uniforms
and workstations是宾语从句中的主语,fit是宾语从句中的谓
语,recruits是宾语从句中的宾语。
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.
31. 参考答案【A】
【解析】A.Wilt
Chamberlain在第一段,先定位,“In the early 1960s Wilt
Chamberlain was
one of 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.”19世纪60年代初,Wilt
Chamberlain是NBA身高超过7尺的3人之一,
如果他打了最后一个赛季的话,他将是42人之一。说
明后来NBA中身高超过7尺的增加到了42人。
也就证明了NBA运动员的身高变化。
B.显示了美国NBA球员的名声,与原文不符。
C. 比较了NBA两代的球员的区别,与原文不符。
D.评估了著名NBA球员的成绩,与原文不符。
故选A。
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.
32.
参考答案【C】
【解析】C. “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,”说明导致身高
增长的因素有饮食
和健康的改善,就是参考答案所说的生活水平。A.基因变化,这个与原文不符。B.
自然环境,文中没有
提及。D.日常锻炼,与原文不符。故选C。
[答案解析]身体成长方面
,本文的一些表述非常明确:青少年身体成长受(摄取)热量、营养、饮食及
健康等因素的影响;在这些
因素不成问题的情况下,成人身高受制于基因。问题是这个题目是问什么呢?
是问成人的终极身高(这是
body growth的结果啊)呢,还是青少年的身体成长?如果基因变异(Genetic
modification)一下,那么Genetic maximums可能就发生变化了,于是成
人身高可能就会变化了(如
大幅增长),那么A不就产生重要作用了吗?但我还是倾向于选C,原因是:
一、第二段里有In the general
population today, at
this genetic, environmental level这句话,也就是在目前的基因和环境条
件下,
身高的增长已到尽头。如果基因算一个因素的话,那B选项也对呀,此题的难处在于,A、B、C
、D逻辑
上都是重要的影响因素,而且A、B也有明述。但这是单选题,所以A和B可以同时被排除;二
、明确阐
述身体增长内容,集中于本文第三段,此处涉及的热量、营养、饮食及健康等因素均可以归因于
Living
standards,对吧?D选项逻辑上是,但本文并未提及(注意题目要求是according
to the text,即使
没有这个文字,阅读题也要坚持这个原则),所以排除。本题能充分反映
解阅读题的一个高超技艺要求:既
要大胆地把合理的推理的推出来,又不能自作主张地加入文章未表述的
元素(看见妇女想到粉臂想到大腿
的思维方式非常有害,太多的干扰选项是对这种思维方式下套)。当然
,这个度有时把握起来比较难。
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.
33. 参考答案【B】
B.原文”
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 by oversize
limbs.”,表明由于直立起来的姿势人类的身高收到了限制。A.文中没有
提及。C.美国人是世
界上平均身高最高的,文中没有说到。D.个大的婴儿在孩童时期容易长得更高,这
个原文没有说明。故
选B。
[答案解析]A选项不对,是个简单的数学题,与此选项最相关的文字是这个: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但这只是说明了美国本地人的身高增长到了极限,
这之外的美国人(姑且就算Non-Ame
ricans吧),身高增长还在继续。但他们是不是就增加了美国的平
均身高呢?当然不是,你身高在
增长,但有多高啊?如果长了半天,还没美国本地人高,那对美国的平均
身高的作用就不是add吧?B
正确,There are some real constraints that are set by
the genetic
architecture of the individual
organism. 这里的genetic architecture 就是前面提到的bipedal
posture或者本选项里的upright posture。本选项里的conditioned
by对应原文里的constraints,
意为“受限于”。C选项根本没有提,D选项属典型的主观
臆断,原文有:Genetically speaking, there
are
advantages to avoiding substantial height. During
childbirth, larger babies have more
difficulty passing through the
birth canal.意思是人类不能长太高了,否则生的时候困难,这个逻辑
明显是,人类(成人
)身材变高→胎儿变大。但反过来是不是成立呢?至少从逻辑上不一定啊。
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.
34. 参考答案【D】D.
先定位到最后一段,“you could use today’s data and feel
fairly
confident.”说明现在的人类身高的数据以后还可以拿来使用。A.文中说,
“ensures that 90 percent of
the uniforms and
workstations fit recruits without alteration.”90%的
新兵制服和工作站无需改动,
而参考答案是重新考虑,与原文不符。B.军队制服的设计将不变,,文中
并无提及。C.基因测试将运用
到运动员选拔中去,文中无提及。故选D。
[答案解析]A不对,与本文论述相反,容易排除。B概念发生了变化,原文是the length
of military
uniforms has not changed for some
time,并不涉及design,长度和样式乃两码事。C离题千里,
是诗人的思维,呵呵。D正确,
you could use today’s data and feel fairly
confident就是依据。
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.
35. 参考答案【C】C.文章中提及到,由于基因的限制,美国人已经达到了身高的极限。A.人类
的身高改变遵循着周期的模式,而文章则说由于各种原因,人类的身高已经达到极限,与原文不符。B.
人
类的身高变得更加具有可预知性,与文中意思不符。D.美国人的基因形态已改变,,文中无提及。故
选C。
[答案解析]A,人类身高变化遵循某种周期律?哪儿说了?排除!B有点迷惑性,美国人在可
以预见的未
来就那么高啦,这不是more predictable吗?但从思维上有好多问题。一、
全文讨论的是美国人的平均
身高,不是个体,而且讨论的是美国人,而非泛泛的人类;二、此选项说会“
更加有预见性”,什么叫更加
呀?近几十年来就已经这样了,谈不上更加。C正确,基本就是本文主题思
想,美国人身高已经达到基因
极限了,而且这个极限一时半会儿不会改变。D选项与原文意思相反。
2008 Text 3
In the
early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three
players in the National
Basketball Association
(NBA) listed at over seven feet. ①If he had played
last season,
however, he would have been one
of 42. ②The bodies playing major professional
sports
have changed dramatically over the
years, and managers have been more than willing to
adjust team uniforms to fit the growing
numbers of bigger, longer frames.
在20世纪60年代早期,Wilt Chamberlain是美国国家篮球协会中仅有的身高超过7
英尺的三个人
之一。可是如果他参加了上个赛季的话,他就变成了42分之一了。这些年来在较大的职业
体育运动中的
运动员的身体状况发生了很大的改变,而他们的经理人也更愿意调整队员的运动服来适应队
员们更大,更
高的身材。
association
[ə'səusi'eiʃən] n. 联系,联想;交际,交往;协会,社团
【例】Let's form an association to help blind
people. 让我们建立一个协会来帮助盲人吧。
dramatically
[drə'mætikli] ad. 从戏剧角度;戏剧性地,显著地
【例】I kept
emphasizing how dramatically things have changed.
我反复强调事情发生了多大的变化。
adjust [ə'dʒʌst]
vt. 调整,使适应于,校准 vi. 调整,适应于,校准
【例】This electric
pot can adjust the temperature automatically.
这种电饭锅能自动调节温度。
1. If he had played
last season, however, he would have been one of
42.
【译文】可是如果他参加了上个赛季的话,他就变成了42分之一了。
【解析】这句话是句虚拟语气,if + had done,后面接上would have
done,这句话是过去时的虚
拟语气,中间的however是插入语。
2. The
bodies playing major professional sports have
changed dramatically over the
years, and
managers have been more than willing to adjust
team uniforms to fit the growing
numbyyers of
bigger, longer frames.
【译文】这些年来在较大的职业体育运动中的运动员
的身体状况发生了很大的改变,而他们的经理人
也更愿意调整队员的运动服来适应队员们更大,更高的身
材。
【解析】这句话是个并列句,由and连接。前半句的主语是The
bodies,playing major professional
sport是对主语的补充,have changed是谓语,dramatically over
the years是状语。后半句中,
managers是主语,have been是谓语。
The trend in sports, though, may be
obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have
generally stopped growing. ③Though 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 to
result from the increasingly common practice of
recruiting
players from all over the world.
虽然体育界的这种趋势可能蒙蔽了一个没有被承认的现
实:美国人基本上停止生长了。虽然现在人们
比140年前高了2英寸,特别是那些出生在已移民美国很
多代的那些人,但是明显的,在二十世纪60年
代早期,已经到达了他们的身高的极限。他们已经不可能
再长得更高了。“在这个基因和环境的条件下,现
在整体的人们已经长到我们能够达到的范围了,”Wr
ight州大学的人类学家William Cameron
Chumlea
说道。拿NBA球员来说,他们身高的增加主要由于从世界各地招募到了球员。
obscure [əb'skjuə] a.
微暗的,难解的,含糊的,晦涩的,偏僻的,不著名的 vt. 使阴暗,隐藏,使含
糊
【例】The drafting of this section of the Bill is
obscure.
草案上的这一项含糊不清。
apparently
[ə'pærəntli] ad. 表面上,似乎,显然地
【例】Apparently he
wanted to be close to those common people.
他显然想接近那些平民。
genetic [dʒi'neitik] a.
遗传的,遗传学的
【例】An enzyme that catalyzes genetic
recombination.
催化重级酶能催化基因重组的一种酶。
anthropologist [ænθrə'pɔlədʒist] n.
人类学家
【例】The anthropologist contrasted two
cultures in his lecture.
这位人类学家在讲座中将两种文化进行对比。
recruit [ri'kru:t] n. 新兵,新分子,新会员,补给品
vt. 使恢复,补充,征募vi. 征募新兵,复
原
【例】We recruit all
our restaurant staff locally .
我们从本地招所有的餐厅职员。
3. 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.
【译文】虽然现在人们比140年前高了2英寸,特别是那些出生在已移民美国很多代的
那些人,但是
明显的,在二十世纪60年代早期,已经到达了他们的身高的极限。
【解析】这句话主语是today’s people,Though typically
about two inches taller now than 140
years
ago是状语,especially those born to families who have
lived in the U.S. for many
generations是对主语的补充,reached their limit是谓语,in
the early 1960s是时间状语。
④Growth, 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.
身
高的增长一般在20岁以后就停止了,而发育是需要能量和营养的,其中的蛋白质用来供给组织的
生长。
在20世纪初,营养不良和儿童疾病妨碍了整体的发育。但是当饮食和健康的促进,儿童和青少年
平均每20年都增长了大概1.5英寸,这就是长高的趋势。根据疾病防治中
心,从1960年开始,人们的
平均身高,男性5英尺9英寸,女性5英尺4英寸,就没有怎么改变了。
tissue ['tiʃu] n. 薄的纱织品,薄纸,棉纸,组织,连篇
【例】The process of dissolution and resorption
of bony tissue. 骨组织吸收骨组织分解和吸
收的过程。
adolescent [ædəu'lesnt] a. 青春期的,青年的n.
青少年
【例】an awkward bad-mannered adolescent
boy. 笨拙的没礼貌的青少年。
secular ['sekjulə]
n. 牧师,俗人a. 世俗的,现世的,不朽的,长期的
【例】The choir sings
both sacred and secular music. 唱诗班既唱圣乐也唱世俗歌曲。
4. Growth, which rarely continues beyond the
age of 20, demands calories and nutrients–
notably, protein – to feed expanding tissues.
【译文】身高的增长一般在20岁以后就停止了,而发育是需要能量和营养的,其中的蛋白质用来供给组织的生长。
【解析】这句话中Growth是主语,which rarely
continues beyond the age of
20是定语从句,
demands是谓语,calories and
nutrients是宾语。notably, protein – to feed expanding
tissues
是对宾语的补足。
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 by
oversize limbs. “There are some real
constraints that are set by the genetic
architecture of
the individual organism,” says
anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern
University.
总的说来,避免太高的身高是有很多优点的。在生产时,较大的婴
儿通过产道是有更多的问题的。而
且,就算人类已经直立行走已经几百万年了,我们的脚和背部继续对抗
着巨大的压力,这些压力来源于双
足直立的姿势和巨大的肢体。“有一些限制是个体器官的基因结构导致
的。”西北大学的人类学家William
Leonard说道。
substantial [səb'stænʃəl] n. 重要部分,本质 a.
实质上的,物质的,有内容的,结实的
【例】She realized a
substantial return on the investment.
她在那次投资中获得了实在的回
报
bipedal ['baipedl] a.
两足动物
【例】large carnivorous bipedal dinosaur
having huge claws. 爪巨大的大型食肉类两足恐龙。
strain
[strein] vt. 拉紧,绷紧;损伤,扭伤;紧张,勉强 vi. 尽力,使劲 n.
U拉紧,张力,应变;紧张
【例】The great mental strain and
overwork shattered his
mind.巨大的精神负担和过度劳累
使他心智受损。
architecture
['ɑ:kitektʃə] n. 建筑学,建筑术;建筑物;组织,结构
【例】The
study of ecclesiastical architecture and
ornamentation.教堂建筑学研究教堂建筑
及装饰的学科。
Genetic maximums can change, but don’t expect
this to happen soon. ⑤Claire 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.”
基因的最大化可以改变,但是不要期待它会马上就能发生。Mas
s州的Natick的军队研究中心的高级
人类学家Claire C. Gordon确信百分之九十
的入伍新兵不需要更换新的制服和工作站。她说,不像那些
篮球制服,军队的制服长度很长时间都没有改
变了。如果你需要在不远的将来预测人类的身高而去设计一
款新的设备,Gordon说基本上,“你都
能够使用现在的数据并且觉得非常地自信。”
5. 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.
【译文】Mass州的Natick的军队研究中心的高级人类学家Claire C.
Gordon确信百分之九十的入
伍新兵不需要更换新的制服和工作站。
【解析】这句话中Claire C. Gordon是主语,senior
anthropologist at the Army Research
Center in
Natick, Mass是对主语的补充,ensures是谓语,that 90 percent of
the uniforms and
workstations fit recruits
without alteration是that引导的宾语从句,90 percent of the
uniforms
and workstations是宾语从句中的主语,fit是宾语从句中的谓
语,recruits是宾语从句中的宾语。
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.
31. 参考答案【A】
【解析】A.Wilt
Chamberlain在第一段,先定位,“In the early 1960s Wilt
Chamberlain was
one of 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.”19世纪60年代初,Wilt
Chamberlain是NBA身高超过7尺的3人之一,
如果他打了最后一个赛季的话,他将是42人之一。说
明后来NBA中身高超过7尺的增加到了42人。
也就证明了NBA运动员的身高变化。
B.显示了美国NBA球员的名声,与原文不符。
C. 比较了NBA两代的球员的区别,与原文不符。
D.评估了著名NBA球员的成绩,与原文不符。
故选A。
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.
32.
参考答案【C】
【解析】C. “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,”说明导致身高
增长的因素有饮食
和健康的改善,就是参考答案所说的生活水平。A.基因变化,这个与原文不符。B.
自然环境,文中没有
提及。D.日常锻炼,与原文不符。故选C。
[答案解析]身体成长方面
,本文的一些表述非常明确:青少年身体成长受(摄取)热量、营养、饮食及
健康等因素的影响;在这些
因素不成问题的情况下,成人身高受制于基因。问题是这个题目是问什么呢?
是问成人的终极身高(这是
body growth的结果啊)呢,还是青少年的身体成长?如果基因变异(Genetic
modification)一下,那么Genetic maximums可能就发生变化了,于是成
人身高可能就会变化了(如
大幅增长),那么A不就产生重要作用了吗?但我还是倾向于选C,原因是:
一、第二段里有In the general
population today, at
this genetic, environmental level这句话,也就是在目前的基因和环境条
件下,
身高的增长已到尽头。如果基因算一个因素的话,那B选项也对呀,此题的难处在于,A、B、C
、D逻辑
上都是重要的影响因素,而且A、B也有明述。但这是单选题,所以A和B可以同时被排除;二
、明确阐
述身体增长内容,集中于本文第三段,此处涉及的热量、营养、饮食及健康等因素均可以归因于
Living
standards,对吧?D选项逻辑上是,但本文并未提及(注意题目要求是according
to the text,即使
没有这个文字,阅读题也要坚持这个原则),所以排除。本题能充分反映
解阅读题的一个高超技艺要求:既
要大胆地把合理的推理的推出来,又不能自作主张地加入文章未表述的
元素(看见妇女想到粉臂想到大腿
的思维方式非常有害,太多的干扰选项是对这种思维方式下套)。当然
,这个度有时把握起来比较难。
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.
33. 参考答案【B】
B.原文”
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 by oversize
limbs.”,表明由于直立起来的姿势人类的身高收到了限制。A.文中没有
提及。C.美国人是世
界上平均身高最高的,文中没有说到。D.个大的婴儿在孩童时期容易长得更高,这
个原文没有说明。故
选B。
[答案解析]A选项不对,是个简单的数学题,与此选项最相关的文字是这个: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但这只是说明了美国本地人的身高增长到了极限,
这之外的美国人(姑且就算Non-Ame
ricans吧),身高增长还在继续。但他们是不是就增加了美国的平
均身高呢?当然不是,你身高在
增长,但有多高啊?如果长了半天,还没美国本地人高,那对美国的平均
身高的作用就不是add吧?B
正确,There are some real constraints that are set by
the genetic
architecture of the individual
organism. 这里的genetic architecture 就是前面提到的bipedal
posture或者本选项里的upright posture。本选项里的conditioned
by对应原文里的constraints,
意为“受限于”。C选项根本没有提,D选项属典型的主观
臆断,原文有:Genetically speaking, there
are
advantages to avoiding substantial height. During
childbirth, larger babies have more
difficulty passing through the
birth canal.意思是人类不能长太高了,否则生的时候困难,这个逻辑
明显是,人类(成人
)身材变高→胎儿变大。但反过来是不是成立呢?至少从逻辑上不一定啊。
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.
34. 参考答案【D】D.
先定位到最后一段,“you could use today’s data and feel
fairly
confident.”说明现在的人类身高的数据以后还可以拿来使用。A.文中说,
“ensures that 90 percent of
the uniforms and
workstations fit recruits without alteration.”90%的
新兵制服和工作站无需改动,
而参考答案是重新考虑,与原文不符。B.军队制服的设计将不变,,文中
并无提及。C.基因测试将运用
到运动员选拔中去,文中无提及。故选D。
[答案解析]A不对,与本文论述相反,容易排除。B概念发生了变化,原文是the length
of military
uniforms has not changed for some
time,并不涉及design,长度和样式乃两码事。C离题千里,
是诗人的思维,呵呵。D正确,
you could use today’s data and feel fairly
confident就是依据。
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.
35. 参考答案【C】C.文章中提及到,由于基因的限制,美国人已经达到了身高的极限。A.人类
的身高改变遵循着周期的模式,而文章则说由于各种原因,人类的身高已经达到极限,与原文不符。B.
人
类的身高变得更加具有可预知性,与文中意思不符。D.美国人的基因形态已改变,,文中无提及。故
选C。
[答案解析]A,人类身高变化遵循某种周期律?哪儿说了?排除!B有点迷惑性,美国人在可
以预见的未
来就那么高啦,这不是more predictable吗?但从思维上有好多问题。一、
全文讨论的是美国人的平均
身高,不是个体,而且讨论的是美国人,而非泛泛的人类;二、此选项说会“
更加有预见性”,什么叫更加
呀?近几十年来就已经这样了,谈不上更加。C正确,基本就是本文主题思
想,美国人身高已经达到基因
极限了,而且这个极限一时半会儿不会改变。D选项与原文意思相反。