问题详情

　　The American population was the tallest in the world from about theAmerican Revolution to World WarⅡ—that’s a long time.The U.S.had a very resourcerich environment, with game, fish and wildlife. In fact we have data ondisadvantaged people in America,such as slaves.They were obviously among themost mistreated populations in the world, but given the resource abundance，andgiven the fact that the slave owners needed their work,they had to be fedrelatively decently. So the slaves were taller than European peasants. It’s nowonder that Europeans were just flooding to America.

　　Americans today are no longer the tallest people in the world.After WorldWarⅡ，many Western and Northern European countries began to adopt favorablesocial policies.There is universal health insurance in most of thesesocieties—that,of course，makes a difference in health care.You can also considerincome inequality in the U.S., since people who are at the low end of the totempole(图腾柱)have considerable adversity making ends meet.I suspect the differencein height between Americans and Europeans is due to both diet and healthcare.

　　Americans today suffer from an additional problem:obesity.If children aretoo well nourished，then they’ re not able to grow optimally.There are certainhormones that control the start of the adolescent growth and the start ofadolescence.Nutrition is one of the factors，along with genetic and hormonal oneswhich are associated with the start of puberty(青春期).And if puberty comes tooearly，then the youth will peak out sooner,and will not become as tall inadulthood as someone who had better nutrition.Also,the overload of carbohydratesand fats in a fast food diet may hinder the consumption of micro nutrientsessential to growth.

　　1.The word "game" in(line 2，para.1)refers to.

　　(A). animals hunted for food

　　(B). rich natural resources

　　(C). activities played by kids

　　(D). sports events to be held

　　2.Slaves in America were taller than European peasants because.

　　(A). they were badly treated

　　(B). they did not do farm work

　　(C). they had sufficient food to eat

　　(D). they enjoyed better health care

　　3. It is implied in the second paragraph that.

　　(A). Europeans could make more money than Americans

　　(B). average Americans used to be shorter than Europeans

　　(C). welfare helps Europeans grow taller than Americans

　　(D). people on the totem pole are leading a comfortable life

　　4. According to the third paragraph,overweight children in the U.S..

　　A. tend to have better nutrition for growth

　　B. tend to eat more food to grow taller

　　C. will grow taller than average children

　　D. will fail to grow into an ideal height

　　5. Eating too much fast food may affect.

　　(A). the absorption of micronutrients

　　(B). the intake of carbohydrates

　　(C). the consumption of hormones

　　(D). the digestion of fats