People have grown taller over the last century, with South Korean women shooting up by more than 20cm on average, and Iranian men gaining 16.5cm. A global study looked at the average height of 18-year-olds in 200 countries between 1914 and 2014.
The results reveal that while Swedes were the tallest people in the world in 1914, Dutch men have risen from 12th place to the top with an average height of 182.5cm. Latvian women, meanwhile, rose from 28th place in 1914 to become the tallest in the world a century later, with an average height of 169.8cm.
James Bentham, a co-author of the research from Imperial College, London, says the global trend is likely to be due primarily to improvements in nutrition and healthcare. “An individual's genetics has a big influence on their height, but once you average over whole populations, genetics plays a less key role,” he added.
A little extra height brings a number of advantages, says Elio Riboli of Imperial College. “Being taller is associated with longer life expectancy,” he said. “This is largely due to a lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease among taller people.”
But while height has increased around the world, the trend in many countries of north and sub-Saharan Africa causes concern, says Riboli. While height increased in Uganda and Niger during the early 20th century, the trend has turned backwards in recent years, with height decreasing among 18-year-olds.
“One reason for these decreases in height is the economic situation in the 1980s,” said Alexander Moradi of the University of Sussex. The nutritional and health crises that followed the policy of structural adjustment, he says, led to many children and teenagers failing to reach their full potential in terms of height.
Bentham believes the global trend of increasing height has important implications. “How tall we are now is strongly influenced by the environment we grew up in,” he said. “If we give children the best possible start in life now, they will be healthier and more productive for decades to come.”
1.What does the global study tell us about people's height in the last hundred years?
A.There is a remarkable difference across continents.
B.There has been a marked increase in most countries.
C.The increase in people's height has been quickening.
D.The increase in women's height is bigger than in men's.
2.What does James Bentham say about genetics in the increase of people's height?
A.It counts less than generally thought.
B.It outweighs nutrition and healthcare.
C.It impacts more on an individual than on a population.
D.It plays a more significant role in females than in males.
3.What does Elio Riboli say about taller people?
A.They tend to live longer. B.They enjoy an easier life.
C.They generally risk fewer fatal diseases. D.They have greater expectations in life.
4.What do we learn about 18-year-olds in Uganda and Niger?
A.They grow up slower than their peers in other countries.
B.They are actually shorter than their earlier generations.
C.They find it hard to bring their potential into full play.
D.They have experienced many changes of government.
5.What does James Bentham suggest we do?
A.Watch closely the global trend in children's development.
B.Make sure that our children grow up to their full height.
C.Try every means to protect our environment.
D.Ensure our children grow up in a more ideal environment.
All through the long summer vacations, I sat on the edge of the street and watched enviously the other boys on the block play baseball. I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing — not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted I would be no good at it.
I would never forget the wonderful evening when something changed. The baseball ended about eight or eight thirty when it grew dark. Then it was the custom of the boys to sit at a little stoop (门廊), mostly talking about the games played during the day and of the game to be played tomorrow. Then long silences would fall and the boys would wander off one by one. It was just after one of those long silences that my life as an outsider changed. I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question; but whoever he was, I nod to him gratefully now. “What’s in those books you’re always reading?” he asked casually. “Stories,” I answered “What kind?” asked somebody else without much interest.
Nor do I know what drove me to behave as I did, for usually I just sat there in silence, glad enough to be allowed to remain among them; but instead of answering his question, I told them for two hours the story I was reading at the moment. The book was Sister Carrie. They listened bug-eyed and breathless. I must have told it well, but I think there was another and deeper reason that made them so keen an audience. Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man’s entertainments, but I was offering them as well, without being aware of doing it, a new and exciting experience.
The next night and many night thereafter, a kind of unspoken ritual (仪式) took place. As it grew dark, I would take my place in the center of the stoop and begin the evening’s tale. Some nights, in order to taste my victory more completely, I cheated. I would stop at the most exciting part of a story by Jack London or Bret Harte, and without warning tell them that that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening. It was not true, of course; but I had to make certain of my new-found power and position. I enjoyed the long summer evenings until school began in the fall.Other words of mine have been listened to by larger and more fashionable audiences, but for that tough and athletic one that sat close on the stoop outside the candy store, I have an unreasoning love that will last forever.
1.Watching the boys playing baseball, the writer must have felt _____.
A.special and different
B.bitter and lonely
C.pleased and excited
D.disturbed and annoyed
2.The writer feels grateful even now to the boy who asked the question because the boy _____.
A.broke the long silence of that summer evening
B.liked the book that he was reading
C.invited him to join in their game
D.offered him an opportunity that changed his life
3.According to Paragraph 3, story-telling was popular among the boys basically because _____.
A.the story was from a children’s book
B.the boys had few entertainments after dark
C.listening to tales was an age-old practice
D.the boys didn’t read books by themselves
4.Sometimes the writer stopped at the most exciting part of a story to _____.
A.experience more joy of achievement
B.play a mean trick on the boys
C.add his own imagination to the story
D.help the boys understand the story better
5.What is the message conveyed in the story?
A.Reading is more important than playing games.
B.Friendship is built upon respect for each other.
C.One can find his position in life in his own way.
D.Adult habits are developed from childhood.
Here are four pieces of news from China Daily.
SHANGHAI — The Huachen Group recently held a meeting in Shanghai to show the use of its newly opened tourism business payment network. The network aims to serve tourists from all over the world, but especially from Europe and the United States where credit cards are popularly used. After opening the www.chinaecnet.com website, netizens can get information about hotels and tourism services on tourism page. Hotels and services can be reserved and payments made through credit cards. The network opened in February in Beijing.
SYDNEY — The Sydney Olympic flame will travel underwater on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef during the torch relay following a successful test. Scuba diver Wendy Craig, a marine biologist, will carry the torch on a three-to-four-minute underwater journey at Agincourt Reef on June 27, creating Olympic history, organizers said yesterday. Burning at 2000 degrees, the torch is expected to remain a light three meters underwater because of the special technology which creates a fierce flame that can not be drowned out by water.
Charles Tegner, managing director of torch creator, said the flame would burn like a flare (照明弹) from oxygen-producing chemicals.
BEIJING — The election of a new leader in Taiwan can not change the fact that Taiwan is a part of Chinese territory. “Taiwan Independence” in whatever form will never be allowed, according to a statesman of China’s central government.
“We should listen to what the new leader in Taiwan says and watch what he does. We will observe where he will lead cross-Straits (海峡两岸) relations. We are willing to exchange views on cross-Straits relations and peaceful reunification with all parties, organizations and personages in Taiwan who favor the one China principle,” says the statesman, which was released by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee.
HAIKOU — Customs officers in Haikou recently stopped a boat loaded with 781 cases of foreign-brand cigarettes being smuggled (走私) into China. The smuggled cigarettes cases, packed into two containers, were disguised to avoid being examined. The boat was registered in the coastal city of Xiamen in East China’s Fujian Province. All eight suspects aboard the boat were kept by the police in Haikou.
1.Why does the network aim to serve tourists especially from Europe and the USA?
A.Because they are from developed countries.
B.Because the payments of hotels and services should be made through credit cards.
C.Because people in these countries travel much more than other countries.
D.Because it is more convenient for them to surf the Internet.
2.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the second piece of news?
A.The whole torch relay will be held three-four metres underwater.
B.The underwater journey of the torch will play an important part in Olympic history.
C.A test has been made before this activity.
D.Some chemicals will help the flame burn by producing oxygen.
3.Which is the best title for the third piece of news?
A.Ready to Fight
B.No Good End
C.Wait and See
D.Peace Comes First
4.Which of the following best explains the underlined word disguised in the last piece of news?
A.made different from normal
B.designed for a good purpose
C.divided
D.pretended
Some of the greatest problems we face today are concerned with the gradual destruction of our environment. Brown clouds; wildlife ____; polluted water. These ____ all seem so huge. So my family does what we can. We take cloth bags to stores instead of using plastic bags. We walk where we don’t have to ____.
But does it do any good?
I recently learned something about flamingos (火烈鸟). These beautiful birds gather in ___ groups of a thousand or more. Every year, when the time ____ for migration, a few flamingos start the process by taking off from the lake. But ____ of the others seem to notice, so the tiny group returns.
However, the next day they ____ again. This time a few more struggle along with them, but the vast majority still ____ no attention, so these pioneers come back.
The ____ continues for several more days. Every time a few more birds join in but, _____ the thousands of others still take no ____, the great migration plan is once again ____.
Then one day something ____. The same small group of birds takes wing and a tiny number more join in, just as before. And this time their total number, though still quite ____, is enough to tip the balance. As one, the whole group takes flight and the migration ____. What a ____ sight it must be – thousands of flamingos taking to the sky at once!
A few can make a ____. It’s true that all of the great problems of the world have been solved because of the ____ efforts of a few.
If you believe in a cause (事业), don’t ____! Others will someday take notice and together we will ____ even our greatest problems.
1.A.protection B.extinction C.migration D.separation
2.A.questions B.costs C.examples D.problems
3.A.drive B.run C.cycle D.stand
4.A.tiny B.different C.huge D.similar
5.A.comes B.passes C.varies D.moves
6.A.all B.any C.none D.most
7.A.gather B.try C.sing D.appear
8.A.attract B.require C.escape D.pay
9.A.plan B.trend C.activity D.movement
10.A.since B.though C.unless D.while
11.A.responsibility B.notice C.chance D.measure
12.A.put off B.cut off C.carried out D.worked out
13.A.approaches B.works C.changes D.disappears
14.A.significant B.reasonable C.adequate D.small
15.A.continues B.delays C.finishes D.begins
16.A.familiar B.strange C.magnificent D.unrealistic
17.A.point B.decision C.difference D.mistake
18.A.useless B.tireless C.extra D.special
19.A.give up B.give in C.give away D.give out
20.A.identify B.understand C.predict D.solve
________ the quickening pace of life, competition goes increasingly fierce in all respects of life, bringing great pressure as well as plentiful chances to everyone.
A.In spite of B.By means of
C.On account of D.In terms of
—Do you think I should have a record of the medical workers who risked their lives to come to the aid of Hubei, Mary?
—If I were in your shoes, I certainly would.
A.None of your business. B.It depends.
C.Why not? D.I don’t think so.
