Question

    It’s no secret that reading is helpful. But can it help kids lose weight? In the first study to look at the influence of literature (文学) on overweight teenagers, researchers at Duke Children’s Hospital discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.

The Duke researchers asked overweight girls aged 9 to 13 who were already in a weight loss program to read a novel called Lake Rescue. It was carefully created with the help of pediatric experts (儿科专家) to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.

Six months later, the Duke researchers found the 31 girls who read Lake Rescue experienced a significant decrease (fall) in their BMI scores (-.71%) when compared to a control group of 14 girls who hadn’t (+.05%), explained Alexandra C. Russell, a fourth-year medical student at Duke who led the study.

“As a pediatrician, I can’t count the number of times I tell parents to buy a book that might provide useful advice, yet I’ve never been able to point to research to back up my recommendations,” says Sarah Armstrong, director of Duke’s Healthy Lifestyles Program where the research took place. “This is the first probable interventional (介入的) study that found literature can have a positive influence on healthy lifestyle changes in young girls.”

Obesity is becoming more widespread in children, according to the CDC (Centres for Disease Control), which reports that 16 percent of children aged 6 to 19 are overweight or obese, a number that has increased since 1980. Researchers are looking at a lot of ways to help kids stay healthy, lose weight and be more active, but Armstrong says, “most don’t work very well. The weight loss choices that are effective typically involve taking powerful medications with side effects, or require long-lasting surgical procedures.”

While the BMI decrease due to the book is small, Armstrong says any decrease in BMI is encouraging because BMI typically increases in children as they grow and develop. That’s okay as long as it follows a normal, progressing curve. In overweight kids, however, BMI usually increases more quickly. “If their BMI percentile (百分位) goes down, it means they are either losing weight or getting tall and not gaining weight. Both are seen as positive signs in kids who are trying to lose weight,” she explains.

1.The underlined phrase “back up my recommendations” probably means“_________ ”.

A.influence my research B.change my opinion

C.respect my study D.support my advice

2.Which of the following statements about the research is TRUE?

A.The researchers interviewed the girls and studied information.

B.Pediatric experts offered specific guidance to the research.

C.16 percent of children aged from 9 to 13 were overweight.

D.The girls read a certain novel and gave their reports.

3.What’s the finding of the research?

A.That the girls all grew tall and lost weight after 6 months.

B.That the girls showed great interest in reading literature works.

C.That the girls who read Lake Rescue had a decrease in BMI.

D.That the girls needed to take powerful medications to lose weight.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

【解析】

本文主要讲述了阅读书籍能帮助孩子减肥。

1.

词义猜测题。根据第4大段“As a pediatrician, I can’t count the number of times I tell parents to buy a book that might provide useful advice, yet I’ve never been able to point to research to back up my recommendations,”作为一名儿科医生，我不止一次地告诉家长买本能提供有用意见的书籍，但是我没有找到研究来back up my recommendations，可知，back up my recommendations,是支持我的意见。influence my research影响我的研究；change my opinion改变我的观点；respect my study尊重我的研究；support my advice支持我的意见。故选D。

2.

推理判断题。根据第2大段“The Duke researchers asked overweight girls aged 9 to 13 who were already in a weight loss program to read a novel called Lake Rescue”研究者让已经参加了减肥计划的9-13岁的女孩去阅读小说Lake Rescue，可知，研究者不是采访了女孩们，故A错误；根据第2大段“It was carefully created with the help of pediatric experts (儿科专家) to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance,”它是在儿科专家提供特定的健康生活方式和体重管理指导的帮助下创建的，可知，研究里有儿科专家提供的特定指导，故B正确；根据第5大段“which reports that 16 percent of children aged 6 to 19 are overweight or obese, a number that has increased since 1980.”16%的6-19岁孩子是超重或者肥胖的，可知，不是9-13岁，故C错误；根据第2大段“The Duke researchers asked overweight girls aged 9 to 13 who were already in a weight loss program to read a novel called Lake Rescue”研究者让已经参加了减肥计划的9-13岁的女孩去阅读小说Lake Rescue，可知，女孩们没有给出阅读小说的报告，故D错误。故选B。

3.

细节理解题。根据第3大段“Six months later, the Duke researchers found the 31 girls who read Lake Rescue experienced a significant decrease (fall) in their BMI scores (-.71%) when compared to a control group of 14 girls who hadn’t (+.05%),”6个月后，研究者发现阅读了书籍的31个女孩子，与没有读过书籍的14个女孩子相比，她们的BMI值下降了。可知，故选C。