Question

The spread of Western eating habits around the world is bad for human health and for the environment. Those findings come from a new report in the journal Nature.

David Tilman is a professor at the University of Minnesota. In the study, he examined information from 100 nations to show what people ate and how diet affected health. Mr. Tilman noted a movement beginning in the 1960s. He found that as nations industrialized(工业化), population increased and earnings rose. More people began to adopt what has been called the Western diet. The Western diet is high in sugar, fat, oil and meat. By eating these foods, people began to get fatter and sicker.

“The food, let us say, in the 15 richest nations of the world, right now contains about 400 or 500 extra calories(热量) a day that are eaten beyond what people need, and that leads people to gain weight.”

David Tillman says overweight people are at greater risk for diseases like diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Diabetes is shooting to very high rates in the United States and across Europe. Heart disease is a major cause of death in the Western nations. Unfortunately when people become industrialized, if they adopt this Western diet, they are going to have these same health problems.

A diet bad for human beings, it seems, is also bad for the environment. As the world’s population grows, experts say more forests and areas will become farmland for crops or grasslands for raising cattle. These areas will be needed to meet the increasing demand for food.

Mr. Tilman calls the link between diet, the environment and human health, “a dilemma”, a situation where it is very difficult to decide what to do. He says one possible solution is leaving the Western diet behind.

1.Why did people get fatter in the 1960s?

A. They ate foods high in calories.

B. They adopted a western lifestyle.

C. They set aside little time for exercise.

D. They had a better life and became lazier.

2.According to the text, overweight people may suffer the following diseases EXCEPT_______.

A. diabetes       B. skin disease

C. cancers       D. heart disease

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 5?

A. There will be fewer and fewer forests.

B. People won’t care about the environment.

C. The world’s population will grow faster than ever.

D. Raising cattle will be the most moneymaking business.

4.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?

A. To tell people effective ways to keep healthy.

B. To call on people to give up the Western diet.

C. To show the problems industrialized nations are facing.

D. To draw people’s attention to environmental protection.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

试题分析: 随着全球化进程的加快，西方的饮食习惯也层层逼近世界的每个角落，它是否对我们的饮食健康和环境造成影响呢？这篇文章做了详细的介绍。

1.】A 推理判断题。根据第一段“More people began to adopt what has been called the Western diet. The Western diet is high in sugar, fat, oil and meat.”可知在20世纪60年代，更多的人食用富含糖，油和肉的食物，即食用高热量的食物。故选A。

2.】B 细节理解题。根据第四段中 “David Tillman says overweight people are at greater risk for diseases like diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. ”，可判断文章没有提到过度肥胖的人会有得皮肤病的危险。故选B。

3.】A段落大意题。根据第五段“As the world’s population grows, experts say more forests and areas will become farmland for crops or grasslands for raising cattle. ”可知越来越多的森林可能变成农田，即森林面积会越来越小。故选A。

4.He says one possible solution is leaving the Western diet behind.”可推断作者写这篇文章的目的是为了号召人们不要再吃西方食物。故选B。

考点：考查健康环保类短文阅读。