Question

Recently a study，led by Pedro Hallal of the Federal University，suggests that nearly a third of adults，31%，are not getting enough exercise. That rates of exercise have declined is hardly a new discovery. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution，technology and economic growth have helped to create a world in which taking exercise is more and more an option rather than a necessity. But only recently have enough good data been collected from enough places to carry out the sort of analysis Dr. Hallal and his colleagues have engaged in.

There are common themes in different places. Unsurprisingly，people in rich countries are less active than those in poor ones，and old people are less active than young ones. Less obviously，women tend to exercise less than men—34% are inactive，compared with 28% of men. But there are exceptions. The women of Croatia，Finland，Iraq and Luxembourg，for example，move more than their male countrymen.

Malta wins the race for most slothful country，with 72% of adults getting too little exercise，and Swaziland and Saudi Arabia are in close behind，with 69%. In Bangladesh，just 5% of adults fail to exercise enough. Surprisingly，six Americans in ten are active enough according to Dr. Hallal’s study，compared with fewer than four in ten British.

These high rates of inactivity are worrying. Human beings seem to have evolved to benefit from exercise while deliberately avoiding it whenever they can. In a state of nature it would be impossible to live a life that did not provide enough of it. But that is no longer the case. Actually lack of enough activity these days has nearly the same effect on life span as smoking.

1.We may learn from Paragraph 1 that ________.

A. the decline of exercise rates is newly discovered

B. the study suggests 31% of female adults get too little exercise

C. the industrial revolution has changed the way people live to some degree

D. the good enough data has been collected from only one country

2.According to the study, women of Luxembourg ________.

A. have little time to exercise

B. hate to get regular exercise

C. take more exercise to lose weight

D. exercise more than men in their country

3.The underlined word “slothful” in Paragraph 3 most probably means “________”．

A. lazy    B. rich

C. powerful    D. unpopular

4.What can be the best title for the text?

A. Benefits of Taking Exercise

B. New Health Discovery

C. Evolvement of Human Beings

D. Worldwide Lack of Enough Exercise

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.A

4.D

【解析】本文属于议论文。文章讲述工业革命已经在某些程度上改变了人们的生活方式，锻炼身体越来越成为人们的一种选择，而非迫切的需要，现在世界范围内的人们普遍缺少足够的锻炼。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段第三句“Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, technology and economic growth have helped to create a world in which taking exercise is more and more an option rather than a necessity.”可知，工业革命已经在某些程度上改变了人们的生活方式，故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句“The women of Croatia, Finland, Iraq and Luxembourg, for example, move more than their male countrymen.”可知，Luxembourg 的妇女锻炼得比男子多，故选D。

3.词义猜测题。根据画线词所在句“Malta wins the race for most slothful country, with 72% of adults getting too little exercise...”可知，此处讲Malta的人运动量最少，即Malta的人是世界上最懒惰的人，所以“slothful”是“懒惰”的意思，故选A。

4.标题归纳题。根据文章首句“Recently a study，led by Pedro Hallal of the Federal University，suggests that nearly a third of adults，31%，are not getting enough exercise.”及下文中作者对各国人民运动量的分析可知，这篇文章讲的是世界范围的人缺少足够的锻炼，故选D。