Intheearly1960sWiltChamberlainwasoneofonlythreeplayersi...

問題詳情：

In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in the National Basketball Association（NBA）listed at over seven feet． If he had played last season， however， he would have been one of 42． The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years， and managers have been more than willing to adjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger， longer frames．

    The trend in sports， though， may be obscuring an unrecognized reality： Americans have generally stopped growing． Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago， today's people﹣especially those born to families who have lived in the U． S． for many generations﹣apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s． And they aren't likely to get any taller． "In the general population today， at this genetic， environmental level， we've pretty much gone as far as we can go，" says anthropologist William Cameron Chum﹣lea of Wright State University． In the case of NBA players， their increase in height appears to result from the increasingly common practice of recruiting players from all over the world．

    Growth， which rarely continues beyond the age of 20， demands calories and nutrients﹣notably， protein﹣﹣to feed expanding tissues． At the start of the 20th century， under﹣nutrition and childhood infections got in the way． But as diet and health improved， children and adolescents have， on average， increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years， a pattern known as the secular trend in height． Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention， average height﹣﹣5'9" for men，5'4" for women﹣﹣hasn't really changed since 1960．

    Genetic maximums can change， but don't expect this to happen soon． Claire C． Gordon， senior anthropologist at the Army Research Center in Natick， Mass ensures that 90 percent of the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration． She says that， unlike those for basketball， the length of military uniforms has not changed for some time． And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment， Gordon says that by and large，"you could use today's data and feel fairly confident．"

（1）Wilt Chamberlain is cited as an example to　   　．

A． illustrate the change of height of NBA players．

B． show the popularity of NBA players in the U．S．

C． compare different generations of NBA players．

D． assess the achievements of famous NBA players．

（2）Which of the following plays a key role in body growth according to the text？　   　

A． Genetic modification．

B． Living standards．

C． Natural environment．

D． Daily exercise．

（3）We learn from the last paragraph that in the near future　   　．

A． the garment industry will reconsider the uniform size．

B． the design of military uniforms will remain unchanged．

C． genetic testing will be employed in selecting sportsmen．

D． the existing data of human height will still be applicable．

（4）The text intends to tell us that　   　．

A． the change of human height follows a cyclic pattern．

B． human height is becoming even more predictable．

C． Americans have reached their genetic growth limit．

D． the genetic pattern of Americans has altered．

【回答】

A   B   D   C

【分析】本文是一篇社會文化類閲讀，文章介紹了美國人的身高已經達到了生長極限．

【解答】（1）A． 推理判斷題．根據第一段中的"In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in the National Basketball Association （NBA）listed at over seven feet． If he had played last season， however， he would have been one of 42． The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years"可知，在20世紀60年代早期，威爾特•張伯倫是NBA中僅有的三名身高超過7英尺的球員之一，然而，如果他上個賽季參加比賽，他就會成為42人中的一員，近年來，從事主要職業運動的運動員的身體發生了巨大的變化，由此可知，第一段引用威爾特•張伯倫的例子就是為了説明NBA球員身高的變化，故A項正確．

（2）B． 細節理解題．根據第三段中的"Growth， which rarely continues beyond the age of 20， demands calories and nutrients﹣notably， protein﹣﹣to feed expanding tissues． At the start of the 20th century， under﹣nutrition and childhood infections got in the way． But as diet and health improved， children and adolescents have， on average， increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years，"可知，身高的增長一般在20歲就停止了，而發育是需要卡路里和營養的，其中的蛋白質用來供給組織的生長，20世紀初，營養不良和兒童疾病阻礙了整體的發育，但隨着飲食和健康狀況的改善，兒童和青少年的身高平均每20年增加1.5英寸左右，由此可知，生活水平在身體發育中起着關鍵作用，故B項正確．

（3）D． 推理判斷題．根據最後一段中的"And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment， Gordon says that by and large， "you could use today's data and feel fairly confident．""可知，戈登説，如果你需要在不久的將來預測人類的身高來設計一個新設備，你可以使用今天的數據並會感到非常自信，由此可知，現在人類身高的數據仍然適用．故D項正確．

（4）C． 目的意圖題．通讀全文，特別是根據第二段中的"The trend in sports， though， may be obscuring an unrecognized reality： Americans have generally stopped growing． Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago， today's people﹣especially those born to families who have lived in the U． S． for many generations﹣apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s． And they aren't likely to get any taller． "In the general population today， at this genetic， environmental level， we've pretty much gone as far as we can go，""可知，體育運動員的身高增加這一趨勢可能掩蓋了一個未被承認的事實：美國人的身高已經基本停止增長了，雖然現在的人通常比140年前高出約2英寸，但今天的人，特別是那些在美國生活了很多代的家庭所生的人，顯然在20世紀60年代初達到了極限，而且他們不太可能再長高，在這個基因和環境的條件下，我們的身高已經達到極限了，由此可知，本文主要介紹的是美國人的身高已經達到了生長極限，故C項正確．

【點評】做這類題材閲讀理解時要求考生對文章通讀一遍，做題時結合原文和題目有針對*的找出相關語句進行仔細分析，結合選項選出正確*．推理判斷題也是要在抓住關鍵句子的基礎上合理的分析才能得出正確*，切忌胡亂猜測，一定要做到有理有據．

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