1、大学英语六级真题2008年12月大学英语六级真题Part I writing (30 minutes)How to Improve Students Mental Health1. 大学生的心理健康十分重要2. 为此,学校可以3. 我们自己应该Part II Reading Comprehension(Skimming and scanning) (15 minutes)Supersize surpriseAsk anyone why there is an obesity epidemic and they will tell you that its all down to eating
2、too much and burning too few calories. That explanation appeals to common sense and has dominated efforts to get to the root of the obesity epidemic and reverse it. Yet obesity researchers are increasingly dissatisfied with it. Many nowbelieve that something else must have changed in our environment
3、 to precipitate(促成) such dramatic rises in obesity over the past 40 years or so. Nobody is saying that the “big two” reduced physical activity and increased availability of food are not important contributors to the epidemic, but they cannot explain it all.Earlier this year a review paper by 20 obes
4、ity experts set out the 7 most plausible alternative explanations for the epidemic. Here they are.1. Not enough sleepIt is widely believed that sleep is for the brain, not the body. Could a shortage of shut-eye also be helping to make us fat?Several large-scale studies suggest there may be a link. P
5、eople who sleep less than 7 hours a night tend to have a higher body mass index than people who sleep more, according to data gathered by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Similarly, the US Nurses Health Study, which tracked 68,000 women for 16 years, found that those who slep
6、t an average of 5 hours a night gained more weight during the study period than women who slept 6 hours, who in turn gained more than whose who slept 7.Its well known that obesity impairs sleep, so perhaps people get fat first and sleep less afterwards. But the nurses study suggests that it can work
7、 in the other direction too; sleep loss may precipitate weight gain.Although getting figures is difficult, it appears that we really are sleeping less. In 1960 people in the US slept an average of 8.5 hours per night. A 2002 poll by the National Sleep Foundation suggests that the average has fallen
8、to under 7 hours, and the decline is mirrored by the increase in obesity.2. Climate controlWe humans, like all warm-blooded animals, can keep our core body temperatures pretty much constant regardless of whats going on in the world around us. We do this by altering our metabolic(新陈代谢的)rate, shiverin
9、g or sweating. Keeping warm and staying cool take energy unless we are in the “thermo-neutral zone”, which is increasingly where we choose to live and work.There is no denying that ambient temperatures(环境温度)have changed in the past few decades. Between 1970 and 2000, the average British home warmed
10、from a chilly 13C to 18C. In the US, the changes have been at the other end of the thermometer as the proportion of homes with air conditionings rose from 23% to 47% between 1978 and 1997. In the southern states where obesity rates tend to be highest the number of houses with air conditioning has sh
11、ot up to 70% from 37% in 1978.Could air conditioning in summer and heating in winter really make a difference to our weight? Sadly, there is some evidence that it does-at least with regard to heating. Studies show that in comfortable temperatures we use less energy.3. Less smokingBad news: smokers r
12、eally do tend to be thinner than the rest of us, and quitting really does pack on the pounds, though no one is sure why. It probably has something to do with the fact that nicotine(尼古丁)is an appetite suppressant and appears to up your metabolic rate.Katherine Flegal and colleagues at the US National
13、 Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, have calculated that people kicking the habit have been responsible for a small but significant portion of the US epidemic of fatness. From data collected around 1991 by the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, they worked out t
14、hat people who had quit in the previous decade were much more likely to be overweight than smokers and people who had never smoked. Among men, for example, nearly half of quitters were overweight compared with 37% of non-smokers and only 28%of smokers.4. Genetic effectsYours chances of becoming fat
15、may be set, at least in part, before you were even born. Children of obese mothers are much more likely to become obese themselves later in life. Offspring of mice fed a high-fat diet during pregnancy are much more likely to become fat than the offspring of identical mice fed a normal diet. Intrigui
16、ngly, the effect persists for two or three generations. Grandchildren of mice fed a high-fat diet grow up fat even if their own mother is fed normally-so you fate may have been sealed even before you were conceived.5. A little olderSome groups of people just happen to be fatter than others. Surveys
17、carried out by the US National Center for Health Statistics found that adults aged 40 to 79 were around three times as likely to be obese as younger people. Non-white females also tend to fall at the fatter end of the spectrum Mexican-American women are 30% more likely than white women to be obsess,
18、 and black women have twice the risk.In the US, these groups account for an increasing percentage of the population. Between 1970 and 2000 the US population aged 35 to 44 grew by 43%. The proportion of Hispanic-Americans also grew, from under 5% to 12.5% of the population, while the proportion of bl
19、ack Americans increased from 11% to 12.3%. These changes may account in part for the increased prevalence of obesity.6. Mature mumsMothers around the world are getting older. In the UK, the mean age for having a first child is 27.3, compared with 23.7 in 1970. Mean age at first birth in the US has a
20、lso increased, rising from 21.4 in 1970 to 24.9 in 2000.This would be neither here nor there if it werent for the observation that having an older mother seems to be an independent risk factor for obesity. Results from the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institutes study found that the odds of a c
21、hild being obese increase about 14% for every five extra years of their mothers age, though why this should be so is not entirely clear.Michael Symonds at the University of Nottingham, UK, found that first-born children have more fat than younger ones. As family size decreases, firstborns account fo
22、r a greater share of the population. In 1964, British women gave birth to an average of 2.95 children; by 2005 that figure had fallen to 1.79. In the US in 1976, 9.6% of woman in their 40s had only one child; in 2004 it was 17.4%. This combination of older mothers and more single children could be c
23、ontributing to the obesity epidemic.7. Like marrying likeJust as people pair off according to looks, so they do for size. Lean people are more likely to marry lean and fat more likely to marry fat. On its own, like marrying like cannot account for any increase in obesity. But combined with others- p
24、articularly the fact that obesity is partly genetic, and that heavier people have more children-it amplifies the increase form other causes.1. What is the passage mainly about?A)Effects of obesity on peoples healthB)The link between lifestyle and obesityC)New explanations for the obesity epidemic D)
25、Possible ways to combat the obesity epidemic2. In the US Nurses Health Study, women who slept an average of 7 hours a night_.A)gained the least weight B)were inclined to eat lessC)found their vigor enhanced D)were less susceptible to illness3. The popular belief about obesity is that _.A)it makes us
26、 sleepy B)it causes sleep loss C)it increases our appetite D)it results from lack of sleep4. How does indoor heating affect our life?A)It makes us stay indoors more. B)It accelerates our metabolic rate.C)It makes us feel more energetic. D)It contributes to our weight gain.5. What does the author say
27、 about the effect of nicotine on smokers?A)It threatens their health. B)It heightens their spirits.C)It suppresses their appetite. D)It slows down their metabolism.6. Who are most likely to be overweight according to Katherine Flegals study?A)Heavy smokers B)Passive smokers C)Those who never smoke D
28、)Those who quit smoking7. According to the US National Center for Health Statistics, the increased obesity in the US is a result of _.A)the growing number of smokers among young people B)the rising proportion of minorities in its populationC)the increasing consumption of high-calorie foods D)the imp
29、roving living standards of the poor people8. According to the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the reason why older mothers children tend to be obese remains _.9. According to Michael Symonds, one factor contributing to the obesity epidemic is decrease of _.10. When two heavy people get
30、married, chances of their children getting fat increase, because obesity is _.Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)Section A11. A) He is quite easy to recognize. B) He is an outstanding speaker.C) He looks like a movie star. D) He looks young for his age.12. A)Consult her dancing teacher B)T
31、ake a more interesting class C)Continue her dancing class D)Improve her dancing skills13. A)The man did not believe what the woman said B)The man accompanied the woman to the hospital C)The woman may be suffering from repetitive strain injury D)The woman may not have followed the doctors instructions14. A)They are not in style any more B)They have cost him far too much C)They no longer suit his eyesight D) They should be cleaned regularly15. A)He spilled his drink onto the floorB)He has just finished wiping the floorC)He was caught in a shower
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