Like a needle climbing up a bathroom scale, the number keeps rising. In 1991, 15% of Americans were obese(肥胖的); by 1999, that proportion had grown to 27%. Youngsters, who should have age and activity on their side, are growing larger as well: 19% of Americans under 17 are obese. Waistbands have been popping in other western countries too, as physical activity has declined and diets have expanded. By and large, people in the rich world seem to have lost the fight against flab(松弛).

  Meanwhile, poorer nations have enjoyed some success in their battles against malnutrition and famine. But, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, it is more a case of being out of the frying pan and into the fire. The most striking example actually in the poor world comes from the Pacific islands, home of the world’s most obese communities. In 1966, 14% of the men on this island were obese while 100% of men under the age of 30 in 1996 were obese.

  This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast. As a result, undernourished and over-nourished people frequently live cheek by jowl(面颊). The mix can even occur within a single household. A study of families in Indonesia found that nearly 10% contained both the hungry and the fat. This is a mysterious phenomenon, but might have something to do with people of different ages being given different amounts of food to eat.

  The prospect of heading off these problems is bleak. In many affected countries there are cultural factorsto contend with, such as an emphasis on eating large meals together, or on food as a form. of hospitality.Moreover, there is a good measure of disbelief on the part of policymakers that such a problem Could existin their countries. Add to that reluctance on the part of governments to spend resources on promoting dietand exercise while starvation is still a real threat, and the result is a recipe for inaction. Unless something is done soon, it might not be possible to turn the clock back.

 英语四级阅读模拟试题：

  Choose correct answers to the question:

  1.The first sentence of the passage most probably implies that ______.

  A.many Americans are obsessed with the rising temperature in their bathroom

  B.more people are overweighed in the United States

  C.people are doing more physical exercises with the help of scales

  D.youngsters become taller and healthier thanks to more activities

  2.As physical exercise declines and diet expands, ______.

  A.other western countries has been defeated by fat

  B.obesity has become an epidemic(流行病)of the rich world

  C.waistbands begin to be popular in other western countries

  D.western countries can no longer fight against obesity

  3.Which is NOT the point of the example of the Pacific Islands?

  A.The poor community has shaken off poverty and people are well-fed now.

  B.Obesity is becoming a problem in the developing world too.

  C.Excessive weight increase will cause no less harm than the food shortage.

  D.The problem of overweight emerges very fast.

  4.Of tackling obesity in the poor world, we can learn from the passage that____

  A.the matter is so complex as to go beyond our capacity

  B.no matter what we do, the prospect will always be bleak

  C.it is starvation, the real threat, that needs to be solved

  D.we should take immediate actions before it becomes incurable

  5.What is the main idea of this passage?

  A.Obesity is now a global problem that needs tackling.

  B.The weights increase fast throughout the whole world.

  C.Obesity and starvation are two main problems in the poor world.

  D.Obesity has shifted from the rich world to the poor world.

  英语四级阅读参考答案

  1.[B] 推理判断题。根据第1段第2句可推断第1句中的the number是指体重增加的人数，故答案为B。

  2.[B] 推理判断题。本题需要正确理解借代修饰手法。Waistbands have been popping形象刻画出其他西方社会急剧肥胖化的过程，故答案为B。本题很明显是考查因果关系的，第1段倒数第2句明确指出这个因果关系，只要根据该句做出选择就可以了。如果看得过远,反而有可能误选A或D。

  3.[A] 事实细节题。此处的例子是证明前一句话的，即But后面的内容。同时，两个年份的比较也突出问题发展的迅猛，从而印证下一段的主题句“This increase in weight has been uneven as well as fast.”说明了贫穷与肥胖是并存的。例子一般是用来证明紧挨着的前面或后面的论述，此处证明的观点在之前，其中的重点应该是But后面的内容，所以选项A与文中意思不符。注意本题要选的是NOT the point of the example。

  4.[D] 观点态度题。文章最后一句扭转了整段的基调。作者呼吁解决这一问题，前文正是为此作铺垫，突出问题的复杂性和时间的紧迫性。

  5.[A] 主旨大意题。本文话题为obesity，作者从美国谈到所有西方国家，最后重点讨论其在发展中国家的最新发展趋势以及种种可能的成因，并强调应当尽早解决问题，故选项A正确。肥胖问题的阵营没有转移，只是扩大了，故选项D不对。选项B只是片面信息，没有包括最后一段关于如何解决肥胖问题的内容。选项C中的starvation并非本文讨论的主要话题。