2008考研英语阅读理解真题解析第三篇“话说身高”

2008 Text 3

In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of only three players in the National

Basketball Association (NBA) listed at over seven feet. ①If he had played last season,

however, he would have been one of 42. ②The 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.

在20世纪60年代早期，Wilt Chamberlain是美国国家篮球协会中仅有的身高超过7英尺的三个人之一。可是如果他参加了上个赛季的话，他就变成了42分之一了。这些年来在较大的职业体育运动中的运动员的身体状况发生了很大的改变，而他们的经理人也更愿意调整队员的运动服来适应队员们更大，更高的身材。

association [ə'səusi'eiʃən] n. 联系,联想;交际,交往;协会,社团

【例】Let's form an association to help blind people. 让我们建立一个协会来帮助盲人吧。

dramatically [drə'mætikli] ad. 从戏剧角度;戏剧性地,显著地

【例】I kept emphasizing how dramatically things have changed.

我反复强调事情发生了多大的变化。

adjust [ə'dʒʌst] vt. 调整,使适应于,校准 vi. 调整,适应于,校准

【例】This electric pot can adjust the temperature automatically.

这种电饭锅能自动调节温度。

1. If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42.

【译文】可是如果他参加了上个赛季的话，他就变成了42分之一了。

【解析】这句话是句虚拟语气，if + had done，后面接上would have done，这句话是过去时的虚拟语气，中间的however是插入语。

2. 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

numbyyers of bigger, longer frames.

【译文】这些年来在较大的职业体育运动中的运动员的身体状况发生了很大的改变，而他们的经理人也更愿意调整队员的运动服来适应队员们更大，更高的身材。

【解析】这句话是个并列句，由and连接。前半句的主语是The bodies，playing major professional

sport是对主语的补充，have changed是谓语，dramatically over the years是状语。后半句中，managers是主语，have been是谓语。

The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have

generally stopped growing. ③Though 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 Chumlea 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.

虽然体育界的这种趋势可能蒙蔽了一个没有被承认的现实：美国人基本上停止生长了。虽然现在人们比140年前高了2英寸，特别是那些出生在已移民美国很多代的那些人，但是明显的，在二十世纪60年代早期，已经到达了他们的身高的极限。他们已经不可能再长得更高了。“在这个基因和环境的条件下，现在整体的人们已经长到我们能够达到的范围了，”Wright州大学的人类学家William Cameron Chumlea说道。拿NBA球员来说，他们身高的增加主要由于从世界各地招募到了球员。

obscure [əb'skjuə] a. 微暗的,难解的,含糊的,晦涩的,偏僻的,不著名的 vt. 使阴暗,隐藏,使含糊

【例】The drafting of this section of the Bill is obscure.

草案上的这一项含糊不清。

apparently [ə'pærəntli] ad. 表面上,似乎,显然地

【例】Apparently he wanted to be close to those common people.

他显然想接近那些平民。

genetic [dʒi'neitik] a. 遗传的,遗传学的

【例】An enzyme that catalyzes genetic recombination.

催化重级酶能催化基因重组的一种酶。

anthropologist [ænθrə'pɔlədʒist] n. 人类学家

【例】The anthropologist contrasted two cultures in his lecture.

这位人类学家在讲座中将两种文化进行对比。

recruit [ri'kru:t] n. 新兵,新分子,新会员,补给品 vt. 使恢复,补充,征募vi. 征募新兵,复原

【例】We recruit all our restaurant staff locally .

我们从本地招所有的餐厅职员。

3. 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.

【译文】虽然现在人们比140年前高了2英寸，特别是那些出生在已移民美国很多代的那些人，但是明显的，在二十世纪60年代早期，已经到达了他们的身高的极限。

【解析】这句话主语是today’s people，Though typically about two inches taller now than 140

years ago是状语，especially those born to families who have lived in the U.S. for many

generations是对主语的补充，reached their limit是谓语，in the early 1960s是时间状语。

④Growth, 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.

身高的增长一般在20岁以后就停止了，而发育是需要能量和营养的，其中的蛋白质用来供给组织的生长。在20世纪初，营养不良和儿童疾病妨碍了整体的发育。但是当饮食和健康的促进，儿童和青少年

平均每20年都增长了大概1.5英寸，这就是长高的趋势。根据疾病防治中心，从1960年开始，人们的平均身高，男性5英尺9英寸，女性5英尺4英寸，就没有怎么改变了。

tissue ['tiʃu] n. 薄的纱织品,薄纸,棉纸,组织,连篇

【例】The process of dissolution and resorption of bony tissue. 骨组织吸收骨组织分解和吸收的过程。

adolescent [ædəu'lesnt] a. 青春期的,青年的n. 青少年

【例】an awkward bad-mannered adolescent boy. 笨拙的没礼貌的青少年。

secular ['sekjulə] n. 牧师,俗人a. 世俗的,现世的,不朽的,长期的

【例】The choir sings both sacred and secular music. 唱诗班既唱圣乐也唱世俗歌曲。

4. Growth, which rarely continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrients–

notably, protein – to feed expanding tissues.

【译文】身高的增长一般在20岁以后就停止了，而发育是需要能量和营养的，其中的蛋白质用来供给组织的生长。

【解析】这句话中Growth是主语，which rarely continues beyond the age of 20是定语从句，demands是谓语，calories and nutrients是宾语。notably, protein – to feed expanding tissues是对宾语的补足。

Genetically speaking, there are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During

childbirth, larger babies have more difficulty passing through the birth canal. Moreover, even

though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to

struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed by

oversize limbs. “There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic architecture of

the individual organism,” says anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern University.

总的说来，避免太高的身高是有很多优点的。在生产时，较大的婴儿通过产道是有更多的问题的。而且，就算人类已经直立行走已经几百万年了，我们的脚和背部继续对抗着巨大的压力，这些压力来源于双足直立的姿势和巨大的肢体。“有一些限制是个体器官的基因结构导致的。”西北大学的人类学家William

Leonard说道。

substantial [səb'stænʃəl] n. 重要部分,本质 a. 实质上的,物质的,有内容的,结实的

【例】She realized a substantial return on the investment. 她在那次投资中获得了实在的回报

bipedal ['baipedl] a. 两足动物

【例】large carnivorous bipedal dinosaur having huge claws. 爪巨大的大型食肉类两足恐龙。

strain [strein] vt. 拉紧,绷紧;损伤,扭伤;紧张,勉强 vi. 尽力,使劲 n. U拉紧,张力,应变;紧张

【例】The great mental strain and overwork shattered his mind.巨大的精神负担和过度劳累使他心智受损。

architecture ['ɑ:kitektʃə] n. 建筑学,建筑术;建筑物;组织,结构

【例】The study of ecclesiastical architecture and ornamentation.教堂建筑学研究教堂建筑及装饰的学科。

Genetic maximums can change, but don’t expect this to happen soon. ⑤Claire 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.”

基因的最大化可以改变，但是不要期待它会马上就能发生。Mass州的Natick的军队研究中心的高级人类学家Claire C. Gordon确信百分之九十的入伍新兵不需要更换新的制服和工作站。她说，不像那些篮球制服，军队的制服长度很长时间都没有改变了。如果你需要在不远的将来预测人类的身高而去设计一款新的设备，Gordon说基本上，“你都能够使用现在的数据并且觉得非常地自信。”

5. 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.

【译文】Mass州的Natick的军队研究中心的高级人类学家Claire C. Gordon确信百分之九十的入伍新兵不需要更换新的制服和工作站。

【解析】这句话中Claire C. Gordon是主语，senior anthropologist at the Army Research

Center in Natick, Mass是对主语的补充，ensures是谓语，that 90 percent of the uniforms and

workstations fit recruits without alteration是that引导的宾语从句，90 percent of the uniforms

and workstations是宾语从句中的主语，fit是宾语从句中的谓语，recruits是宾语从句中的宾语。

31. 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.

31. 参考答案【A】

【解析】A．Wilt Chamberlain在第一段，先定位，“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.”19世纪60年代初，Wilt

Chamberlain是NBA身高超过7尺的3人之一，如果他打了最后一个赛季的话，他将是42人之一。说明后来NBA中身高超过7尺的增加到了42人。也就证明了NBA运动员的身高变化。

B．显示了美国NBA球员的名声，与原文不符。

C． 比较了NBA两代的球员的区别，与原文不符。

D．评估了著名NBA球员的成绩，与原文不符。

故选A。

32. Which of the following plays a key role in body growth according to the

text?

[A] Genetic modification.

[B] Natural environment.

[C] Living standards.

[D] Daily exercise.

32. 参考答案【C】

【解析】C. “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,”说明导致身高增长的因素有饮食和健康的改善，就是参考答案所说的生活水平。A．基因变化，这个与原文不符。B．自然环境，文中没有提及。D．日常锻炼，与原文不符。故选C。

［答案解析］身体成长方面，本文的一些表述非常明确：青少年身体成长受（摄取）热量、营养、饮食及健康等因素的影响；在这些因素不成问题的情况下，成人身高受制于基因。问题是这个题目是问什么呢？是问成人的终极身高（这是body growth的结果啊）呢，还是青少年的身体成长？如果基因变异（Genetic

modification）一下，那么Genetic maximums可能就发生变化了，于是成人身高可能就会变化了（如大幅增长），那么A不就产生重要作用了吗？但我还是倾向于选C，原因是：一、第二段里有In the general

population today, at this genetic, environmental level这句话，也就是在目前的基因和环境条件下，身高的增长已到尽头。如果基因算一个因素的话，那B选项也对呀，此题的难处在于，A、B、C、D逻辑上都是重要的影响因素，而且A、B也有明述。但这是单选题，所以A和B可以同时被排除；二、明确阐述身体增长内容，集中于本文第三段，此处涉及的热量、营养、饮食及健康等因素均可以归因于Living

standards，对吧？D选项逻辑上是，但本文并未提及（注意题目要求是according to the text，即使没有这个文字，阅读题也要坚持这个原则），所以排除。本题能充分反映解阅读题的一个高超技艺要求：既要大胆地把合理的推理的推出来，又不能自作主张地加入文章未表述的元素（看见妇女想到粉臂想到大腿的思维方式非常有害，太多的干扰选项是对这种思维方式下套）。当然，这个度有时把握起来比较难。

33. On which of the following statements would the author most probably

agree?

[A] Non-Americans add to the average height of the nation.

[B] Human height is conditioned by the upright posture.

[C] Americans are the tallest on average in the world.

[D] Larger babies tend to become taller in adulthood.

33. 参考答案【B】

B．原文” Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet

and back continue to struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated

strain imposed by oversize limbs.”，表明由于直立起来的姿势人类的身高收到了限制。A．文中没有提及。C．美国人是世界上平均身高最高的，文中没有说到。D．个大的婴儿在孩童时期容易长得更高，这个原文没有说明。故选B。

［答案解析］A选项不对，是个简单的数学题，与此选项最相关的文字是这个：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但这只是说明了美国本地人的身高增长到了极限，这之外的美国人（姑且就算Non-Americans吧），身高增长还在继续。但他们是不是就增加了美国的平均身高呢？当然不是，你身高在增长，但有多高啊？如果长了半天，还没美国本地人高，那对美国的平均身高的作用就不是add吧？B正确，There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic

architecture of the individual organism. 这里的genetic architecture 就是前面提到的bipedal

posture或者本选项里的upright posture。本选项里的conditioned by对应原文里的constraints，意为“受限于”。C选项根本没有提，D选项属典型的主观臆断，原文有：Genetically speaking, there

are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During childbirth, larger babies have more

difficulty passing through the birth canal.意思是人类不能长太高了，否则生的时候困难，这个逻辑明显是，人类（成人）身材变高→胎儿变大。但反过来是不是成立呢？至少从逻辑上不一定啊。

34. 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.

34. 参考答案【D】D. 先定位到最后一段，“you could use today’s data and feel fairly

confident.”说明现在的人类身高的数据以后还可以拿来使用。A．文中说，“ensures that 90 percent of

the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration.”90%的新兵制服和工作站无需改动，而参考答案是重新考虑，与原文不符。B．军队制服的设计将不变，，文中并无提及。C．基因测试将运用到运动员选拔中去，文中无提及。故选D。

［答案解析］A不对，与本文论述相反，容易排除。B概念发生了变化，原文是the length of military

uniforms has not changed for some time，并不涉及design，长度和样式乃两码事。C离题千里，是诗人的思维，呵呵。D正确，you could use today’s data and feel fairly confident就是依据。

35. 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.

35. 参考答案【C】C．文章中提及到，由于基因的限制，美国人已经达到了身高的极限。A．人类的身高改变遵循着周期的模式，而文章则说由于各种原因，人类的身高已经达到极限，与原文不符。B．人类的身高变得更加具有可预知性，与文中意思不符。D．美国人的基因形态已改变，，文中无提及。故选C。

［答案解析］A，人类身高变化遵循某种周期律？哪儿说了？排除！B有点迷惑性，美国人在可以预见的未来就那么高啦，这不是more predictable吗？但从思维上有好多问题。一、全文讨论的是美国人的平均身高，不是个体，而且讨论的是美国人，而非泛泛的人类；二、此选项说会“更加有预见性”，什么叫更加呀？近几十年来就已经这样了，谈不上更加。C正确，基本就是本文主题思想，美国人身高已经达到基因极限了，而且这个极限一时半会儿不会改变。D选项与原文意思相反。