时间:2013-01-16 12:52:58
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1、 Find Yourself Packing It On Blame FriendsObesity can spread from person to person，much like a virus，researchers are reportingtoday.When one person gains weight，close friends tendto gain weight，too.Their study，publishedin The New England Journal of Medicine，involved adetailed analysis of a large social network of 12，067people who had been closely followed for 32 years，from1971 to 2003.The investigatorsknew who was friends with whom as well as who was a spouse or sibling orneighbor，and they knew how much each person weighed at various times overthree decades.1 That let them reconstruct2 what happened over the years asindividuals became obese.Did their friends also become obese?Did familymembers?Or neighbors?The answer，theresearchers report，was that people were most likely tobecome obese when a friend became obese.That increased a person’s chances ofbecoming obese by 57 percent. 3 There was no effect when a neighbor gained orlost weight4，however，and familymembers had less influence than friends.It did not evenmatter if the friend was hundreds of miles away，the influence remained. 5Andthe greatest influence of all was between close mutual friends.There，if one became obese，the other had a 171percent increased chance of becoming obese，too.The same effectseemed tO occur for weight loss，the investigators say.But since most people weregaining，not losing，over the 32years，the result was，on average，that people grew fatter.Dr.NicholasA.Christakis，a physician and professor of medical sociology at Harvard MedicalSchool and a principal investigator in the new study，saidone explanation was that friends affected each others’ perception offatness6.When a close friend becomes obese，obesity maynot look so bad.“You change youridea of what is an acceptable body type by looking at the people around you，”Dr.Christakissaid.The investigatorssay their findings can help explain why Americans have become fatter in recentyears—each person who became obese was likely to drag along some friends.Their analysis wasunique，Dr.Christakis said，because it moved beyond asimple analysis of one person and his or her social contacts and insteadexamined an entire social network at once，looking athow a person’s friend’s friends，or a spouse’s sibling’sfriends，could have an influence on a person’s weight.The effects，he said，“highlight the importance of a spreading process，a kind of social contagion8，that spreadsthrough the network.”Of course，theinvestigators say，social networks are not the onlyfactors that affect body weight.There is a strong genetic component at work，too.Science has shownthat individuals have genetically determined ranges of weights，spanningperhaps 30 or so pounds for each person.But that leaves a large role for theenvironment in determining whether a person’s weight is near the top of his orher range or near the bottom.As people have gotten fatter，it appears that many are edging toward9 the top of their ranges.Thequestion has been why.If the new researchis correct，it may say that something in the environment seeded what some callan obesity epidemic，making a few people gainweight.Then social networks let the obesity spread rapidly.词汇：obesity n.肥胖，肥大virus n.病毒detailed adj.细的，逐条的investigator n.调查人spouse n.配偶(指夫或妻)sibling n.兄弟，姐妹influence n.影响principal adj.主要的，首要的highlight v.使显著，强调epidemic adj.流行的，传染的，流行性的注释：1.Theinvestigators knew...over three decades.：调查人员了解被调查人的朋友以及夫妻、兄弟姐妹或者邻居，并且了解他们三十年来各个时期的体重。as well as表示“和”、“又”。2.reconstruct：重建，推想。re是表示“又，再”之义的词根。3.That increased aperson’s chances of becoming obese by 57 percent.：这使得发胖的几率增加了57%。chance这里指机率、可能性。4.gained or lostweight：体重增加或减肥。5.It did not evenmatter if the friend was hundreds of miles away，the influence remained.：即使朋友远在千里之外，这种影响仍然存在。6.verception offatness：对于肥胖的感知。7.Theinvestigators say their findings can help explain why Americans have becomefatter in recent years—each person who became obese was likely to drag alongsome friends：调查人员声称他们的发现可以帮助解释近年来美国人变得越来越胖的原因：每个发胖的人都可能带动朋友一起变胖。8.contagion：传染，传染病。9.edge toward：向……缓慢或逐渐地前进。
1Who hadthe greatest influence on people who became obese? A.Their friends.B.Theirneighbours.C.Their familymembers.D.Theircolleagues.
2Which ofthe following statement about a friend''s influence is false according to thereport? A.Their friends.B.Theirneighbours.C.Their familymembers.D.Theircolleagues.
3Accordingto Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, what is the explanation for friends being thegreatestinfluence? A.Their friends.B.Theirneighbours.C.Their familymembers.D.Theircolleagues.
4Whichfactor of becoming obese is not mentioned in this report? A.Their friends.B.Theirneighbours.C.Their familymembers.D.Theircolleagues.
5In whatway is obesity contagious and epidemic? A.Their friends.B.Theirneighbours.C.Their familymembers.D.Theircolleagues.
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