1 . A new study estimates more than 1 billion people worldwide are currently living with obesity. People with obesity are considered medically overweight. The study, published in the medical publication The Lancet, said that one in eight people are obese. Researchers said around 43 percent of adults were overweight in 2022. Obesity among adults has more than doubled since 1990. Among young people aged 5 to 19, the obesity rate increased by four times during the same period.
“A staggering number of people are living with obesity, and severe obesity is strongly linked to a long list of health problems and an early death.” declared the lead writer of the study, Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London.
The WHO noted that at the World Health Assembly in 2022, member states agreed to an agency plan to fight obesity. So far, 31 governments “are now leading the way” to reduce obesity by carrying out goals of the plan.
These include government measures to enact new rules on “harmful” marketing of unhealthy food and drinks to children. In addition, governments are aiming to improve school and nutrition policies. They are also seeking price reductions for healthy foods, to increase public awareness about healthy diets and exercise and to strengthen requirements for physical activity in schools.
Imperial College’s Ezzati said that obesity rates are not rising in many wealthier nations. But they are quickly increasing in other countries. He noted that some countries have many underweight people, meaning the nations are facing what he called a “double burden” of nutrition problems.
Branca is head of nutrition at the WHO. He told reporters, “In the past, we have been thinking of obesity as a problem of the rich, but obesity is a problem of the world. Although new obesity drugs — such as Ozempic and Wegovy — could be helpful tools in reducing obesity, they noted that the cost and availability of the drugs might increase inequality.”
1. What does the underlined word “staggering” mean?| A．Satisfying. | B．Amazing. | C．Astonishing. | D．Puzzling. |
| A．Setting laws to ban the sale of unhealthy food. |
| B．Increasing the cost for people to consume healthy food. |
| C．Attaching importance to physical activities. |
| D．Offering lower-priced obesity drugs to people. |
| A．Some countries are suffering both poverty and obesity. |
| B．Some countries are suffering both poor nutrition and obesity. |
| C．Obesity is common in both poor and wealthy countries. |
| D．Obesity is a heavy burden for some countries. |
| A．Negative. | B．Indifferent. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Optimistic. |
1.不文明出游的现象;
2.对文明出游发出倡议。
注意：1.可以增加细节，以使行文连贯;
2.词数80词左右;
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3 . Sora, a new AI model developed by the company OpenAI — creator of chatbot ChatGPT — has recently become a global focus. The text-to-video artificial intelligence technology has the potential to make a revolution in video industries.
Sora can generate videos up to a minute long while maintaining visual quality and respond to user prompts, OpenAI said. It is able to generate complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of motion, and accurate details of the subject and background.
Liu Xingliang, director of the Beijing-based Data Center of China Internet, said Sora is undoubtedly a major breakthrough for AI. “It not only demonstrates AI’s advanced ability to understand and create complex visual content, but also brings about opportunities and challenges for video content creation, entertainment, film and television production industries. The video-generation model will help video content creators to turn their ideas into reality at a faster speed and at a lower cost, and offer audiences richer and more diverse visual experiences,” Liu said, adding that AI is expected to play a more important role in all aspects of human lives in the future.
Meanwhile, the use of text-to-video AI models raises concerns about ethics, copyright protection, personal privacy and data security, experts said. How to ensure the authenticity and transparency of the content has become an important issue, and more efforts are needed to formulate rules and regulations to ensure the healthy development of such technology.
Zhou Hongyi, founder of Chinese company 360 Security Group, said: “Sora might bring a huge disruption to the advertising industry, movie trailers and short video industry, but it may not necessarily beat TikTok quickly. It is more likely to become a creative tool for TikTok.”
1. According to the text, what is the possible function of Sora?| A．Writing an essay. | B．Drawing an image. |
| C．Generating a movie. | D．Composing a song. |
| A．By reducing the time of making a video. |
| B．By adding the cost of making a video. |
| C．By offering audiences a single visual experience. |
| D．By helping the creators copy other’s ideas. |
| A．The significance of Sora. | B．The potential risks of Sora. |
| C．The working principles of Sora. | D．The functions of Sora. |
| A．Sora is important in all aspects of human lives. |
| B．Sora will replace the traditional video industry. |
| C．Sora poses huge risks to TikTok. |
| D．Sora is a double-edged sword. |
4 . Stacy Dean, an official at the US Department of Agriculture, was inspired by a visit to Watkins Elementary, in Washington, D. C. Students grow vegetables in their school garden. They also roll up their sleeves in the school’s kitchen to participate in a FRESHFARM FoodPrints class, which integrates cooking and nutrition education.
“Who’s next?” asks instructional coach Regina Green, as kids throw vegetables into the pan and the smell of fresh ginger and onions fills the air. “We grew these in our garden,” Jessie Gibson, one of the students, says proudly. Then he measures and pours dry ingredients into a bowl.
“Our family has tried new things because of the program,” says Catie Kelley, whose two children have participated in the FRESHFARM program. “They come home with the recipes,” Kelley says. “It’s fun because it’s things that we don’t usually make at home,” so it has encouraged them to try novel combinations. She says the kids take more of an interest at the grocery store to identify foods they’ve tried in the program.
Dean wants to have the science around healthy eating integrated. A block to scaling up these types of programs is money. The program relies on grants and receives some federal funding, but it’s not enough to expand the program to all the schools that could benefit.
In fact, there are other problems. At a time when diet-related disease is a leading cause of death, and unhealthy eating habits are rooted in US culture, it’s unrealistic to think that a cooking curriculum could overcome such a sweeping, societal problem. “We know from years of evidence that we need multiple things to come together to support healthy eating,” says Angela Odoms-Young, a professor of maternal and child nutrition at Cornell University.
Despite these challenges, programs like FRESHFARM can help kids expand their choices by introducing them to new tastes. At first, many kids are turned off by the bitter taste of greens. But through the magic of cooking, processing the onions, and blending in fresh ginger, kids can be inspired.
1. What inspired Dean during the visit to Watkins Elementary?| A．The coach’s skillful performance. |
| B．Students’ getting more access to nature. |
| C．The integrated hands-on cooking. |
| D．Students’ gardening and cooking. |
| A．They pay more attention to healthy eating. |
| B．They have a more harmonious relation. |
| C．They show more interest in shopping. |
| D．They have enriched their recipes. |
| A．Advocating healthy eating needs joint efforts. |
| B．A cooking curriculum should be promoted. |
| C．Nutrition helps put students on a healthy path. |
| D．Food is fundamental to life and good health. |
| A．Complex. | B．Widespread. | C．Effective. | D．Easily-operated. |
5 . A new study finds sales of sugary drinks obviously fell across several US cities, after they carried out soda taxes (汽水税) aiming those drinks — and those changes continued over time. Taxes ranged from 1 to 2 cents. For a 2-liter bottle of soda, that comes out to between 67 cents to $1.30 extra in taxes.
“While prior (先前的) studies have looked at the impact of soda taxes, they usually studied one city at a time. This new study looked at the overall effect of the taxes on several cities to get an idea of what might happen if these taxes were more widespread — or enlarged to the state or national level,” says Scott Kaplan, an economics professor and the study’s lead author.
Kaplan and his co-workers found that prices for sugary drinks went up by 33.1% and purchases (购买量) went down by basically the same amount. So when people had to pay more for sugary drinks, they reduced their purchases — the effect was large and continued.
As Kaplan notes, “Sugary drinks make up a quarter of all the added sugar we see in the average adult American diet. And that’s a really big amount.” Jennifer Pomeranz, a professor at the School of Public Health, says, “Taxes that aim sugary drinks are good public health policy because these drinks have no nutritional (营养的) value, but they are linked with diet-related diseases. Too much added sugar is linked to a host of poor health outcomes, including overweight and heart disease.” Last month, WHO called on countries to increase taxes on sugary drinks as a way to promote healthier diets.
Today, the sugary drink industry’s strategy of offering consumers more choices with less sugar is working, and nearly 60% of drinks sold have zero sugar. The calories that people get from drinks have decreased to the lowest level in decades.
1. What’s the difference between the new study and the prior ones?| A．The range. | B．The challenge. | C．The expense. | D．The benefit. |
| A．They bought them in overseas markets. |
| B．They turned to the government for help. |
| C．They cut down the drinks’ consumption. |
| D．They added sugar to drinks by themselves. |
| A．To better protect people’s health. |
| B．To encourage research into drinks. |
| C．To improve the nutrition of drinks. |
| D．To make more money for the government. |
| A．It is a short-sighted decision. |
| B．It is a success story. |
| C．It benefits sugary drinks industry. |
| D．It upsets customers. |
6 . Do you have a suit or dress in the closet that you haven’t worn for years but are reluctant to get rid of? Maybe you say, “I can’t throw that away because I paid good money for it?”. If you recognize this in yourself, then you are suffering from commitment to the sunk cost fallacy (谬论). It occurs when we feel that we have invested too much to quit. This psychological trap causes us to stick with a plan even if it no longer serves us and the costs clearly outweigh the benefits.
Arkes and Blumer conducted a survey showing that people are influenced by sunk cost fallacy in their decisions. Participants imagined spending $100 on a ski trip to Michigan and $50 on Wisconsin, realizing later they were for the same weekend. They were told Wisconsin would be more enjoyable. When asked which trip to take, 54% chose Michigan despite the reasonable choice being Wisconsin, because they had made a greater initial investment.
Sunk cost fallacy takes place when we let emotions cloud our decisions. Once we’ve invested in a choice, we feel guilt or regret if we don’t follow through. We fail to realize that past costs won’t be recovered. Instead, we base decisions on past costs, ignoring present and future costs and benefits. This may be due to loss aversion (厌恶), where losses feel worse than gains. We avoid losses, making choices based on avoiding the “loss” of our past investment instead of considering the benefits gained if we don’t continue our commitment.
No one can deny the fact that we benefit a lot from perseverance. So our society loves to emphasize perseverance. Never give up! Don’t waste. But only you know the right path for you. Sometimes walking away is the hardest choice of all. You might realize a path you’re on is no longer the right one or never was. That’s a painful realization.
1. What phenomenon does the author describe at the beginning of the text?| A．People benefit from sticking with a plan. | B．People’s consumption view has changed. |
| C．People refuse to give up the past commitment. | D．People’s clothes are becoming more expensive. |
| A．To save more of the loss. | B．To appear more reasonable. |
| C．To make a greater investment. | D．To enjoy more of themselves. |
| A．When we don’t follow through our choices. |
| B．When we don’t continue our commitment. |
| C．When we stop feeling guilty and regretful. |
| D．When we make decisions based on past costs emotionally. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
7 . People living alone are more likely to report feeling depressed compared to those living with others, according to a new study by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The new study comes at a time when the number of single person households in the U. S. has skyrocketed. In the decade from 2012 to 2022, the number of Americans living alone jumped by nearly 5 million to 37.9 million. The study relies on 2021 data from the National Health Interview Survey, which interviews people in a nationally representative sample of households. It found that a little over 6% of those living alone reported feelings of depression, compared to 4% of people living with others.
The survey also asked respondents about the levels of social and emotional support in their lives. Those who live alone and receive little or no social and emotional support were far more likely to report feelings of depression compared to people who live with others who also had little or no support. On the other hand, there were no differences in reports of depression between people living alone and those living with others if they had social and emotional support.
“That finding is very compelling,” says social scientist Kasley Killam, who wasn’t involved in the new study. “And this is consistent with other evidence showing that social support and emotional support really play a crucial role in people’s overall health and well-being.”
“Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly being recognized as a public health problem. They’re associated with a whole host of negative outcomes, including diabetes, dementia and even mortality. As health care providers, we need to help address their patients ‘social isolation.” says psychiatrist Dr. Tom Insel, “You know, we can help people to find community,” he says. “We can make sure we can promote social interaction. We can provide ways for people to actually become more engaged and to get the kind of social-emotional support they need.”
1. What do we know about people living alone?| A．They have a desire to live with others. | B．They lack emotional support from others. |
| C．They exhibit depression at higher rates. | D．They avoid social interaction in a community. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Innovative. | C．Groundbreaking. | D．Convincing. |
| A．Many feelings contribute to health issues. |
| B．Reading clubs benefit people living alone. |
| C．People avoid living alone for fear of loneliness. |
| D．Community reduces the number of people living alone. |
| A．Living Alone Or Living With Others | B．Living With Others And Living Healthily |
| C．More Healthcare And Less Depression | D．More Support And Less Isolation |
8 . Recent research has revealed that people with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia (痴呆), yet only 15% to 25% of adults benefit from hearing aids. Hearing loss often comes on so gradually that many ignore it.
In July, at the annual meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association, Frank Lin from Johns Hopkins University presented results from a random clinical trial of 977 adults between 70 and 84 with untreated hearing loss. One group received good hearing care, including hearing aids, and another group took part in a program about successful aging. Three years later hearing aids didn’t make much difference to the healthiest participants. But those at the higher risk of dementia because of age and health conditions saw a 48% reduction in cognitive (认知的) worsening when they got hearing aids.
When hearing loss is untreated, the brain’s organization changes. Adults with hearing loss need to make extra efforts just to listen, which may overly consume cognitive reserves, says Anu Sharma of the University of Colorado. Hearing loss is also associated with more falls, higher healthcare costs, and increased loneliness. “Hearing is fundamental to healthy aging.” says Nicholas Reed, who worked with Lin on the cognitive-decline study.
These consequences of hearing loss contributed to the government’s decision last year to create a category of over-the-counter (非处方的) hearing aids. Traditional aids averaging $4,700 a pair aren’t covered by Medicare or private insurance. It’s too soon to assess whether the new devices will close the yawning gap between the large need for hearing aids and the smaller demand for them. In one survey, only about half of non-users said they would use hearing aids even if they were free. The key to getting around that dilemma will be “the common desire of wanting to hear well” and the sense that “everyone is doing it”, Lin says. If “wireless earbuds also become hearing aids, that changes the whole perspective of what it means to use hearing technology.”
1. What does the recent research find about people with hearing loss?| A．They can recover with the help of technology. | B．They can ignore the problem as they get older. |
| C．They have more chances of getting dementia. | D．They’re increasingly helped by the government. |
| A．Their aging process slowed owing to a program. | B．Hearing aids proved a help to cure their illness. |
| C．They saw a slight boost in their overall health. | D．Decline of their cognitive abilities was relieved. |
| A．Its cognitive reserves will be overused. | B．Its aging process will be slightly delayed. |
| C．Some of its functions will be in disorder. | D．Its fundamental abilities will be harmed. |
| A．Complicated. | B．Large. | C．Irreplaceable. | D．Appealing. |
1. What was Prof. Stone’s grandfather afraid of?
| A．Leaving his home. |
| B．Parting from his son. |
| C．Taking early retirement. |
| A．Lack of moral support. |
| B．Loss of self-worth. |
| C．Change of living habits. |
| A．Public services they ask for. |
| B．Health care available to them. |
| C．Contributions they can make. |
10 . A woman’s husband divorced her because she spent too much time on the Internet. But she continued to surf the World Wide Web. She did this so often that she forgot to take her children to the doctor or get the kids enough food. Her husband asked the court for the children.
But he needed someone to support her illness. “I had to write a letter to the judge,” said Dr. Jonathan Kandell. “The judge did not believe there was such a thing as Internet addiction.”
Is there? Some psychologists say that Internet addiction is real, just like gambling or drug abuse.
At the University of Maryland, a doctor started an Internet addiction support group after he watched a few addicted students nearly failed school.
How can you tell if you have an abnormal pattern of Internet use? Do you need to spend increased amounts of time on the Internet to achieve satisfaction? And when you’re not online, do you have fantasies or dreams about the Internet?
Tyler Johnson, 17, a high school senior in Abbotsford, British Columbia, spends more than six hours a day online and more than an hour reading his email.
Tyler dropped out of school sports, and now, every day after school until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, he plays games on the Internet.
Dr. Kandell guesses that many addicts don’t get help because they don’t know they have a problem. “I think we’re about a year away from having people recognize it’s really a problem,” he said. “It’s out there. There’s no question.”
1. Why did the author mention this divorce case in the first paragraph?| A．To stress the value of the professor’s letter. |
| B．To prove that Internet addiction does exist. |
| C．To show the husband’s struggle in marriage. |
| D．To explain the increasing high divorce rate. |
| A．A mother forgetting to cook meals for kids after school. |
| B．An engineer adding time to search for information online. |
| C．A worker making a dream to change the Internet world. |
| D．A freshman having crazy ideas of Internet when not online. |
| A．He has an Internet addiction without realizing it. |
| B．His Internet addiction has an effect on his health. |
| C．He has already taken up all his study time online. |
| D．Schools should strictly manage his Internet access. |
| A．They could ignore the effect of Internet addiction. |
| B．They should be forced to quit their bad habit. |
| C．It is a must for them to be aware of the harm. |
| D．Medication is necessary to take control of it. |
