In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of the only three players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) listed at over seven feet(脚,尺(但这里是取这个意思)). If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42. 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 numbers of bigger, longer frames.
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The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring(obscure使……含糊,隐藏) an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing. 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.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.
Growth, which rarely continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrients—notably, protein —to feed expanding tissues(纸巾,(动物或植物的细胞)组织(这里取这个意思)). At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition(under-nutrition合并词，不是“处于营养之下”，而是“营养不良”) 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(长期的(这里取这个意思)，现实世界的) 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.
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(两足动物的,二足的) posture((坐或立的)姿势,态度,立场) 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.
Genetic maximums can change, but don’t expect this to happen soon. 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. 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.”
这是一篇议论文。
文章探讨了美国人的身高极限问题。
文章首段以 NBA 队员的身高变化作为引子来引出身高变化话题。
文章第二段提出了论述的中心。
第三段、第四段论述了原因。
第五段则谈到了这一结论对将来的一些影响。
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.6
[C] compare different generations of NBA players
[D] assess the achievements of famous NBA players
31．以威尔特·张伯伦为例是为了 。
[A] 说明 NBA 球员身高的变化
[B] 表明美国 NBA 球员很受欢迎
[C] 对几代 NBA 球员进行对比
[D] 评估注明 NBA 球员的成就
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．根据文章，下面哪一项在身高增长方面发挥关键作用？
[A] 基因改造。
[B] 自然环境。
[C] 生活水平。
[D] 日常健身锻炼。
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．作者很可能同意下面哪种论述？
[A] 非美国人增加了美国的平均身高。
[B] 人类身高受直立姿势的制约。
[C] 美国人是世界上平均身高最高的人。
[D] 较大的婴儿往往在成年后身材较高。
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．从最后一段我们可以知道在不久的将来 。
[A] 服装业将重新考虑制服尺码
[B] 军服的设计将保持不变
[C] 基因检测将被应用到选择运动员上
[D] 现在的人类身高数据将来仍然适用
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．本文旨在告诉我们 。
[A] 人类身高的变化遵循循环模式
[B] 人类身高变得更加可以预测了
[C] 美国人已经达到他们身高的遗传极限
[D] 美国人的遗传模式已经改变
1. by and large 大体上，基本上
2. canal n. 运河
3. frame n. 架子；体格 v. 给……装框子；陷害，诬告
4. get in the way (of) 妨碍
5. notably ad. 引人注目地；尤其
6. obscure v. 使暗；a.模(含)糊的；晦涩的
7. recruit n. 新兵，新分子；v. 征募
8. anthropologist n. 人类学家
9. bipedal a. 两足动物的
10. secular a. 现世的，世俗的
20 世纪 60 年代初，威尔特·张伯伦是仅有的三名身高超过 7 英尺的 NBA 球员之一，但是如果上个赛季他还在打球的话，他就成了 42 名这样的球员中的一员了。过去几年，参加主要职业运动的运动员的身体发生了重大变化，俱乐部的经理们很乐意更改队服以适应身材高大的运动员数量不断增加的需求。
然而，体育运动的这种趋势可能隐盖了这样一个未被认识的事实：美国人的身高总体上已经停止了增长。尽管一般来说，现在美国的身高比 140 年前高了 2 英寸，但他们，尤其是那些几代生长在美国家庭中出生的人，其身高在 20 世纪 60 年代初期明显已达到了极限。他们不会再长得更高了。莱特州立大学的人类学家威廉·卡麦隆·查姆利说：“当今，就总人口来说，在现有环境和基因水平下，我们已经达到了身高的极限。”至于 NBA 球员，他们身高的增长似乎是从世界各国吸收球员这种日益普遍的做法的结果。
在 20 岁后人很少继续长高，长高需要热量和营养，特别是蛋白质，以满足组织增长的需求。20 世纪初期，营养不良和儿童传染病盛行，但随着饮食和健康的改善，儿童和青少年的身高平均每 20 年增加约1.5 英寸，这就是被称之为身高增长长期趋势的模式。然而根据疾病控制与预防中心的数据(男性 5.9英尺，女性 5.4 英尺)，从 1960 年以来并没有改变过。
从遗传学的角度看，避免身高过高是有好处的。分娩过程中，较大的婴儿更难通过产道。此外，尽管我们人类已经直立行走了几百万年，但两足和背部仍继续同两足行走的姿势相抗衡，难以承受因肢体过长不断造成的压力。西北大学人类学家威廉·伦纳德称，“对身高的一些真正的限制是由个体有机体的遗传结构所决定的”。
遗传身高最大值可能会改变，但不可能期望它很快就会出现。马萨诸塞州纳蒂克军队研究中心的资深人类学家克莱尔·戈登保证说：90%的制服和工作间适合新兵使用，不需要改动。她说，不像篮球运动员的队服，军服尺寸一段时间以来都没有变动。她还说，如果你需要预测不久的将来的人的身高以便设计一种装备，基本上“你就可以使用当前的数据，并感到相当自信。”
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