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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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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【参考答案解析】
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. 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。
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。
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。
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。
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【全文翻译】
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。
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。
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。
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。
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。”
【难句注释】
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
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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。
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。
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。
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。
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