阅读训练

Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.

Junk food is everywhere. We're eating way too much of it. Most of us know what we're doing and yet we do it anyway.
So here's a suggestion offered by two researchers at the Rand Corporation: Why not take a lesson from alcohol control policies and apply them to where food is sold and how it's displayed?
"Many policy measures to control obesity (肥胖症) assume that people consciously and rationally choose what and how much they eat and therefore focus on providing information and more access to healthier foods," note the two researchers.
"In contrast," the researchers continue, "many regulations that don't assume people make rational choices have been successfully applied to control alcohol, a substance - like food - of which immoderate consumption leads to serious health problems."
The research references studies of people's behavior with food and alcohol and results of alcohol restrictions, and then lists five regulations that the researchers think might be promising if applied to junk foods. Among them:
Density restrictions: licenses to sell alcohol aren't handed out unplanned to all comers but are allotted (分配) based on the number of places in an area that already sell alcohol. These make alcohol less easy to get and reduce the number of psychological cues to drink.
Similarly, the researchers say, being presented with junk food stimulates our desire to eat it. So why not limit the density of food outlets, particularly ones that sell food rich in empty calories? And why not limit sale of food in places that aren't primarily food stores?
Display and sales restrictions: California has a rule prohibiting alcohol displays near the cash registers in gas stations, and in most places you can't buy alcohol at drive-through facilities. At supermarkets, food companies pay to have their wares in places where they're easily seen. One could remove junk food to the back of the store and ban them from the shelves at checkout lines. The other measures include restricting portion sizes, taxing and prohibiting special price deals for junk foods, and placing warning labels on the products.

注意：此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答

56. What is the general guideline the Rand researchers suggest about junk food control?
A) Guiding people to make rational choices about food.
B) Enhancing people's awareness of their own health.
C) Borrowing ideas from alcohol control measures.
D) Resorting to economic, legal and psychological means.

57. What does the author say about junk food?
A) People should be educated not to eat too much.
B) It is widely consumed despite its ill reputation.
C) Its temptation is too strong for people to resist.
D) It causes more harm than is generally realized.

58. What do the Rand researchers think of many of the policy measures to control obesity?
A) They should be implemented effectively.
B) They provide misleading information.
C) They are based on wrong assumptions.
D) They help people make rational choices.

59. Why do policymakers of alcohol control place density restrictions?
A) Few people are able to resist alcohol's temptations.
B) There are already too many stores selling alcohol.
C) Drinking strong alcohol can cause social problems.
D) Easy access leads to customers' over-consumption.

60. What is the purpose of California's rule about alcohol display in gas stations?
A) To effectively limit the density of alcohol outlets.
B) To help drivers to give up the habit of drinking.
C) To prevent possible traffic jams in nearby areas.
D) To get alcohol out of drivers' immediate sight.

参考答案

56. C. They love what they do and choose not to retire.
57. A. Neither of them is subject to forced retirement.
58. D. Working at an advanced age lengthens people's life.
59. C. It is a compensation for one's life-long hard work.
60. D. They prevent young people from getting ahead.

参考点评

【点评】
本文出自Newsweek的文章‘Nevertirees’: Elderly Americans Who Refuse to Retire。Newsweek是美国知名媒体，历年四六级考试中，不少阅读文章选自于此。建议考生平时经常浏览这类外国主流网站，熟悉英语国家人士的行文表达习惯，以便做阅读时胸有成竹。
本篇阅读涉及的是美国的新兴社会现象——老年人不愿退休。文章谈论了一群老人，他们年富力强时在事业上成就斐然，甚至到了古稀之年，对工作依旧热情不减。这种现象一方面体现出人们对待退休的态度有所转变; 另一方面，该现象也遭来了批判之声：老年人占着工作岗位，给年轻一代职业生涯设下了障碍。
文章本身话题比较新颖，词汇及语篇理解方面的难度不大。但不少答案定位点都需要考生具有较强的英文理解力。五道题目中，只有第三题考查的是细节推断，其余四题均考查细节归纳。由此可见，该篇阅读重点考查获取目标信息的能力。考生必须在有限的时间内，迅速过滤掉无关信息，定位于目标信息（即考题答案所在位置），结合上下文，作出正确判断。总的来说，考生须在平时多读英语原版文章，熟悉英语文章的构架、表达，才能在考场游刃有余。