New research shows that overweight or even mildly obese people have a lower risk of early death than people considered to be normal weight.

Researchers examined the results of 97 studies. Most of the studies were less than 10 years old. They included almost three million adults from around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Brazil, India and Mexico.

The researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics found that people who are considered overweight or slightly obese were five to six percent less likely to die from all causes than people of normal weight. People with higher obesity ratings, however, had almost a 30 percent greater risk of death compared to normal-weight individuals.

Katherine Flegal was the lead author of the study. She says she was not surprised that overweight people would not have a higher risk of death.

“Because we’d actually already read a lot of this literature and realized it was likely that mortality rates (死亡率) for overweight would be at least not higher than normal weight. I guess I was a little bit surprised that it was definitely lower. And I was also surprised that the lower rates of obesity also didn’t seem to differ from normal weight.”

But she says the difference in death rates appears to be small between normal-weight people and those who are overweight or mildly obese.

The study has raised new questions about “body mass index,”（体重指数） or BMI. This is a measurement of body fat as a ratio（比率） of height to weight. In recent years, many public health experts have promoted body mass index as a way to predict the risk of health problems. Bu t a person's BMI can be misleading in some cases.

Steven Heymsfield ,the executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, says people can be physically fit and in good health, but might weigh more because they are more muscular.

Still, Dr. Heymsfield says people should not think gaining extra weight is OK just because of the new findings. He says being at a healthy weight lowers the risk for heart disease and diabetes（糖尿病）.

1.According to the new findings, the researchers found that __________ .

A.People with high obesity have a lower risk of early death than people with low obesity

B.People with overweight have a greater risk of early death than people of normal weight.

C.People with mild obesity are less likely to die than people of normal weight.

D.People with obesity live much longer than people of normal weight.

2.What does the underlined word “literature” in paragraph 6 mean ?

A.works like novels and poems

B.books and articles on a particular subject

C.printed material

D.magazines and newspapers

3.Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?

A. BMI is commonly used to measure body fat as a ratio of height to weight.

B. Not all people with a little higher BMI are fat .

C. Many public health experts encourage more people to use BMI as a way to predict the risk of health problem

D. Because of the ne w findings, people should think about gaining extra weight.

New research shows that overweight or even mildly obese people have a lower risk of early death than people considered to be normal weight.
Researchers examined the results of 97 studies. Most of the studies were less than 10 years old. They included almost three million adults from around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Brazil, India and Mexico.
The researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics found that people who are considered overweight or slightly obese were five to six percent less likely to die from all causes than people of normal weight. People with higher obesity ratings, however, had almost a 30 percent greater risk of death compared to normal-weight individuals.
Katherine Flegal was the lead author of the study. She says she was not surprised that overweight people would not have a higher risk of death.
“Because we’d actually already read a lot of this literature and realized it was likely that mortality rates (死亡率) for overweight would be at least not higher than normal weight. I guess I was a little bit surprised that it was definitely lower. And I was also surprised that the lower rates of obesity also didn’t seem to differ from normal weight.”
But she says the difference in death rates appears to be small between normal-weight people and those who are overweight or mildly obese.
The study has raised new questions about “body mass index,”（体重指数） or BMI. This is a measurement of body fat as a ratio（比率） of height to weight. In recent years, many public health experts have promoted body mass index as a way to predict the risk of health problems. Bu t a person's BMI can be misleading in some cases.
Steven Heymsfield ,the executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, says people can be physically fit and in good health, but might weigh more because they are more muscular.
Still, Dr. Heymsfield says people should not think gaining extra weight is OK just because of the new findings. He says being at a healthy weight lowers the risk for heart disease and diabetes（糖尿病）

1. 1.

   According to the new findings, the researchers found that __________

   1. A.
      People with high obesity have a lower risk of early death than people with low obesity
   2. B.
      People with overweight have a greater risk of early death than people of normal weight
   3. C.
      People with mild obesity are less likely to die than people of normal weight
   4. D.
      People with obesity live much longer than people of normal weight
2. 2.

   What does the underlined word “literature” in paragraph 6 mean ?

   1. A.
      works like novels and poems
   2. B.
      books and articles on a particular subject
   3. C.
      printed material
   4. D.
      magazines and newspapers
3. 3.

   Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?

   1. A.
      BMI is commonly used to measure body fat as a ratio of height to weight
   2. B.
      Not all people with a little higher BMI are fat
   3. C.
      Many public health experts encourage more people to use BMI as a way to predict the risk of health problem
   4. D.
      Because of the ne w findings, people should think about gaining extra weight

Mere is an astonishing and significant fact: Mental work alone can’t make us tired. It sounds absurd. But a few years ago, scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue (疲劳).To the amazement of these scientists, they discovered that blood passing through the brain, when it is active，shows no fatigue at all! If we took a drop of blood from a day laborer, we would find it full of fatigue toxins (毒素）and fatigue products. But if we took blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show no fatigue toxins at the end of the day.

So far as the brain is concerned, it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless. So what makes us tired?

Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional (情感的）attitudes. One of England’s most outstanding scientists, J. A. Hadfield，says, “The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin. In fact, fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.” Dr. Brill, a famous American scientist, goes even further. He declares, “One hundred percent of the fatigue of a sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”

What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction? No! A feeling of being bored， anger, anxiety, tenseness, worry, a feeling of not being appreciated - those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.

64. What surprised the scientists a few years ago?

A.        Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.

B.        Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn out after a day’s work.

C.       The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.

D.       A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.

65. According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?

A.        Challenging mental work.

B.        Unpleasant emotions.

C.       Endless tasks.

D.       Physical labor.

66. What's the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ ideas?

A.        He agrees with them.

B.        He doubts them.

C.       He argues against them.

D.       He hesitates to accept them.

67. We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic, sitting workers need to _____ .

A.        have some good food

B.        enjoy their work

C.       exercise regularly

D.       discover fatigue toxins