全国硕士研究生考试英语真题及答案3

Text3IntheearlysWiltChamberlainwasoneofonlythreeplayersintheNationalBasketballAssociation(NBA)listedatoversevenfeet.Ifhehadplayedlastseason,however,hewouldhavebeenoneof42.Thebodiesplayingmajorprofessionalsportshavechangeddramaticallyovertheyears,andmanagershavebeenmorethanwillingtoadjustteamuniformstofitthegrowingnumbersofbigger,longerframes.Thetrendinsports,though,maybeobscuringanunrecognizedreality:Americanshavegenerallystoppedgrowing.Thoughtypicallyabouttwoinchestallernowthan140yearsago,today’speople?CespeciallythoseborntofamilieswhohavelivedintheU.S.formanygenerations?Capparentlyreachedtheirlimitintheearlys.Andtheyaren’tlikelytogetanytaller.“Inthegeneralpopulationtoday,atthisgenetic,environmentallevel,we’veprettymuchgoneasfaraswecango,”saysanthropologistWilliamCameronChumleaofWrightStateUniversity.InthecaseofNBAplayers,theirincreaseinheightappearstoresultfromtheincreasinglycommonpracticeofrecruitingplayersfromallovertheworld.Growth,whichrarelycontinuesbeyondtheageof20,demandscaloriesandnutrients?Cnotably,protein?Ctofeedexpandingtissues.Atthestartofthe20thcentury,under-nutritionandchildhoodinfectionsgotintheway.Butasdietandhealthimproved,childrenandadolescentshave,onaverage,increasedinheightbyaboutaninchandahalfevery20years,apatternknownastheseculartrendinheight.YetaccordingtotheCentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,averageheight?C5′9″formen,5′4″forwomen?Chasn’treallychangedsince.Geneticallyspeaking,thereareadvantagestoavoidingsubstantialheight.Duringchildbirth,largerbabieshavemoredifficultypassingthroughthebirthcanal.Moreover,eventhoughhumanshavebeenuprightformillionsofyears,ourfeetandbackcontinuetostrugglewithbipedalpostureandcannoteasilywithstandrepeatedstrainimposedbyoversizelimbs.“Therearesomerealconstraintsthataresetbythegeneticarchitectureoftheindividualorganism,”saysanthropologistWilliamLeonardofNorthwesternUniversity.Geneticmaximumscanchange,butdon’texpectthistohappensoon.ClaireC.Gordon,senioranthropologistattheArmyResearchCenterinNatick,Mass.,ensuresthat90percentoftheuniformsandworkstationsfitrecruitswithoutalteration.Shesaysthat,unlikethoseforbasketball,thelengthofmilitaryuniformshasnotchangedforsometime.Andifyouneedtopredicthumanh

eightinthenearfuturetodesignapieceofequipment,Gordonsaysthatbyandlarge,“youcouldusetoday’sdataandfeelfairlyconfident.”31.WiltChamberlainiscitedasanexampleto[A]illustratethechangeofheightofNBAplayers.[B]showthepopularityofNBAplayersintheU.S..[C]comparedifferentgenerationsofNBAplayers.[D]assesstheachievementsoffamousNBAplayers.32.Whichofthefollowingplaysakeyroleinbodygrowthaccordingtothetext?[A]Geneticmodification.[B]Naturalenvironment.[C]Livingstandards.[D]Dailyexercise.33.Onwhichofthefollowingstatementswouldtheauthormostprobablyagree?[A]Non-Americansaddtotheaverageheightofthenation.[B]Humanheightisconditionedbytheuprightposture.[C]Americansarethetallestonaverageintheworld.[D]Largerbabiestendtobecometallerinadulthood.34.Welearnfromthelastparagraphthatinthenearfuture[A]thegarmentindustrywillreconsidertheuniformsize.[B]thedesignofmilitaryuniformswillremainunchanged.[C]genetictestingwillbeemployedinselectingsportsmen.[D]theexistingdataofhumanheightwillstillbeapplicable.35.Thetextintendstotellusthat[A]thechangeofhumanheightfollowsacyclicpattern.[B]humanheightisbecomingevenmorepredictable.[C]Americanshavereachedtheirgeneticgrowthlimit.[D]thegeneticpatternofAmericanshasaltered.Text4In1784,fiveyearsbeforehebecamepresidentoftheUnitedStates,GeorgeWashington,52,wasnearlytoothless.Sohehiredadentisttotransplantnineteethintohisjaw?Chavingextractedthemfromthemouthsofhisslaves.That’safardifferentimagefromthecherry-tree-choppingGeorgemostpeoplerememberfromtheirhistorybooks.Butrecently,manyhistorianshavebeguntofocusontherolesslaveryplayedinthelivesofthefoundinggeneration.TheyhavebeenspurredinpartbyDNAevidencemadeavailablein,whichalmostcertainlyprovedThomasJeffersonhadfatheredatleastonechildwithhisslaveSallyHemings.Andonlyoverthepast30yearshavescholarsexaminedhistoryfromthebottomup.Worksofseveralhistorian