2017年12月英语四级阅读理解50篇：减肥及痛苦

　　Here's a familiar version of the boy-meets-girlsituation. A young man has at last plucked upcourage to invite a dazzling young lady out todinner. She has accepted his invitation and he isoverjoyed. He is determined to take her to the bestrestaurant in town, even if it means that he will haveto live on memories and hopes during the month tocome. When they get to the restaurant, he discovers that this ethereal creature is on a diet. She mustn’t eat this and she mustn't that. Oh, but of course, she doesn't want to spoil hisenjoyment. Let him by all means eat as much fattening food as he wants: it’s the surest way toan early grave. They spend a truly memorable evening together and never see each otheragain.

　　What a miserable lot dieters are! You can always recognize them from the sourexpression on their faces. They spend most of their time turning their noses up at food. Theyare forever consulting calorie charts; gazing at themselves in mirrors; and leaping on toweighing-machines in the bathroom. They spend a lifetime fighting a losing battle againstspreading hips, protruding tummies and double chins. Some wage all-out war on FAT. Meredieting is not enough. They exhaust themselves doing exercises, sweating in sauna baths, being pummeled and massaged by weird machines. The really wealthy diet-mongers pay vastsums for ‘health cures’. For two weeks they can enter a nature clinic and be starved to deathfor a hundred guineas a week. Don’t think it’s only the middle-aged who go in for these fadseither. Many of these bright young things you see are suffering from chronic malnutrition: they are living on nothing but air, water and the goodwill of God.

　　Dieters undertake to starve themselves of their own free will; so why are they somiserable? Well, for one thing, they’re always hungry. You can't be hungry and happy at thesame time. All the horrible concoctions they eat instead of food leave them permanentlydissatisfied. Wonderfood is a complete food, the advertisement says. ‘Just dissolve ateaspoonful in water…’. A complete food it may be, but not quite as complete as a juicy steak. And, of course, they’re always miserable because they feel so guilty. Hunger just proves toomuch for them and in the end they lash out and devour five huge guilt-inducing cream cakes ata sitting. And who can blame them? At least three times a day they are exposed totemptation. What utter torture it is always watching others tucking into piles of mouth-watering food while you munch a water biscuit and sip unsweetened lemon juice!

　　What’s all this self-inflicted torture for? Saintly people deprive themselves of food to attaina state of grace. Unsaintly people do so to attain a state of misery. It will be a great daywhen all the dieters in the world abandon their slimming courses; when they hold out theirplates and demand second helpings!

　　1. The best title for this passage is

　　[A] On Fat.

　　[B] We Should All Grow Fat and Be Happy.

　　[C] Many Diseases Are Connected with Fat.

　　[D] Diet Deprives People of Normal Life.

　　2. Why do they never see each other again?

　　[A] Because it is a memorable evening.

　　[B] Because she lets him eat as much fattening food as he wants.

　　[C] Because she does not eat this and drink that.

　　[D] Because eating fattening food is the surest way to an early grave.

　　3. Which of the following ways is NOT mentioned for diet?

　　[A] Doing exercises.

　　[B] Not eating sugar.

　　[C] Not eating fat.

　　[D] Taking sauna baths.

　　4. What is the author’s attitude toward diet?

　　[A] Persuasive.

　　[B] Critical.

　　[C] Indifferent.

　　[D] Adversative.