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Why do smokers tend to weigh less than nonsmokers and gain weight when they give up the habit?

Contrary to “common knowledge”, nonsmokers do not generally eat more than smokers, nor do they exercise less, studies find. Research performed on smokers at rest indicates that nicotine (尼古丁) itself can increase basal metabolic (新陈代谢的) rates, meaning smokers burn more energy than nonsmokers during periods of inactivity. But surveys suggest most smokers smoke not while completely at rest, but while performing light activities such as desk work that can increase metabolic rates by two or three times. Unless nicotine’s metabolic effects increase proportionally with metabolic rates, its influence on weight might be insignificant.

Now a study shows that nicotine’s effects on body-fuel consumption indeed increase proportionally with increases in activity. “These results indicate that the metabolic effect of nicotine may play a greater part in accounting for body-weight differences between smokers and nonsmokers than was previously believed,” says Kenneth A. Perkins and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The researchers gave a nicotine nose spray to individuals performing light work — in this case riding an exercise bicycle modified to allow easy riding while subjects remain seated in a comfortable armchair. The activity raised resting metabolic rates two to three times.

By analyzing air breathed out, the researchers calculated energy consumption in the armchair bicyclists before and after giving the nose spray and compared the relative changes with subjects in the control group given placebo (（试验药物用的）无效对照剂) nose sprays. Relative to their baseline bicycle expenditures, individuals in the nicotine group expended considerably more energy than did those in control group while doing the same amount of work. With nicotine, Perkins says, “It’s as if the body is becoming much less efficient in using its stored energy.”

While the results may seem discouraging to smokers who’d like to quit without gaining weight, Perkins notes that walking an extra mile a day should make up for the difference in metabolic efficiency. And he says smokers would have to gain “well more than 50 pounds” to counterbalance the health risks of continued smoking.

1. What might “common knowledge” say about smokers and nonsmokers? A) Smokers eat more and exercise more than nonsmokers. B) Smokers eat less and exercise less than nonsmokers. C) Smokers eat less and exercise more than nonsmokers.

√

D) Smokers eat more and exercise less than nonsmokers. 答案：C

2. When might nicotine influence smokers’ weight significantly? A) When Nicotine’s metabolic effects and metabolic rates increase at the same rate. √ B) While smokers are exercising. C) While smokers are at rest.

D) When Nicotine’s metabolic effects increase proportionally with the amount of light activities. 答案：A

3. The word “subjects” in the fourth paragraph means . A) people under medical treatment B) researchers

C) people undergoing an experiment √ D) addicted smokers 答案：C

4. What have the researchers found out in their study? A) People in the armchair expended more energy than people doing desk work.

B) People in the control group breathed out more air. C) People without nicotine nose spray are becoming much less efficient in using energy.

D) People in the nicotine group consumed more energy.

√ 答案：D

5. Why do the study results seem discouraging to some smokers according to the passage?

A) Because they want to gain weight to tackle the health risks of continued smoking.

B) Because they want to quit smoking and still keep fit.

√

C) Because they want to walking an extra mile a day to lose some weight.

D) Because they want to keep fit without having to quit

smoking. 答案：B

A certain amount of controversy has been caused by the publication of a new report by a team of educationalists headed by Pro. B. J. Smith. The report claims to have statistical evidence that children who attend a number of different schools through their parents having to move around the country are more than normally vulnerable to a vicious cycle of low academic achievement. There are also indications, says Professor Smith, of an unusually high rate of psychological dismay among such children.

The professor, who has long suspected that the effect on children whose parents travel to different parts of the country in search of work has not been sufficiently researched, stresses that this is not merely an expression of prejudice. “We are not dealing here with opinions,” he says, “It’s true, my personal feeling is that for children’s well-being, they should stay in one school. However, our findings are based on research and not on any personal attitudes that I or my colleagues may have on the subject.”

Capt. Thomas Muller, an Army lecturer for the past 20 years and himself a father of two, said, “I’ve never heard such rubbish. As far as I’m concerned, absolutely no harm is done to the education of children who change schools regularly — as long as they keep to the same system as in our Army school. In my experience — and I’ve known quite a few of them — Army children are as well-adjusted as any others, if not more so. What the Professor doesn’t appear to appreciate is the fact that in such situations children will adapt much better than adults.”

When this was put to Professor Smith, he said that at no time had his team suggested that all such children were backward or dismayed in some way, but simply that in their experience there was a clear tendency.

“Our findings indicate that while the extremely bright child can cope wi …… 此处隐藏：7160字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……