Question

【题目】Humans are much worse at estimating risk than we think we are. While we overestimate the risk of rare but disastrous occurrences, such as being attacked by a shark, many of us seriously underestimate the risk of behaviors that reduce our lifespan (寿命), such as smoking.

In fact, there are two types of risks — acute and chronic. Acute risks are those that may kill you immediately, such as a car accident.

Chronic risks don’t kill you immediately but rob you of your life a little at a time. If you choose to eat an unhealthy diet, for instance, you may appear to be getting away with this, but you risk developing illnesses in future that may shorten your life.

The problem is we value things much less when they occur in the future. Distant events are abstract — we don’t know how and when they might affect us -~ so we care less about them.

Take smoking for example. It is just about the worst choice you can make for your health. Every two cigarettes that you smoke takes 30 minutes off your lifespan.

In contrast, eating vegetables is clearly very good for you, with each serve increasing your lifespan by two hours. This is a massive health gain and clearly should be a strong motivator for you to eat healthily.

Drinking coffee is also good for you, though with limited health gains. Each cup of coffee (assuming you drink reasonably), is associated with approximately a ten-minute gain in your lifespan.

Even drinking alcohol may add to your lifespan, with each serve adding 30 minutes to the length of your life. But this health gain is only true for the first drink; following drinks shorten lifespan. Alcohol also causes an acute risk when consumed in excess. Too much drinking gives you a 25 in one million chance of sudden death.

We shouldn’t be too nervous about exposure to risks. Life is all about making decisions about risks and rewards, and we all have a different starting point for what we consider acceptable risks to take. Even if we don’t always make the healthiest decisions, at least we can make ones that are fully informed.

【1】Which of the following belongs to acute risks?

A. Eating junk food every day.

B. Being hit in a plane crash.

C. Staying up late every night.

D. Being too much overweight.

【2】Why do people often ignore chronic risks?

A. They can often get away with them.

B. They can rid themselves of their side effects.

C. They don’t reduce their lifespan.

D. They will not cause immediate death.

【3】Which habit will shorten your lifespan?

A. Eating vegetables every day.

B. Smoking only one cigarette a day.

C. Drinking a cup of coffee every day.

D. Drinking alcohol reasonably.

【4】What does the underlined phrase “in excess” in the 8th paragraph mean?

A. At random.

B. In need.

C. More than enough.

D. Ahead of time.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】B

【4】C

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了两种不同的危险：acute risk和chronic risk。人们经常忽视chronic risk，主要是因为它的危害没有立刻显露。对此，文章中列举了具体事例。

【1】推理判断题。根据文章内容可知acute risk是指剧烈的危险，吃垃圾食物、熬夜以及超重均属于慢性的危险，只有B项坠机属于可能导致立刻丧命的acute risk。故B项正确。

【2】推理判断题。根据第三段第一句Chronic risks don’t kill you immediately but rob you of your life a little at a time.可知慢性危险不会立刻危及生命，但会慢慢第剥夺你的生机，正是因为它的危险没有立刻显露出来，人们才会忽视它的存在。故D项正确。

【3】推理判断题。根据文章第五段Take smoking for example. It is just about the worst choice you can make for your health. Every two cigarettes that you smoke takes 30 minutes off your lifespan.可知吸烟对人类的身体危害最大，会缩短人们的寿命。故B项符合题意。每天吃水果、每天喝一杯咖啡以及合理饮酒对身体有益。

【4】猜测词义题。根据划线短语后句Too much drinking gives you a 25 in one million chance of sudden death.过度饮酒会大大增加突然死亡的几率。所以本句“Alcohol also causes an acute risk when consumed in excess.”中的in excess指“过度”，故C项“more than enough”正确。