READING COMPREHENSION

　　Schools have banned cupcakes, issued fatness report cards and cleared space in cafeterias for salad bars．Just last month, Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood fatness promised to get young people moving more and restore school lunch, and drink makers said they had cut the number of liquid calories shipped to schools by almost 90 percent in the past five years．

　　But new research suggests that interventions(干预)aimed at school-aged children may be, if not too little, too late．

　　More and more evidence points to essential events very early in life－during the child years, babyhood and even before birth, in the womb(胎)－that can set young children on a fatness path that is hard to change by the time they’re in kindergarten．The evidence is not ironclad, but it suggests that prevention efforts should start very early．

　　Among the findings are these：

　　●The fat angel-like baby who is growing so nicely may be growing too much for his or her own good, research suggests．

　　●Babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are at risk of becoming fat, even though the babies are usually small at birth．

　　●Babies who sleep less than 12 hours are at increased risk for fatness later．If they don’t sleep enough and also watch two hours or more of TV a day, they are at even greater risk．

　　Some early interventions are already widely practiced．Doctors recommend that overweight women lose weight before pregnancy rather than after, to cut the risk of fatness and diabetes in their children; breast-feeding is also recommended to lower the obesity risk．

　　Like children and teenagers, babies and toddlers have been getting fatter．One in 10 children under age 2 is overweight．The percentage of children ages 2 to 5 who are fat increased to 12.4 percent in 2006 from 5 percent in 1980．But most prevention programs have avioded intervening at very young ages, partly because the school system offers an efficient way to reach large numbers of children, and partly because the rate of fat teenagers is even higher than that of younger children－18 percent．

　　Scientists like Dr．Birch worry about what are called epigenetic changes．The genes taken over from mother and father may be turned on and off and the strength of their effects changed by environmental conditions in early development．Many doctors are concerned about women being fat and unhealthy before pregnancy because the womb is the baby’s first environment．

　　Experts say change may require abandoning some treasured cultural attitudes．“The idea that a big baby is a healthy baby, and a crying baby is probably a hungry baby who should be fed, are things we really need to rethink,”Dr．Birch said．

阅读理解

　　The morning for our snowmobiling(雪上汽车)adventure finally arrived, and we set off on the hour-and-a-half drive to the resort．A fresh powder had fallen the night before, and everything was frosted white．We couldn’t have asked for more perfect conditions．The sun sparkled(闪光)on the snow, and the trails(路线)were completely empty－not another person or snowmobile in sight．We were thrilled at being the only people for miles around … until we got going．

　　As we drove through the deserted wilderness(荒野), my excitement became stone-cold fear．I had no idea what I was afraid of, or why I was afraid, but suddenly every turn, every hill, every steep(陡峭的)side of the mountain scared me to death．I kept picturing us crashing headlong into a tree or falling off the side of a drop．?

　　But after lunch things changed．We were the only humans who had been there since the snowfall．The peaceful place, the incredible beauty of the landscape, and the almost sacred experience of sharing a mountain with the wildlife touched my very core(核心)．My mind cleared and quieted and my muscles relaxed．

　　As we drove the last leg of the run, I began to resent being afraid to drive．Deep down, I wanted to be in charge of the thing that scared me．It made me angry that fear was keeping me from something I really wanted to do．The day was coming to an end, and the resort was only a few miles away．I knew that if I didn’t take my chance now, I would regret it．

　　I signaled for my husband to pull over．I wanted to drive, although my heart pounded(重击)．I stared off slowly and felt the wind in my face．I smiled and sped up a little．I let out a “Yee-haw!” and went full out, taking my husband on the best ride of the day．

　　We ended the day on that breathless, carefree, and I felt proud of myself – proud of overcoming my fear．