That a lack of wealth all too often translates into poor health may seem painfully obvious. But now a review of health inequalit

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问题     That a lack of wealth all too often translates into poor health may seem painfully obvious. But now a review of health inequalities in England reveals that such inequalities don’t just disadvantage the least well-off. The review also suggests some strategies to tackle the inequalities. These remedies should apply the world over, including in the US, where health and wealth inequalities can be especially severe.
    Commissioned by the UK government, the review was headed by Michael Marmot of University College London. Marmot, in his latest work, uses census data from across England to show that these health inequalities don’t just exist between the richest and the poorest. He says action to reduce health inequalities should take place right across society, not focus solely on the poor. "It’s not rich versus poor, because it’s a social grade," he says. What’s more, the most productive time to intervene to create a healthier society is childhood, Marmot says. That children who start out with well-off, well-educated parents are likely to be healthier would seem to be something of a no-brainer. But the fates of 17,200 UK babies monitored since they were born in the same week in April 1970, and highlighted in Marmot’s review, make compelling evidence.
    It turns out that babies who had low IQs at 22 months and were born to richer, better educated parents caught up by the age of 6 with children who started with high IQs but whose parents were poorer and less educated. "It shows that the social is exceeding the biological," says Marmot. "We can change that, and that’s why I’m optimistic." He also finds that children in poorer families miss out on pre-school reading, socialising and physical exercise. This disadvantage leaves them trailing far behind when they start school and they seldom recover.
    Such inequalities are not confined to the UK. A US report in April 2009 concluded that interventions most likely to improve the health of all Americans were "programs that promote early childhood development and that support children and families". A report from Brazil recommended prioritising "actions related to health promotion of children and adolescents". "We look forward to assessing how to adapt the policy recommendations for England to the rest of the world," says Riidiger Krech, director of the WHO’s department of ethics, equity, trade and human rights. He agrees that giving every child the best start in life "is critical in setting the foundation for a lifetime of health and successful contribution to society".
    What can be done to ensure this? One option is to extend maternity or paternity leave. Another is to help struggling parents by providing extra services and information.
It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that a person’s IQ is ________.

选项 A、fixed when he is at 22 months
B、decided by his parents’ social status
C、a product of family influences
D、affected by his growth environment

答案D

解析 根据题干中的关键词IQ可定位到第三段首句。该段第一句中turns out that的内容即为第二段末句提到的对17200名婴儿进行的跟踪调查的研究结果,该结果表示出生时智商较低的富裕家庭孩子长到6岁时智商可能超过以前智商较高的贫困家庭孩子,由此可推测出家庭环境影响了孩子的智商,故D项正确。智商并不是在22个月大时就停止了发展,第三段第一句里提到的出生于富裕家庭的婴孩在六岁已经追赶上从前智商较高的贫困家庭孩子(caught up with children),可见儿童时期是一直在发展的,故A项错误;智商生来就有高低之分,有些人刚开始就拥有较高的智商(started with high IQs),研究只是证明家庭环境(包括经济条件、父母受教育程度等)对智商的发展有影响,但并不是说智商完全取决于家庭,故B项和C项错误。
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