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 Rudiger 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.
The assumption that well-off parents tend to have healthier kids seems _____.

选项 A、obvious
B、senseless
C、ridiculous
D、thoughtful

答案A

解析 根据题干的well-off和healthier定位到第二段。该段⑥句表示那些生于富裕家庭、父母受过良好教育的儿童身体更健康,这与题目里假设的内容一致,而原文的seem to be表示推测语气,no-brainer表示“不用动脑筋的事”,因此可以理解为富裕家庭的小孩更健康这一观点不言而喻,十分明显,故A项正确。
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