The Disturbing State of American’s Health If Americans have been slow to realize the disturbing state of our collective heal

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问题                     The Disturbing State of American’s Health
    If Americans have been slow to realize the disturbing state of our collective health, we have—as individuals and as a nation—at last begun to wake up. Take our long and almost always unhappy battle with weight. In recent years, the scale has been telling not just a distressing tale, but also a truly shocking one. Between 1980 and 2004, the prevalence of obesity in the US doubled among adults, surging to 72 million, or one-third of people ages 20 and older. Worse, the percentage of overweight or obese kids rose to 17%. If all those numbers could be cut by even a third, the ripple effect would in turn slash rates of hypertension (高血压), heart disease, diabetes, cancer, joint damage and more, not to mention the myriad costs associated with fighting these illnesses.
    And indeed, there may be flickers (M8R) of hope. From 2005 to 2006, the percentage of women and children who are overweight appeared to stabilize, while the rate for men increased only slightly. "That’s good, but it’s not as if it’s flattening at a good level," notes Cynthia Ogden, an epidemiologist at the National Center for Health statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, the improvement is no accident, and for women and particularly children, it can be traced to aggressive nutrition and exercise messages promoted in schools, hospitals, community groups and churches—precisely the kind of low cost, high-impact measures health experts love.
    Similar preventive methods may help cap soaring cholesterol levels. Since the late 1960s,the average serum cholesterol level of adults has continued to drop, from a high of 220 mg/dL down to 199 mg/dL in 2006. That cut the percentage of Americans with high cholesterol (胆固醇) to 17% , precisely the goal set by the Healthy People 2010 targets—and it was reached four years ahead of schedule. Routine blood tests for low-and high-density lipoproteins (脂肪蛋白) , or bad and good cholesterol—as well as the use of cholesterol—lowering medications when needed—have played a major role in powering those improvements.
    The same principles of education, prevention and early treatment can apply to mental health as well.One in 20 Americans over age 12 reported feeling depressed in 2006, with non-Hispanic blacks making up the largest percentage. Although 80% of Americans admitted that their symptoms interfered with their ability to work, only 29% had contacted a mental health professional. Recent improvements in screening at primary-care facilities, one of the goals set by Healthy People 2010, may help address this problem: while 62% of primary care facilities provided treatment for mental disorders in 2000. 74% do so now.
What conclusion can be made about American cholesterol levels?

选项 A、There are no signs for good change in the late 1960s.
B、The percentage of Americans with high cholesterol decreased by 17% in 2006.
C、There are effective ways to help decrease the cholesterol levels.
D、Blood test for cholesterol levels helps a little to decrease the cholesterol levels.

答案C

解析 事实细节题。由题干关键词cholesterol levels定位到第三段最后一句可知,有些方法可以有效地帮助降低胆固醇的含量。故C正确。第三段第二句表示从六十年代后期开始,成年人的平均血液胆固醇含量在持续降低,这是好的变化,故排除A;第三段第三句That cut the percentage of Americans with high cholesterol(胆固醇)to 17%...表示胆固醇降低到17%,而非降低了17%,故排除B;第三段最后一句表示常规验血对降低胆固醇含量是有帮助的,故排除D。
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