2021年12月英语四级真题 第2套

Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A）, B）, C）and D）. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.

With obesity now affecting 29% of the population in England, and expected to rise to 35% by 2030, should we now recognise it as a disease? Obesity, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be adversely affected, meets the dictionary definition of disease, argues Professor John Wilding. He points out that more than 200 genes influence weight. “Thus body weight is strongly influenced by biology—it is not an individual's fault if they develop obesity.” Yet the widespread view is that obesity is self-induced and that it is entirely the individual's responsibility to do something about it. Recognising obesity as a chronic disease with severe complications rather than a lifestyle choice “should help reduce the stigma（耻辱）and discrimination experienced by many people with obesity,” he adds. Professor Wilding disagrees that labelling a high proportion of the population as having a disease removes personal responsibility or may overwhelm health services, pointing out that other common diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, require people to take action to manage their condition. He suggests that most people with obesity will eventually develop complications. “But unless we accept that obesity is a disease, we are not going to be able to tackle it,” he concludes.
But Dr. Richard Pile, a physician with a special interest in diabetes, argues that adopting this approach “could actually result in worse outcomes for individuals and society.” He believes that the dictionary definition of disease “is so vague that we can classify almost anything as a disease” and says the question is not whether we can, but whether we should, and to what end.
If labelling obesity as a disease was harmless then it wouldn't really matter, he writes. But labelling obesity as a disease “risks reducing autonomy, disempowering and robbing people of the intrinsic（内在的）motivation that is such an important enabler of change.” What's more, making obesity a disease “may not benefit patients, but it will benefit healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical（制药的）industry when health insurance and clinical guidelines promote treatment with drugs and surgery,” he warns.

目前，肥胖影响了英国29%的人口，预计到2030年这一比例将增长到35%，我们现在应该将它视为一种疾病吗？约翰·怀尔丁教授认为，肥胖是指体内多余的脂肪积累到对健康造成不利影响的程度，符合字典上对于疾病的定义。[46] 他指出，有200多种基因能够影响体重。“因此，体重在很大程度上受到生理的影响——如果人们得了肥胖症，这并不是他们个人的错。”[47] 然而，普遍的观点是肥胖是由自身引起的，对此采取什么措施完全是个人的责任。他补充说，认识到肥胖是一种伴有严重并发症的慢性疾病，而不是一种生活方式的选择，“应该有助于减少很多肥胖症患者遭受的耻辱和歧视”。
[48] 对于将高比例的肥胖人口视为患者就会免除肥胖者的个人责任，或者可能使医疗服务不堪重负的观点，怀尔丁教授表示不赞同。他指出，其他常见疾病，比如高血压和糖尿病，要求人们采取行动来控制自己的病情。他表示，大多数肥胖症患者最终都会出现并发症。“但是除非我们承认肥胖是一种疾病，否则我们将无法解决它。”他总结道。
但是对糖尿病特别感兴趣的内科医生理查德·派尔认为，采取这种方式“实际上可能会对个人和社会造成更糟糕的结果”。[49] 他认为，字典上对于疾病的定义“太模糊了，以至于我们几乎可以将任何事情都归类为疾病”，他说问题不在于我们是否能将肥胖定义为疾病，而在于我们是否应该这样做，以及要达到什么目的。
他写道，如果把肥胖列为一种疾病不会产生什么坏处，那就没什么要紧的了。[50] 但是将肥胖列为一种疾病“存在降低自主性、剥夺人们的权利和内在动力的风险，而内在动力是改变的重要推动力”。此外，他警告说，将肥胖定义为一种疾病“可能不会给病人带来好处，但是当医疗保险和临床指南提倡使用药物和手术来治疗肥胖症时，它将使医疗保健机构和制药业受益。”

Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

Nationwide, only about three percent of early childhood teachers are male in the U.S. Experts say this can have an impact on young children whose understanding of gender roles and identity are rapidly forming. Research has found that having access to diverse teachers is beneficial for children. For the youngest learners, it means they are more likely to get exposed to different varieties of play and communication. It also helps them develop healthy ideas around gender.
“In our world and our society, we have very specific stereotypes（模式化形象）of gender roles,” said Mindi Reich-Shapiro, an assistant professor in the teacher education department of the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and one of the authors of a recent study. “It's important for children to see other possibilities and other paths they can take.”
Despite mostly feeling supported by colleagues and family members, many of the male educators surveyed in the study reported facing social or cultural resistance in their careers as early education teachers. Some also reported that there were parents surprised or concerned that their child had a male teacher. And they had been advised by colleagues or other staff not to hug children.
Reich-Shapiro and fellow researchers made several recommendations to increase male representation in the field. Low pay has long been acknowledged as a major issue in the early childhood field. Over 70% of male educators who said they intended to stay in the early education workforce noted an increased salary was a major motivating factor for them to commit to the career long-term. The report suggests paying all early childhood educators the way elementary school teachers are paid.
Cities and programs should establish support groups for male early childhood educators and provide mentoring and professional development advice for male educators and their program leaders.
The authors also suggest that traditional recruitment approaches for early childhood educators “do not address the gender gap in the field.” They recommend providing young men opportunities to work with children through training and volunteer programs, targeting groups of men who are considering a career change, such as fathers.

[51] 在全美范围内，只有大约3%的幼儿教师是男性。专家称，这可能会对幼童产生影响，他们对性别角色和身份的理解正在迅速形成。有研究发现，能接触不同（性别）的老师对儿童是有益的。对于这些最年幼的学习者来说，这意味着他们更有可能接触到不同种类的游戏和交流方式。这还将帮助他们形成有关性别的健康观念。
“在我们的世界中和社会里，我们关于性别角色有着非常具体的刻板印象。”明迪·赖克-夏皮罗说道，她是曼哈顿社区学院教师教育系的助理教授，也是近期一项研究的发起人之一。[52] “让孩子看到其他的可能性和他们能走的其他道路非常重要。”
在这项研究中，尽管大部分接受调查的男性教育工作者感觉得到了同事和家人的支持，[53] 但他们中许多人表示，作为早教教师，他们在职业生涯中面临着社会或文化阻力。一些人还报告称，有些家长对自己孩子的老师是男性感到惊讶或担心。他们的同事和其他工作人员建议他们不要拥抱孩子。
赖克-夏皮罗和其他研究人员为增加这一领域的男性代表给出了一些建议。[54] 长期以来，工资较低一直是幼儿教育领域人们公认的一个主要问题。称自己打算继续从事幼儿教育工作的男性教育者中超过70%的人特别提到，涨薪是激励他们长期从事这一职业的主要因素。报告建议给幼儿教育工作者支付与小学教师一样的薪酬。
城市和项目应该为男性幼教工作者成立支持小组，并向男性幼教工作者及其项目负责人提供指导和专业发展建议。
作者还表示，传统的幼教工作者招聘方法“不能解决该领域的性别差距问题”。[55] 他们建议通过培训和志愿者项目为年轻男性提供与儿童打交道的机会，目标人群是那些正在考虑转行的男性群体，比如有孩子的男士。