美国越来越多年轻人因过胖无法参军

On July 4, America’s Independence Day, U.S. President Donald Trump asked more Americans to join the military. “To young Americans across our country, now is your chance to join our military and make a truly great statement in life, and you should do it,” Trump said in his speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

The next day, Trump spoke to reporters outside the White House. He said he believed his statement would increase the number of young people joining the military. “Based on that, we’re going to have a lot of people joining our military,” he said.

However, a 2016 Department of Defense report found that nearly 75 percent of young Americans are unable to serve in the military. The biggest problem is about 31 percent of young American are overweight. Other problems are lack of education, criminal history and drug use.

By age two, 14 percent of American children are already fat. That percentage increases as children get older. In the 16-19 age group, 42 percent of Americans are overweight. Nearly 70 percent of overweight teens become overweight or fat adults.

The problem is very serious in southern states, like Georgia and Alabama. These states provide a large number of military recruits, but also have some of the highest levels of fatness in the country.

What’s worse, the number of young Americans interested in military careers is decreasing, the report found. This is partly the result of a strong national economy. There are many job opportunities for young people and that makes military careers seem less attractive, retired Army Major General Allen Youngman said.

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1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A Nearly 14 percent of American adults are overweight.

B Trump encouraged more Americans to join the military.

C More and more American young people want to join the military.

D Northern states have the highest levels of fatness in America.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段，美国总统特朗普在林肯纪念堂的演讲可知，特朗普鼓励更多的美国人参军，故选B。

2.According to the passage, which is NOT the reason why young Americans cannot join the military?

A Lack of education.

B Criminal history.

C Playing computer games.

D Overweight or fatness.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据第三段最后两句可知，最大的原因是超重，其次是缺乏教育、犯罪前科和吸毒，故选C。

3.The underlined “that” in the last paragraph probably refers to ________.

A many job opportunities

B the weak national economy

C Americans’ interest in military careers

D overweight or fat Americans

解析：选A。词义猜测题。由划线单词所在句句意：年轻人有很多就业机会，因此军旅生涯的吸引力相对降低了。可知that 指代的是许多就业机会，故选A。

4.Whhat is the main idea for the passage?

A More young Americans are interested in military careers.

B More young Americans can’t join the military.

C More young Americans are getting overweight.

D America has a much stronger national economy.

解析：选B。主旨大意题。文章主要讲述了因为肥胖，许多美国年轻人无法参军，选项B比较切合题意，故选B。