身高和體型并不代表一個人的價值，但個子高的人在特定的方面或許占一定的優(yōu)勢?？v觀歷史，人類是否越長越高？本期節(jié)目討論人類身高的變遷和高個子的利與弊。

詞匯: growth 生長發(fā)育

How tall are you? Do you?tower over?your friends and family – or are they people you literally have to?look up to? Obviously, we’re not all the same, and size doesn’t really matter. But did you know that there’s a possibility that we’re all getting taller?

你有多高?你比你的朋友和家人高嗎?或者他們是你必須尊敬的人?顯然，我們不都是一樣的，大小也不重要。但你知道我們都有可能長高嗎?

Of course, our?height?is out of our control – it’s a?biological?fact, influenced partly by?genetics. The idea that being taller gives you more power and authority might be a?tall story, but according to David Robson, writing for BBC Future, “on the basis of first impressions alone, taller people may have?the edge.” He adds that despite some slight risks to your health, various studies have found that the greater your height, the higher you score on measures of happiness and enjoyment of life.

當然，我們的身高是無法控制的——這是一個生物學事實，部分受到基因的影響。高個子會給你更多的權(quán)力和權(quán)威的想法可能是一個荒誕的故事，但根據(jù)大衛(wèi)·羅布森為BBC Future撰寫的文章，“僅從第一印象來看，高個子可能更有優(yōu)勢。”他補充說，盡管身高對健康有輕微的風險，但各種研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，身高越高，你在幸福和享受生活方面的得分就越高。

If this makes you want to become?loftier, it’s good to know that all of us are taller than we were 150 years ago – by as much as ten centimetres. Scientists have known for a long time that humans with good diets and reliable access to food tend to grow taller and?mature?more quickly. Adult height in some countries has?rocketed?as they transformed into a developed society.

如果這讓你想要變得更高，那么很高興知道我們所有人都比150年前高了10厘米?？茖W家們很早就知道，飲食健康、食物來源可靠的人往往長得更高，成熟得更快。在一些國家，成年人的身高隨著他們向發(fā)達社會的轉(zhuǎn)變而急劇上升。

In a recent study, scientists have discovered a?brain receptor, called MC3R, linked to our?growing?process. It’s thought to be the crucial link between food and sex development and growth. Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly from Cambridge University told the BBC: “It tells the body we’re great here, we’ve got lots of food, so grow quickly, have?puberty?soon and make lots of babies.” This discovery could lead to drugs to improve?muscle mass?and treat delayed growth, UK researchers say.

在最近的一項研究中，科學家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種名為MC3R的大腦受體，它與我們的成長過程有關。它被認為是食物與性發(fā)育和生長之間的關鍵聯(lián)系。劍橋大學的斯蒂芬·奧拉希利教授告訴BBC:“這告訴身體我們在這里很好，我們有很多食物，所以生長得很快，青春期很快，生很多孩子。”英國研究人員表示，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)可能會催生出改善肌肉質(zhì)量和治療生長遲緩的藥物。

For those aspiring to be taller, we need to look at the Dutch, who stand?head and shoulders?above?the rest of us as the tallest people in the world. But there is a?ceiling?for height, and it’s reached when people achieve their genetic potential. But, of course?lanky?people have to?stoop?through doorways and struggle to fit in cars and can have joint and cardiovascular problems, so maybe we should be careful for what we wish for.

對于那些渴望長高的人來說，我們需要看看荷蘭人，他們是世界上最高的人，遠遠高于我們其他人。但是身高是有上限的，當人們實現(xiàn)了他們的基因潛力時，這個上限就會達到。但是，當然，瘦長的人必須彎腰穿過門口，努力適應汽車，并且可能有關節(jié)和心血管問題，所以也許我們應該小心我們的愿望。

詞匯表

tower over 比…高
look up to someone 仰望（某人），敬仰某人
height 身高
biological 生理的
genetics 遺傳
tall story 無稽之談
the edge 優(yōu)勢
lofty 高的
mature 發(fā)育成熟的
rocket 迅速增長
brain receptor 腦受體
growing 生長的
puberty 青春期
muscle mass 肌肉量
head and shoulders above 比…高出一大截，遠遠高于
ceiling 上限
lanky 瘦高的
stoop 彎腰

測驗與練習

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. How is height thought to relate to happiness?

2. Up to how much taller have people grown in the last 150 years?

3. True or false??Humans with reliable access to food tend to grow taller.

4. What has the brain receptor called MC3R been found to do?

5. Which people tend to be tallest in the world?

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The footballer is a role model that other players _______.

look down to? ? ? ? ? ? ? look in to? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? look up to? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? look up from

2. Mind your head. You need to _______ to get through this small door.

lanky? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? stoop? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? mature? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ceiling?

3. Because of the bad winter, prices of vegetables have _______.

rocketed? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?rocketing? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? rockets????????????????????? rocketted

4. The house feels very spacious with _______ ceilings.

mature? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? height? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?lofty? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?lanky

5. The big mountain _______ the town, blocking the Sun in the afternoons.

tower over? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?towers over? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? towering over? ? ? ? ? ? towers under

答案

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。?

1. How is height thought to relate to happiness?
Various studies have found that the greater your height, the higher you score on measures of happiness.

2. Up to how much taller have people grown in the last 150 years?
All of us are taller than we were 150 years ago – by as much as ten centimetres.

3. True or false??Humans with reliable access to food tend to grow taller.
True. Scientists have known for a long time that humans with good diets and reliable access to food tend to grow taller and mature more quickly.

4. What has the brain receptor called MC3R been found to do?
A brain receptor called MC3R is linked to our growing process.

5. Which people tend to be tallest in the world?
The Dutch are the tallest people in the world.

2.?選擇意思恰當?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The footballer is a role model that other players?look up to.

2. Mind your head. You need to?stoop?to get through this small door.

3. Because of the bad winter, prices of vegetables have?rocketed.

4. The house feels very spacious with?lofty?ceilings.

5. The big mountain?towers over?the town, blocking the Sun in the afternoons.

文章來源BBC，侵權(quán)刪，本文僅用于英語學習。