Dieters are often advised to stop drinking alcohol to avoid the extra calories l

Dieters are often advised to stop drinking alcohol to avoidthe extra calories lurking in a glass of wine or a favorite cocktail. But newresearch suggests that women who regularly consume moderate(适度的) amounts of alcohol are less likely to gain weight than nondrinkers andare at lower risk for obesity (fatness).

The findings, reported this week in the Archivesof Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 19,220 United States women aged30 to 40 who fall into the “normal weight” based on their body mass index.Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston tracked the women’sdrinking habits over 13 years. About 60 percent of the women were light orregular drinkers, while about 40 percent reported drinking no alcohol.

Over the course of the study, 41 percent of thewomen became overweight. Although alcohol is packed with calories, thenondrinkers in the study actually gained more weight over time: nine pounds, onaverage, compared with an average gain of about three pounds among regularmoderate drinkers. The risk of becoming overweight was almost 30 percent lowerfor women who consumed one or two alcohol drinks a day, compared withnondrinkers.

The findings are certain to be confusing forwomen who continue to receive conflicting messages about the health benefitsand risks of alcohol. Although moderate drinking is associated with betterheart health, regular drinking also increases breast cancer risk.

The trend toward less weight gain among drinkersdoesn’t appear to hold true for men. A 2003 study of British men showed thatregular drinkers gained more weight than nondrinkers. Studies suggest thatdrinking alcohol has different effects on eating habits among men and women.Men typically add alcohol to their daily caloric intake, whereas womenare more likely to substitute（替代）alcohol for food. In addition, there may bedifferences in how men and women metabolize（代谢）alcohol.Metabolic studies show that after men drink alcohol, they experience little ifany metabolic change. But alcohol appears to slightly speed up a woman’s metabolism.

The findings don’t mean women should rush todrink alcohol to lose weight. Other research shows that once a person isalready overweight, her alcohol metabolism is more efficient, and so anoverweight woman may gain more weight from alcohol than a lean(瘦的)woman. The data do, however, suggest that for many women facing weightproblems, the extra calories are probably not coming from alcoholic drinks.

1. According to thestudy, which of the following regular drinker is less likely to gain weightthan nondrinkers?

    A                B                C                 D

2.That men regulardrinkers gained more weight than women regular drinkers is due to the followingexcept ______.

 A. women aremore likely to substitute alcohol for food.

 B. men drinkalcohol much faster than women.

C. men and women metabolize alcohol differently.

D. men have different effects on eating habitswith women.

3. The underlinedword “whereas” may probably mean _______.

A. so           B. in order that    C. but      D. and then

4.What can a dieterprobably do before reading this passage?

  A. Rush to drink alcohol to lose weight

B. Add alcohol to his or her daily caloricintake.

C. Face the weight problems alone.

D. Try to stop drinking any alcohol or wine.

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】略