Healthy knees aren't the main consideration in choosing high heels, but new research says chunky heels are just as bad for the knees as spindly stilettos (細高跟鞋). "It takes a long time to feel the effects of knee osteoarthritis (骨關節炎) — and once you do, it is too ]ate," said Dr. Casey Kerrigan, leading researcher of the study and associate professor at Harvard Medical School's department of physical medicine. "I compare it to smoking — one cigarette is not painful, but over a lifetime it is. Wide-heeled shoes feel comfortable, so women wear them all day long, "Kerrigan said. "They are better for your feet than stiletto heels, but just as had for your knees."
In the study, researchers had twenty women wear two pairs of shoes with three-inch heels, one with a narrow heel and the other with a thick one. The scientists compared how much pressure was put on the women's knees by both types of shoes. The women also walked barefoot to test normal pressure. The scientists found that both types of shoes applied equal amounts of pressure to the knees. Compared with walking barefoot, the heels increased pressure on the inside of the knee by 26 percent. Increased pressure on the knee eventually leads to arthritis, experts say.
The idea that high heels are bad for your health isn't new — scientists have warned women for years that they contribute to problems ranging from corns to hammer toes, tendonitis, knee pain, sprained (扭傷) ankles and back problems. But in 1998,Kerdgan and a team of Harvard researchers were the first to link high heels and knee osteoarthritis, a painful joint disease that destroys cartilage (軟骨) surrounding the knee. The first study looked only at stiletto heels, and Kerrigan said she wanted to study the chunky high-heeled shoes she noticed many women wearing. "This study confirms what we all intuitively (直覺地) know that high-heeled shoes of any kind are not good for our health," said Dr. Glenn Pfeifer, a San Francisco doctor and member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons who was not connected to the study.
Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage above.
1.We learn from the passage that women choose chunky heels because_____.
A.they want to walk comfortably
B.chunky heeled shoes are cheaper than stiletto heeled pairs
C.chunky heels do less harm to knees
D.chunky heels are not painful at all
2.The study mentioned in the second paragraph found that_____.
A.pressure on the knee is caused by high heels
B.the reading of pressure is abnormal while walking barefoot
C.arthritis is always caused by pressure on the knee
D.both types of shoe have the same harm to the knees
3.It can be inferred that_____.
A.people got to know the high heels are had for health recently
B.people have known the high heels are had for health for years
C.people haven't known the high heels are had for health yet
D.people will be warned that the high heels are had for health soon
4.Kerrigan's late study looked at the chunky high-heeled shoes because_____.
A.they feel more comfortable
B.they are related to knee osteoarthritis
C.they are worn by many women
D.they are different from stiletto heels
5.The best title for the passage may be_____.
A.Taking Healthy Knees into Consideration
B.High-heels Do Harm to Knees
C.Chunky Heels and Stiletto Heels
D.When Wearing High Heels
文章精要
議論文。本文主要論述了鞋跟粗厚的高跟鞋和鞋跟細高的高跟鞋一樣，都對膝關節有損害。
斟詞酌句
1.chunk n. 厚片，大塊;相當大的部分(或數量)
*In the old days having meat and milk every day often meant a big chunk of the family income. 過去，每天吃肉、喝牛奶意味著要花費掉家庭收入的大部分。
chunky adj. 短而厚的;結實的;粗壯的;[美]矮胖的
2.rehabilitate vt. 使恢復原狀，修復;恢復……的名譽;改造(罪犯等)，使恢復正常生活
*He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公眾已恢復對他的敬重。
rehabilitation n. 復原
3.intuition n. 直覺
*She had an intuition that her friend was ill. 她有一種直覺，她的朋友生病了。
intuitive adj. 直覺的
4. surgeon n. 外科醫生
*A surgeon is a doctor whose job is to practive surgery. 外科醫生是從事外科手術的醫生。
試題精析
1.選A。本題為主要細節正誤題。第一段中說“Wide-heeled shoes feel comfortable, so women wear them all day long”，由此可知，婦女選擇粗高跟鞋是因為粗高跟鞋穿著舒服，A選項與其意思一致。
2.選D。本題為主要細節正誤題。從第二段中的“The scientists found that both types of shoes applied equal amounts of pressure to the knees.”可知，兩種高跟鞋給膝關節帶來的壓力是等量的，所以它們對膝關節的傷害是一樣的。
3.選B。本題為主要細節正誤題。第三段開頭說“The idea that high heels are bad for your health isn't new — scientists have warned women for years that ……”，B選項與其意思一致。
4.選C。本題為細節推斷題。第三段中說“The first study looked only at stiletto heels, and Kerrigan said she wanted to study the chunky high-heeled shoes she noticed many women wearing.”可見，起初的研究對象只是細高跟，柯里根后來對粗高跟鞋進行調查研究是因為她注意到許多婦女穿著粗高跟鞋。
5.選B。本題為主旨歸納題。本文主要論述了鞋跟粗厚的高跟鞋和鞋跟細高的高跟鞋一樣，都對膝關節有損害。所以B選項“高跟鞋傷害膝關節”是最佳答案。
全文翻譯
人們在選擇高跟鞋時，膝關節的健康不是考慮的重點，但新的研究表明，鞋跟粗厚的高跟鞋對膝關節的損害程度與鞋跟細高的高跟鞋一樣。該項研究的領頭人、哈佛醫學院物理醫學與康復系副教授凱西·柯里根博士說：“你需要很長一段時間才能感到膝部關節炎的影響——而一旦感覺到了，就為時已晚了。”“我把高跟鞋比作抽煙，抽一支煙沒什么痛苦，但抽一輩子可就苦了。粗高跟鞋穿著舒服，所以婦女們整天穿，”柯里根說，“與細高跟鞋相比，穿粗跟鞋感覺好一些，但對膝關節同樣有害。”
在該項研究中，研究人員讓20位婦女穿兩雙跟高3英寸的鞋，一雙是細跟的，一雙是粗根的。科學家們對穿這兩種高跟鞋時婦女膝關節所承受的壓力進行了比較。她們也赤腳行走，以提供正常壓力下的數據。科學家們發現，兩種高跟鞋給膝關節帶來的壓力是等量的。與赤腳行走相比，高跟鞋給膝關節內部增加26%的壓力。專家們說，給膝關節增加壓力最終會導致關節炎。
穿高跟鞋有損健康并不是什么新概念——科學家們多年來一直警告婦女們高跟鞋會引起各種病痛，雞眼、錘狀趾、肌腱炎、膝關節炎、踝骨扭傷以后背部不適等。但1998年，柯里根和哈佛的一組研究人員首次將高跟鞋與膝部骨關節炎聯系在一起。這是一種痛苦的變性關節病，它損壞膝部周圍的軟骨。起初的研究對象只是細高跟，而柯里根說她注意到許多婦女穿著粗高跟鞋，所以也要對她們進行調查研究。舊金山矯形外科醫生、美國矯形外科醫師學會會員格倫·普費弗醫生說：“這篇文章證實了我們大家直覺上都知道的——無論哪種高跟鞋，都無益健康。”普費弗沒有參與這項研究。
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