Theaverage person swallows about half-a-ton of food a year—not counting drink—andthough the body is remarkably efficient at extracting (攝取) just what it needs form this huge mixture, it can only cope up to apoint. If you go on eating too much of some things and not enough of others,you』ll eventually get out of condition and your health will suffer. So think before you start eating. It may look good. It may taste good. Fine! But howmuch good is it really doing you?
Whatyou eat and the way it affects your body depend very much on the kinds ofperson you are. For one thing, the genes you inherit form your parents candetermine how your body metabolism (新陳代謝) copes with particular foods. The tendency to put on weight rather easily,for example, often runs in families—which means that they have to takeparticular care.
And yourparents many shape your future in another way. The way you are brought upshapes some basic attitudes to food—like whether you have a sweet tooth, nibble（吃零食）between meals, take big mountains or eat chips witheverything. Eating habits, good or bad, tend to get passed on.
And thenthere is your lifestyle. How much you spend on food ( time as well as money ),how much exercise you get—these can alter the balance between food and fitness.
Andfinally, both your age and your sex may affect this balance. For example,you’re more likely to put on weight as get older, especially if you’re a woman.
1．Before eating something, we are advised toconsider ____.
A. how good it will taste
B. whether we really need it
C. why we want to eat it
D. if we have eaten too much of it
2．We can infer from the passage that ____.
A. in order to keep fit, we should spend as littletime and money as possible on food
B. nibbling between meals is a bad habit that willthrow our body out
C. if other members of our family get fat quiteeasily, we probably will too
D. we can eat as much as we want and leave it to ourbody to select what it needs
3．f we love sweet things, it’s probably dueto ____.
A. our body’s needs
B. our parent’s influence
C. our basic instinct
D. the taste of the food
4. According to the passage, which person is mostlikely to put on weight?
A. A successful young businessman.
B. A child who is picky about food.
C. A man with a good appetite.
D. A woman who has just retired.
5．What conclusion can we draw from thispassage?
A. People need a standard to guide their eating.
B. Proper eating is the key to one’s health.
C. Women should pay more attention to what they eat.
D. The balance between food and fitness is hard tomaintain.