Passage One
It is not controversial to say that an unhealthy diet caus bad health. Nor are the basic elements of healthy eating disputed. Obesity rais susceptibility to cancer and Britain is the 6th most obe country on earth. That is a public health emergency. But naming the problem is the easy part. No one disputes the costs in quality of life and depleted health budgets of an obe population, but the quest for solutions gets diverted by ideological arguments around responsibility and choice. And water is muddied by lobbying from the industries that profit from consumption of obesity-inducing products.
Historical precedent suggests that science and politics can overcome resistance from business that pollute and poison, but it takes time, and success often starts small. So it is heartening to note that a program in Leeds has achieved a reduction in childhood obesity, becoming the first UK city to rever a fattening trend. The best results were among younger children and in more deprived areas. When 28% of English children aged two to 15 are obe, a national shift on the scale achieved by Leeds would lengthen hundreds of thousands of lives. A significant factor in the Leeds experience appears to be a scheme called HENRY, which helps parents reward behaviors that prevent obesity in children.
Many members of parliament are uncomfortable even with their own government’s anti-obesity strateg
y, s ince it involves a “sugar tax” and a ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s. Bans and taxes can be blunt instruments, but their harshest critics can really suggest better methods. The critics just oppo regulation itlf.
The relationship between poor health and inequality is too pronounced for governments to be passive about large-scale intervention. People living in the most deprived areas are four times more prone to die from avoidable caus than counterparts in more affluent places. As the structural nature of public health problems becomes harder to ignore, the complaint about over-protective government los potency.
In fact, the polarized debate over public health interventions should have been abandoned long ago. Government action works when individuals are motivated to respond. Individuals need governments that expand access to good choices. The HENRY program was delivered in part through children’s centers. Closing such centers and cutting council budgets does not magically increa rerves of individual lf-reliance. The function of a well-designed state intervention is not to deprive people of liberty but to build social capacity and infrastructure that helps people take responsibility for their well-being. The obesity crisis will not have a solution devid by left or right ideology--but experience indicates that the private ctor needs the incentive of regulation before it starts taking public health
emergencies riously.
46.Why is the obesity problem in Britain so difficult to solve?
A Government health budgets are depleted.
B People disagree as to who should do what.
C individuals are not ready to take their responsibilities.
D industry lobbying makes it hard to get healthy foods.
47.What can we learn from the past experience in tackling public health emergency?
A Governments have a role to play.
B. Public health is a scientific issue.
C Priority should be given to deprived regions.
D Business’ responsibility should be stresd.
48. What does the author imply about some critics of bans and taxes concerning unhealthy drinks?
A They are not aware of the conquences of obesity.
B They have not come up with anything more constructive.
C They are uncomfortable with parliament’s anti-obesity debate.
D They have their own motives in opposing government regulation.
49 Why does the author stress the relationship between poor health and inequality?
A to demonstrate the dilemma of people living in deprived areas.
B to bring to light the root cau of widespread obesity in Britain.
C to highlight the area derving the most attention from the public.
D to justify government intervention in solving the obesity problem.
50 When will government action be effective?
A when the polarized debate is abandoned
B when ideological differences are resolved.
C when individuals have the incentive to act accordingly.
D when the private ctor realizes the verity of the crisis.
