Name: _____________________________________________________
Grade: _____________
English 0312
Sample Midterm Exam
Fall 2015
Directions:
1. Read the following essay thoroughly.
2. Answer the questions that follow the reading.
The Global Epidemic
by Dianne Hales
This reading comes from a textbook entitled An Invitation to Health. Think about your health
as you read through this passage.
(1)
For the first time in history, more than half of the people on the planet are overweight.
Obesity, as headlines blare and health experts warn, is emerging as the number-one public
health problem of the twenty-first century. An estimated 1.1 billion people around the
world—seven in ten of the Dutch and Spanish, two in three Americans and Canadians, and
one in two Britons, Germans, and Italians—are overweight or obese. In Europe, excess
weight ranks as the most common childhood disorder. Since 1980, obesity rates have
tripled in parts of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, and the Pacific Islands. In many
poor countries, obesity is common among city dwellers, while people in rural areas
remain underweight and malnourished.
(2)
The World Health Organization, in its first global diet, exercise, and health
program to combat obesity, recommends that governments promote public knowledge
about diet, exercise, and health; offer information that makes healthy choices easier for
consumers to make; and require accurate, comprehensible food labels. Although ultimately
each individual decides what and how much to eat, policy makers agree that governments
also must act to reverse the obesity epidemic.
(3)
Exposure to a Western lifestyle seems to bring out susceptibility to excess weight.
Obesity is much more common among the Pima Indians of Arizona compared to Pimas
living in Mexico, who have maintained a more traditional lifestyle, with more physical
activity and a diet lower in fat and richer in complex carbohydrates. Native Hawaiians
who follow a more traditional diet and lifestyle also have lower rates of obesity and
cardiovascular disease. Simply moving to America increases the risk of obesity. In a study
of immigrants, the rate of obesity more than doubled within 15 years—from 8 percent
among recent immigrants to 19 percent.
Supersized Nation
(4)
Two-thirds of American adults, up from fewer than half 20 years ago, are
overweight. About one in every three Americans is obese. Since the 1970s, the obesity
rate has doubled for teens and tripled for children between the ages of 6 and 11.
Although more men than women are overweight, more adult women (38 percent) are
obese than men (28 percent). Non-Hispanic black women have the highest obesity rate
(50 percent), compared with 40 percent of Hispanic women and 30 percent of white
women (Figure 6-5). In some Native American communities, up to 70 percent of all adults
are dangerously overweight. Differences in metabolic rates may be one factor.
(5)
Weight problems are starting earlier than ever. One in ten preschoolers and one in
five grade schoolers are seriously overweight. According to federal estimates, some 6
million American youngsters are so heavy that their health is in jeopardy. Another 5 million
are on the threshold of this danger zone. Not only are more children overweight today, but
they're 30 to 50 percent heavier than "fat" kids were a decade ago. The percentage of
obese teenagers has tripled in the last 20 years.
(6)
Not all Americans are equally likely to be overweight or obese. The southern states
have the highest concentration of obese residents. Mississippi is home to the county with
the highest percentage of people with a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 40. (BMI
is defined as the ratio between weight and height that correlates with percentage of body
fat.)
(7)
States also vary in their efforts to control obesity. According to an ongoing
evaluation program at the University of Baltimore, no states deserve an A overall. Only
one state—California—earned an. A in the report card. For the high grade, the
researchers credited the state's legislative package targeted at the nutrition and diets of
schoolchildren at risk of becoming obese. Overall, California earned a B for its antiobesity work for all populations. Five states—Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota, Utah, and
Wyoming—received an F on the report card for failing to take any action in combating
obesity.
How Did We Get So Fat?
(8)
A variety of factors, ranging from heredity to environment to behavior, played a
role in the increase in overweight and obesity. They include:
A.
More calories. Bombarded by nonstop commercials for taste treats, tempted by
foods in every form to munch and crunch, Americans are eating more—some 200 to
400 calories more a day than they did several decades ago. Many of these extra calories
come from refined carbohydrates, which can raise levels of heart-damaging blood fats
called triglycerides and increase the risk of diabetes as well as obesity.
B. Bigger portions. The size of many popular restaurant and packaged foods has
increased two to five times during the past 20 years. Some foods, like chocolate bars,
have grown more than ten times since they were first introduced. Popular 64-ounce sodas
can pack a whopping 800 calories. According to studies of appetite and satiety people
presented with larger portions eat up to 30 percent more than they otherwise would.
C. Fast food. Young adults who eat frequently at fast-food restaurants gain more
weight and develop metabolic abnormalities that increase their risk of diabetes in early
middle age. In a recent study those who ate fast food at least twice a week gained an
extra 10 pounds and had a two-fold greater increase in insulin resistance, a risk factor
for diabetes. The men in the study visited fast-food restaurants more often than the
women; blacks did so more frequently than whites.
D. Physical inactivity. As Americans eat more, they exercise less. Experts estimate that
most adults expend 200 to 300 fewer calories than people did 25 years ago. The most
dramatic drop in physical activity often occurs during the college years.
E. Passive entertainment. Television is a culprit in an estimated 30 percent of new cases
of obesity. TV viewing may increase weight in several ways: It takes up time that
otherwise might be spent in physical activities. It increases food intake since people tend
to eat more while watching TV. And compared with sewing, reading, driving, or other
relatively sedentary pursuits, television watching lowers metabolic rate so viewers
burn fewer calories. The combination of watching television (at least two and one-half
hours a day) and eating fast food more than twice a week triples the risk of obesity,
according to a 15-year study of more than 3,700 white and black young adults.
F. Modernization. The growth of industry and technology has led to an abundance of
food, less need for physical activity, urbanization, labor-saving devices, and a more
sedentary lifestyle. Suburban sprawl directly contributes to obesity, according to a recent
study. People who live in neighborhoods where they must drive to get anywhere are
significantly more likely to be obese than those who can easily walk to their destinations.
Each hour spent in a car was associated with a 6 percent increase in the likelihood of
obesity and each half-mile walked per day reduced those odds by nearly 5 percent.
G. Socioeconomics. The less money you make, the more likely you are to be
overweight. One in four adults below the poverty level is obese, compared with one in six
in households earning $67,000 or more. Minorities are at even greater risk. One in three
poor African Americans is obese.
H. Prenatal factors. A woman's weight before conception and weight gain during
pregnancy influence her child's weight. A substantial number of children are prone to
gaining weight because their mothers developed gestational diabetes during their
pregnancies. Children born to obese women are more than twice as likely to be
overweight by age four.
I. Childhood development. Today's children don't necessarily eat more food than in the
past, but they eat more high-fat, high-calorie foods and they exercise much, much less.
On days when they eat fast food, youngsters consume an average of 187 more calories
per day. Fewer than half of grade schoolers participate in daily physical education classes.
Many spend five hours or more a day in front of a computer or television screen.
J. Genetics. Although scientists have identified genes involved in appetite and metabolism,
they have not found a genetic cause for obesity. It may be that various genes contribute a
small increase in risk or that rare abnormalities in many genes create a predisposition to
weight gain and obesity.
K. Emotional influences. Obese people are neither more nor less psychologically
troubled than others. Psychological problems, such as irritability, depression, and anxiety,
are more likely to be the result of obesity than the cause. Emotions do play a role in
weight problems. Just as some people reach for a drink or a drug when they're upset,
others cope by overeating, bingeing, or purging.
Source:
Dole, Ivan G. and Leslie Taggart. Connect: College Reading. Boston: Wadsworth
Cengage Learnnig, 2010. 305-317.
Directions: Choose the best answer and put the correct letter in the blank. (3 points each)
______1. In paragraph 1, the word malnourished means
a. thin.
b. underweight.
c. well fed.
d. not well fed.
______2. In section E. Passive entertainment, the word culprit means
a. guilty cause of a problem.
b. effect of a problem.
c. the highest point.
d. benefit
______3. What is the topic sentence of paragraph 6?
a. Not all Americans are equally likely to be overweight or obese.
b. The southern states have the highest concentration of obese residents.
c. Mississippi is home to the county with the highest percentage of people with a
body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 40.
d. (BMI is defined as the ratio between weight and height that correlates with
percentage of body fat.)
______4. Which of the following sentences states the main idea of this reading passage?
a. For the first time in history, more than half of the people on the planet are
overweight.
b. The World Health Organization, in its first global diet, exercise, and health program
to combat obesity, recommends that governments promote public knowledge about
diet, exercise, and health.
c. A variety of factors, ranging from heredity to environment to behavior, played a
role in the increase in overweight and obesity.
d. Although scientists have identified genes involved in appetite and metabolism, they
have not found a genetic cause for obesity.
______5. According to the reading passage, which of the following is not a confirmed cause of
obesity?
a. Sedentary pursuits.
b. Suburban sprawl.
c. High-fat, high-calorie foods.
d. Genetics.
______6. What is the main purpose of this reading passage?
a. To inform.
b. To entertain.
c. To persuade.
d. To inform and entertain.
______7. What is the overall pattern of organization of this reading passage?
a. Time order.
b. Listing.
c. Comparison and contrast.
d. Cause-and-effect.
______8. What relationship is found in the following sentence?
Obese people are neither more nor less psychologically troubled than others.
a. Classification.
b. Comparison and contrast.
c. Cause-and-effect.
d. Narration.
______9. Which of the following can be inferred from this reading passage?
a. The government is ultimately responsible for the obesity rates in the United States
because it allows people the choice of what they eat.
b. Obesity may be causes partly by cheap food.
c. This author is overweight, if not obese. That is why she knows so much about
obesity.
d. The World Health Organization is winning the war against obesity.
_____10. According to the article, in the United States, how many adult women are obese?
a. Two-thirds.
b. 38 percent.
c. 28 percent.
d. 50 percent.
____11. To support her thesis, the author primarily uses
a. statistics.
b. examples.
c. research.
d. a AND b.
e. a AND c.
f. All of the above.
____12. We can conclude from the reading that a mother’s weight during pregnancy
a. can influence her child’s weight at an early age.
b. has no influence on her child’s weight at an early age.
____13. Overall, the author’s tone is
a. worried.
b. disapproving.
c. objective.
d. enthusiastic.
____14. According to the text, obesity is a problem
a. worldwide.
b. in the United States only.
c. in Europe only.
d. in countries exposed to a Western lifestyle.
___15. Obese people are more psychologically troubled than others.
a. True.
b. False.