2024届高考英语复习外刊精读：How tall do you want to be 你的理想身高是多少？ 学案

2024届高考备考 外刊精读 Day 72 How tall do you want to be 你的理想身高是多少？ 学案 文本导读： 身高和体型并不代表一个人的价值，但个子高的人在特定的方面或许占一定的优势。纵观历史，人类是否越长越高？本期节目讨论人类身高的变迁和高个子的利与弊。 Step 1:词汇温习 tower over 比…高 look up to someone 仰望（某人），敬仰某人 height 身高 biological 生理的 genetics 遗传 tall story 无稽之谈 the edge 优势 lofty 高的 mature 发育成熟的 rocket 迅速增长 brain receptor 脑受体 growing 生长的 puberty 青春期 muscle mass 肌肉量 head and shoulders above 比…高出一大截，远远高于 ceiling 上限 stoop 弯腰 Step 2: 原文精听+精读 How tall are you? Do you tower over your friends and family – or are they people you literally have to look up to? Obviously, we’re not all the same, and size doesn’t really matter. But did you know that there’s a possibility that we’re all getting taller? Of course, our height is out of our control – it’s a biological fact, influenced partly by genetics. The idea that being taller gives you more power and authority might be a tall story, but according to David Robson, writing for BBC Future, “on the basis of first impressions alone, taller people may have the edge.” He adds that despite some slight risks to your health, various studies have found that the greater your height, the higher you score on measures of happiness and enjoyment of life. If this makes you want to become loftier, it’s good to know that all of us are taller than we were 150 years ago – by as much as ten centimetres. Scientists have known for a long time that humans with good diets and reliable access to food tend to grow taller and mature more quickly. Adult height in some countries has rocketed as they transformed into a developed society. In a recent study, scientists have discovered a brain receptor, called MC3R, linked to our growing process. It’s thought to be the crucial link between food and sex development and growth. Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly from Cambridge University told the BBC: “It tells the body we’re great here, we’ve got lots of food, so grow quickly, have puberty soon and make lots of babies.” This discovery could lead to drugs to improve muscl