08 The Stature of Americans美国人的身高
导读
文章先以球员张伯伦为例说明美国运动员身高快速增长的趋势，然后转折提出与之相反的趋势：美国人的身高总体上已经停止了增长。然后论证结论，通过现在与过去的比较和引用人类学家的观点论证结论；分析指出遗传因素是造成美国人身高停止增长的真正原因；从“遗传身高最大值不太可能很快改变”角度并引用人类学家的观点再次论证结论。
In the early 1960s Wilt Chamberlain was one of the only three players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) listed at over seven feet. If he had played last season, however, he would have been one of 42. The bodies playing major professional sports have changed dramatically over the years, and managers have been more than willing to adjust team uniforms to fit the growing numbers of bigger, longer frames.
The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring
an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing. Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago, today's people—especially those born to families who have lived in the US for many generations—apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s. And they aren't likely to get any taller. “In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, we have pretty much gone as far as we can go, ” says anthropologist William Cameron Chumlea of Wright State University. In the case of NBA players, their increase in height appears to result from the increasingly common practice of getting players from all over the world.
Growth, which seldom continues beyond the age of 20, demands calories and nutrients—especially protein. At the start of the 20th century, under-nutrition and childhood infections got in the way. But as diet and health improved, children and adolescents have, on average, increased in height by about an inch and a half every 20 years, a pattern known as the general trend in height. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, average height—5'9" for men, 5'4" for women—has not really changed since the 1960s.
Genetically speaking, there are advantages to avoiding substantial height. During childbirth, larger babies have more difficulty passing through the birth canal. Moreover, even though humans have been upright for millions of years, our feet and back continue to struggle with bipedal posture and cannot easily withstand repeated strain imposed by oversize limbs. “There are some real constraints that are set by the genetic architecture of the individual organism, ” says anthropologist William Leonard of Northwestern University.
Genes can change, but don't expect this to happen soon. Claire C. Gordon, senior anthropologist at the Army Research Center in Natick, ensures that 90 percent of the uniforms and workstations fit recruits without alteration. She says that, unlike those for basketball, the length of military uniforms has not changed for some time. And if you need to predict human height in the near future to design a piece of equipment, Gordon says, “you could use today's data and feel fairly confident.”
在20世纪60年代，韦尔特·张伯伦是美国篮球协会(NBA)中仅有的三个身高超过7英尺的球员之一。但如果他在上个赛季进行比赛的话，他只不过是42个球员之一了。在过去的岁月里，从事主要专业体育运动的运动员的身躯发生了巨大变化，经理也巴不得为这些日渐增多的更大、更高的选手调整队服。
然而，体育界的这种日渐高大的趋势似乎掩盖了一个并未被人们所认识到的现实：美国人在整体上已经不再长高。尽管今天的身高要比140年以前高出2英寸，但现在的人们——尤其是那些生于已经在美国生活了很多代的家庭的人们——他们的身高显然在20世纪60年代初期就已经达到了极限。这些人也不太可能再长高，“依照目前的公众以及基因和环境水平来看，我们可以说已经没有多大的增长余地了，”赖特州立大学的人类学家威廉·卡梅伦·查姆利如是说。拿NBA球员来说，他们身高的增长似乎是在全世界更大范围的选择球员而造成的。
20岁以后增长就几乎停止了，而增长需要热量和营养——尤其是蛋白质。在20世纪伊始，营养不足以及儿童感染妨碍了人口身高增长。但随着饮食和健康的提高，儿童和青少年的平均身高每隔20年就会增长1.5英寸，这是一种普遍认可的身高趋势。但是根据疾病控制和预防中心的说法，男人5英尺9英寸和女人5英尺4英寸的平均身高自从20世纪60年代以来就几乎没有发生什么变化。
从基因角度来看，避免身高过高有很多好处。在生产时，较大的婴儿更难通过产道。另外，尽管人类直立已有几百万年，但是我们的双脚和后背在直立行走时仍有困难，并且也无法轻易承担过大四肢所造成的反复劳损。“每种生物的基因结构确实设定了一些真真实实的限制，”西北大学的人类学家威廉·伦纳德指出。
基因可以变化，但不要奢望近期就能实现。位于纳迪克的陆军研究中心的高级人类学家克莱瑞·C·高登认为，90%的制服和工作站无需修改就可以让新兵使用。她指出，与篮球队服有所不同，军队制服的长度在很长时间内就一直没有改动过。如果你为了设计某种仪器而需要预测在人类在不远将来的身高，高登说，“你可以很自信地采用今天的数据。”
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完形填空
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Key
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Textual Translation（篇章翻译）
然而，体育界的这种日渐高大的趋势似乎掩盖了一个并未被人们所认识到的现实：美国人在整体上已经不再长高。尽管今天的身高要比140年以前高出2英寸，但现在的人们——尤其是那些生于已经在美国生活了很多代的家庭的人们——他们的身高显然在20世纪60年代初期就已经达到了极限。这些人也不太可能再长高，“依照目前的公众以及基因和环境水平来看，我们可以说已经没有多大的增长余地了，”赖特州立大学的人类学家威廉·卡梅伦·查姆利如是说。拿NBA球员来说，他们身高的增长似乎是在全世界更大范围内选择球员而造成的。
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参考译文
The trend in sports, though, may be obscuring an unrecognized reality: Americans have generally stopped growing. Though typically about two inches taller now than 140 years ago, today's people—especially those born to families who have lived in the US for many generations—apparently reached their limit in the early 1960s. And they aren't likely to get any taller. “In the general population today, at this genetic, environmental level, we have pretty much gone as far as we can go, ” says anthropologist William Cameron Chumlea of Wright State University. In the case of NBA players, their increase in height appears to result from the increasingly common practice of getting players from all over the world.