That a lack of wealth all too often translates into poor health may seem painfully obvious. But now a review of health inequalit

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问题     That a lack of wealth all too often translates into poor health may seem painfully obvious. But now a review of health inequalities in England reveals that such inequalities don’t just disadvantage the least well-off. The review also suggests some strategies to tackle the inequalities. These remedies should apply the world over, including in the US, where health and wealth inequalities can be especially severe.
    Commissioned by the UK government, the review was headed by Michael Marmot of University College London. Marmot, in his latest work, uses census data from across England to show that these health inequalities don’t just exist between the richest and the poorest. He says action to reduce health inequalities should take place right across society, not focus solely on the poor. "It’s not rich versus poor, because it’s a social grade," he says. What’s more, the most productive time to intervene to create a healthier society is childhood, Marmot says. That children who start out with well-off, well-educated parents are likely to be healthier would seem to be something of a no-brainer. But the fates of 17,200 UK babies monitored since they were born in the same week in April 1970, and highlighted in Marmot’s review, make compelling evidence.
    It turns out that babies who had low IQs at 22 months and were born to richer, better educated parents caught up by the age of 6 with children who started with high IQs but whose parents were poorer and less educated. "It shows that the social is exceeding the biological," says Marmot. "We can change that, and that’s why I’m optimistic." He also finds that children in poorer families miss out on pre-school reading, socialising and physical exercise. This disadvantage leaves them trailing far behind when they start school and they seldom recover.
    Such inequalities are not confined to the UK. A US report in April 2009 concluded that interventions most likely to improve the health of all Americans were "programs that promote early childhood development and that support children and families". A report from Brazil recommended prioritising "actions related to health promotion of children and adolescents". "We look forward to assessing how to adapt the policy recommendations for England to the rest of the world," says Riidiger Krech, director of the WHO’s department of ethics, equity, trade and human rights. He agrees that giving every child the best start in life "is critical in setting the foundation for a lifetime of health and successful contribution to society".
    What can be done to ensure this? One option is to extend maternity or paternity leave. Another is to help struggling parents by providing extra services and information.
According to Paragraph 2, Marmot believes the best time to combat health inequalities is ________.

选项 A、during pregnancy
B、at 22 months
C、during childhood
D、before age 6

答案C

解析 根据题干可直接定位到第二段。文章第一段通过一份英国审查报告来表明健康不平等的状况,第二段首句表示这份报告是由马默特来主持的。其中第二段第三句提到应该采取一些措施来减少这种不平等,而在第五句中,马默特则更进一步指出,采取干预行动的最有效时机(the most productive time)是儿童时期(childhood),故选C项。第二段第六句提到那些出生于富裕家庭、父母受过良好教育的儿童身体更健康,这说明健康程度与父母的教育程度和经济状况有一定关联,但没有提到与母体在怀孕期间的状况相关,A项没有原文依据,故排除。B项中的22 months和D项中的age 6在第三段首句提到,用22个月智商仍然低下的婴孩6岁时依然可以赶上智商高的小孩为例,说明在小孩发育方面,社会因素的影响要大过生理因素,但该内容与题目所述无关,故B项和D项也可排除。
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