According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, both the size and consumption habits of our eating companions can influence our food intake. And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions (份), it’s the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.

To test the effect of social influence on eating habits, the researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, 95 undergraduate women were individually invited into a lab to ostensibly (表面上) participate in a study about movie viewership. Before the film began, each woman was asked to help herself to a snack. An actor hired by the researchers grabbed her food first. In her natural state, the actor weighed 105 pounds. But in half the cases she wore a specially designed fat suit which increased her weight to 180 pounds.

Both the fat and thin versions of the actor took a large amount of food. The participants followed suit, taking more food than they normally would have. However, they took significantly more when the actor was thin.

For the second test, in one case the thin actor took two pieces of candy from the snack bowls. In the other case, she took 30 pieces. The results were similar to the first test: the participants followed suit but took significantly more candy when the thin actor took 30 pieces.

The tests show that the social environment is extremely influential when we’re making decisions. If this fellow participant is going to eat more, so will I. Call it the “I’ll have what she’s having” effect. However, we’ll adjust the influence. If an overweight person is having a large portion, I’ll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I’ll follow suit. If he can eat much and keep slim, why can’t I?

1.What is the recent study mainly about?

A Food safety.

B Movie viewership.

C Consumer demand.

D Eating behavior.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。文章第一段第一句提到，根据《消费者研究杂志》最近的一项研究，我们就餐时，同伴的体型和饮食习惯都会影响我们的食物摄入量。再结合下文内容可知，这项研究是有关饮食行为的。故选D。

2.What does the underlined word “beanpoles” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A Big eaters.

B Overweight persons.

C Picky eaters.

D Tall thin persons.

解析：选D。D 词义猜测题。第一段最后一句提到，现有的研究表明，你应该避免和吃得多的比较胖的人一起吃饭。又根据提示词contrary to existing research可知，后面提到的内容恰好与前面相反，由此可推测，真正需要避免一起吃饭的是那些大胃口的瘦高个。beanpole词义与heavier people相对，意为“瘦高个”。故选D。

3.Why did the researchers hire the actor?

A To see how she would affect the participants.

B To test if the participants could recognize her.

C To find out what she would do in the two tests.

D To study why she could keep her weight down.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第二段第一句可知，为了验证社会影响对饮食习惯的效应，研究人员做了两个实验。在实验过程中，研究人员聘请了演员参加。因此聘请演员是为了看她如何影响其他参与者的饮食习惯的。故选A。

4.On what basis do we “adjust the influence” according to the last paragraph?

A How hungry we are.

B How slim we want to be.

C How we perceive others.

D How we feel about the food.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。文章最后一段提到“If an overweight person is having a large portion, I’ll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I’ll follow suit.”即：如果一个超重的人吃了很多，我会稍微控制一下食量，因为我看到了他饮食习惯的结果。但如果一个瘦人吃得很多，我也会跟着多吃。可知我们是通过如何看待他人的饮食习惯来调整对自己的饮食影响的。故选C。