Nowadays, the food that you buy comes from many different countries. Have a look in your fridge, cupboard, and fruit bowl and check the origins(来源) of the food. Perhaps there are apples from California, lamb from New Zealand, or potatoes from Egypt? You will probably be surprised how far food travels to get to your plate. This journey, from “field to plate”， is called “food miles”. A food mile is the distance that food travels from the farmer's field to the person who buys the food. Nowadays, food often travels thousands of miles to get to the consumer(消费者). Why is this, and what are the effects(影响) of these long distances?
Traditionally, farmers sold their food in the local market, so the food didn't have to travel very far. The consumers also did not travel very far because they went to their local market to buy the food. This was a good system for farmers and consumers. However, there were some disadvantages. For example, consumers could only buy food that farmers produced locally. In addition, they could only get food that was in season. Now, because of modern technology, food comes from all over the world. We do not have to wait for spring or summer to buy strawberries or tomatoes. They are available in winter if we want.
Some countries have to import(进口) most of their food. This is because they have difficult climates. The United Arab Emirates(UAE), for example, gets 85% of its food from other countries. Even food made in the UAE often uses imported materials.
What's wrong with “food miles”？ Is this not a good way of increasing international trade? I believe these miles are worrying for a number of reasons. First of all, because food travels such long distances, we need more planes, lorries, and ships to move the food. This means we use more oil or petrol, so there is more pollution and more global(全球的) warming. In addition, food that travels a long way is not fresh and usually not very tasty. Tomatoes, for example, are picked early and stored for their long journeys. For this reason, they are usually tasteless when they get to the consumer. Local food has a better taste, and it also reduces the amount of global pollution. We need to buy more local food.
【小题1】What is called “food miles” according to this passage?| A．The origins of the food. |
| B．The effects of longs distances . |
| C．The journey from field to plate. |
| D．The disadvantages of imported food. |
| A．easy to get | B．not busy |
| C．willing to talk | D．Impossible to get |
| A．long distances | B．difficult climates |
| C．fresh and tasty food | D．modern technology |
| A．buy more local food | B．increase international trade |
| C．travel long distances | D．use imported materials |
| A．how local food travels from field to plate |
| B．what “food miles” is and its effects |
| C．how some countries import their food |
| D．where different kinds of food come from |
Once upon a time there was no tea at all in England. People there used to drink light beer(啤酒).No coffee or milk but large glasses of beer stood on the breakfast table!
When tea was first brought to England, an old couple got some as a special treat. But they did not know how it should be used. They cooked the leaves in hot water, and spread them on a piece of bacon(熏肉)which they were going to have for dinner. They ate the
leaves, and threw the tea away! However, tea is becoming as popular as coffee and milk in England today.
Tea is the leaf of a plant which grows widely in China, Japan and some other countries. Tea farmers usually grow a great many tea plants on a large piece of land. When the tea leaves are ready to be picked, it is the busiest time for tea farmers in the year. They pull off the leaves and dry them. In their spare time, they pick out the best leaves and get them ready for the market. In China, whenever a visitor comes into a house, he/she is served with a cup of tea.
【小题1】How did the old couple deal with the tea leaves?
| A．They sold them. | B．They ate them. |
| C．They burnt them. | D．They threw them away. |
| A．serve visitors at home | B．sell tea in the market |
| C．pick and dry tea leaves | D．look for a piece of land |
| A．Nature | B．Culture | C．Environment. |
阅读下列短文，从下面每小题的A、B、C、D四个选项中选择最佳选项。
A
It was a sunny night. Jim was having a drink with his friend. He drank too much, and he had to leave at half past eight because he had a ticket for a music festival, which would start at nine o’clock.
It was half past an hour’s walk from the pub to the theatre. Jim knew a shortcut that would only take ten minutes, but it meant crossing rails(铁轨), and was dangerous. He took the shorter way, however, and when he reached the rails, he tripped(绊倒) and fell over. Then he fell asleep with his face down. After a while, a train came. When the driver saw a body lying on the track, he tried hard to stop the train. When it finally stopped, it was several meters before the body. The driver quickly got off and checked. Luckily, he found the man was still alive, but sleeping. Though the driver tried hard to wake him, Jim just kept sleeping. The driver took Jim to the hospital, where he woke up at last.
When Jim was told what had happened, he decided to give up drinking. “I’m so lucky that I have a chance to turn my life around,’ he said.
【小题1】Where did Jim and his friends have a drink?
| A．In a hospital. | B．In a pub. |
| C．At a theatre. | D．In a hotel. |
| A．go to bed | B．see a movie |
| C．go to the hospital | D．take part in a musical festival |
| A．a special car to go somewhere |
| B．a subway to go somewhere |
| C．a quicker way of getting somewhere |
| D．a longer way of getting somewhere |
| A．Jim was dead when the train passed him. |
| B．The train driver didn’t see anything special when the train passed Jim. |
| C．The train stopped before reaching Jim. |
| D．The train driver successfully woke Jim up. |
| A．Not to take shortcuts. |
| B．Not to go out late at night. |
| C．To pay attention while crossing rails. |
| D．To stop drinking. |
“When we say some people ‘sweet’, we mean they are kind and friendly to us. Perhaps this word can help us learn more about people’s feelings and acts.”said Brain Meier, a scientist from the study team. “Taste is something we experience(体验) every day. What we have done is to find whether we can know someone’s character and behavior depending on their taste.”
In one of their experiments(实验), college students were asked questions about their characters, for example, they were soft-hearted or not. Then they were asked to make a list of their favorite food. According to their answers, the scientists found that the students who liked sweet food were nicer.
In their another experiment, the scientists found that people who preferred sweet food such as cookies and chocolate helped other people in need, but those who ate non-sweet food such as chips weren’t. For example, people with a sweet tooth were more possibly to volunteer to clean up their city, visit sick children in the hospital and so on.
The result of experiments is that people’s helpfulness or being nice has something to do with their taste for sweet food. So eating sweet food is a useful way to make people nice and helpful. Next time, try some ice-cream.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “it” refer to(指代) ?
| A．The English saying. | B．The eating habit. |
| C．The American team. | D．The sweet food. |
| A．overweight | B．excited | C．friendly | D．relaxed |
| A．The ones who like ice-cream. |
| B．The ones who prefer chocolate. |
| C．The ones who eat many cookies. |
| D．The ones who eat many chips. |
| A．Some scientists discovered something new about eating sweet food. |
| B．Kids are told to keep away from sweet food to be fat. |
| C．What you put in your mouth will show your character. |
| D．If people want to be kind or friendly, they can try some sweet food. |
| A．Scientists asked college students questions about their characters. |
| B．People who like sweet food are more willing to help others. |
| C．Scientists told college students not to eat sweet food. |
| D．People’s character has nothing to do with their taste. |
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