Question

An environment group called the Food Commission is unhappy and disappointed because of the sales of bottled water from Japan. The water, it angrily argues in public, has traveled 10,000 “food miles” before it reaches Western customers. “Transporting water half-way across the world is surely the extremely stupid use of fuel when there is plenty of water in the UK.” It is also worried that we are wasting our fuel by buying prawns from Indonesia (7,000 food miles) and carrots from South Africa (5,900 food miles).

Counting the number of miles traveled by a product is a strange way of trying to tell the true situation of the environmental damage done by an industry. Most food is transported around the world on container ships that are extremely energy-efficient. It should be noted that a ton of butter transported 25 miles in a truck to a farmers’ market does not necessarily use less fuel on its journey than a similar product transported hundreds of miles by sea, Besides, the idea of “food miles” ignores the amount of fuel used in the production. It is possible to cut down your food miles by buying tomatoes grown in Britain rather than those grown in Ghana; the difference is that the British ones will have been raised in heated greenhouses and the Ghanaian ones in the open sun.

What is the idea of “food miles” does provide, however, is the chance to cut out Third World countries from First World food markets. The number of miles traveled by our food should, as I see it, be regarded as a sign of the success of the global trade system, not a sign of damage to the environment.

1.The Food Commission is angry because it thinks that       .

A. UK wastes a lot of money importing food products

B. some imported goods cause environmental damage

C. growing certain vegetables damages the environment

D. people waste energy buying food from other countries

2.The phrase “food miles” in the passage refers to the distance       .

A. that a food product travels to a market

B. that a food product travels from one market to another

C. between UK and other food producing countries

D. between a Third World country and a First World food market

3.By comparing tomatoes raised in Britain and in Ghana, the author tries to explain that       .

A. British tomatoes are healthier than Ghanaian ones

B. Ghanaian tomatoes taste better than British ones

C. cutting down food miles may not necessarily save fuel

D. protecting the environment may cost a lot of money

4.From the passage we know that the author is most probably       .

A. a supporter of free global trade

B. a member of the Food Commission

C. a supporter of First World food markets

D. a member of an energy development group

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：这是一篇议论文。作者通过对当前环保组织对事物在全球范围内的运送，表示担忧而引发的思考，进而表达自己的观点。全球贸易一体化是对能源节约还是浪费，作者有自己的观点。

1.推理题。第一段谈到食物委员会认为运送事物是能源的一种浪费。故选D。

2.词义推测。根据第一段第二句中的before it reaches Western customers.它到达西部的顾客那里以前，可知指的是：从产地到市场所走的距离。故选A。

3.推理题。依据第二段的制作者将英国种植的西红柿与加纳种植的西红柿进行比较，是要表明即使在英国种植食品，也需要fuel，不一定能节约fuel。故选C。

4.推理题。依据最后一段最后一句话The number of miles traveled by our food should, as I see it, be regarded as a sign of the success of the global (全球的) trade system, not a sign of damage to the environment。在我们的食物里有多少英里的旅行，正如我所看到的那样，被视为全球商业系统成功的一种标志，而不是环境损坏的一种标志。作者很清楚地表达了自己的观点。故选A。

考点：考查议论文阅读