Question

    Supermarket shelves are filled with plant-based alternatives to cow milk, including soy, nut, and coconut milk. These products are popular with consumers who cannot drink cows’ milk for health reasons, as well as with those concerned about animal welfare and environmental sustainability. While the dairy-free(非乳制的) options work well with cereal or in coffee, they fail miserably when it comes to making milk-based products like cheese or yogurt. However, these shortcomings may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new company in California, which has figured out how to create animal-free milk in a laboratory!

Perumal Gandhi and Ryan Pandya founded the company in 2014 after becoming increasingly annoyed with the lack of cows’ milk-free alternatives, particularly for cheese. For Gandhi, who stopped consuming animal products five years earlier due to environmental and animal welfare concerns, the motivation to create a better alternative stemmed from his love of cheesy pizza. Pandya was spurred into taking action after being forced to eat some “really bad” dairy-free cream cheese on his sandwich.

The two MIT biomedical engineering scientists decided to join forces to create a more realistic alternative to dairy-based products. In their university lab, the pair spent nine months first isolating(分离) cow DNA then inserting it into yeast. This genetic modification enabled the yeast to produce the necessary milk proteins. The final step of the process involved mixing the proteins with some plant nutrients and fats.

The dairy-free milk not only tastes like the real thing but is also healthier, has a longer shelf life and, most important of all, is Earth friendly. According to the company’s website, when compared to conventional（传统的） milk production, their process uses 65% less energy, creates 84%o less greenhouse gas emissions and requires 91% less land and an amazing 98% less water! Best of all, since it contains real milk proteins, the product behaves like the cow-produced version, which means vegetarian consumers will no longer have to deal with soggy cheese on their sandwiches and pizzas.

The company plans to bring their creation to market later this year and their first product will most likely be cheese since there are already numerous good cows’ milk alternatives available to consumers.

1.The underlined word "those" in paragraph 1 refers to_______.

A. alternatives B. people

C. products D. reasons

2.What can be inferred from paragraph 4?

A. The dairy-free products cannot be stored for a long time.

B. The new products will taste better than dairy-based ones.

C. Cow farming causes considerable environmental damage.

D. The dairy-free milk will be more expensive than cow’s milk.

3.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A. Healthier Cheese B. New Milk Saves Planet

C. Fresher Milk, Better Future D. Making Milk without Cows

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲了一家公司生产出了一种新的牛奶，这种牛奶不需要奶牛。这种新产品不仅味道像真正的牛奶，也更健康，而且对环境友好。

1.词意猜测题。划线词所在的句子These products are popular with consumers who cannot drink cows’ milk for health reasons, as well as with those concerned about animal welfare and environmental sustainability.（这些产品很受因为健康原因不能喝牛奶的消费者的欢迎，也受那些关心动物和环境的可持续性发展的人的欢迎。）所以"those"指的是人，A. alternatives替代品；B. people人；C. products产品；D. reasons原因，故选B。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段中According to the company’s website, when compared to conventional milk production, their process uses 65% less energy, creates 84% less greenhouse gas emissions and requires 91% less land and an amazing 98% less water!（根据该公司的网站，与传统的牛奶生产相比，他们的生产过程使用的能源减少了65%，产生的温室气体排放量减少了84%，所需土地减少了91%，用水量惊人地减少了98% !）可知与传统的牛奶相比较而言，新的产品对环境的破坏较小，由此推知，奶牛养殖造成相当大的环境破坏，故选C。

3.主旨大意题。根据第一段However, these shortcomings may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a new company in California, which has figured out how to create animal-free milk in a laboratory!是全文的主题句，结合全文内容，可知这篇文章主要讲了一家公司生产出了一种新的牛奶，这种牛奶不需要奶牛，故选D。