Question

    Imagine you’re at the supermarket checkout. You pay the cashier, load your food into the cart, then take one third of your newly purchased items outside and throw them into the trash. This may sound unbelievable, but millions of us worldwide do this regularly, although in a more non-direct way.

In the West, most of this food is thrown away by businesses that are unable to sell it, or by consumers who buy too much. And the majority of this food, despite being past its shelf life, is still perfectly fit for human consumption. So where do these excess products end up?

“We receive food from various sources, including food banks, restaurants, cafes, food photographers, and events” says Adam Smith, founder of The Real Junk Food Project. The British company recently made headlines in the UK after it became the country’s first “food waste supermarket”, offering products that would otherwise have ended up in waste. Most of its customers are low-income families, or even college students who find it difficult to afford food.“We ask our customers to pay what they feel in time, money or skills. We do have people coming with the intention of paying and if it carries on like it does, it will pay for the cost of the warehouse,” Smith explains.

Some shops across Europe are also taking action. France recently passed a law that says all supermarkets must now donate all of their unsold produce to charities, while the Italian government has also put similar measures in place. Hundreds of cafes that serve meals made from surplus food have been set up across the continent too, selling dishes at bottom prices or even giving them away for free.

So what can we do to prevent our dinner ending up in the bin? “Buy less. Or at least shop smarter,” said Smith. After all, the best place for food is in our stomachs, not the trash.

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined “being past its shelf life” in Paragraph 2?

A.Being past its “sell-by” date. B.Being far from enough.

C.Being past the length of being eatable. D.Being out of date.

2.What do we know about The Real Junk Food Project?

A.It gets food from the waste. B.It wants to make a fat profit.

C.It drew massive attention lately. D.Its main aim is to do charities.

3.What can we learn from Paragraph 4?

A.Some countries in Europe are actively helping poor people.

B.Some countries in Europe are trying to address food waste.

C.Related shops in Europe are willing to give away their food.

D.All the countries in Europe have made laws to handle food waste.

4.What is the best title of the passage?

A.Turning Trash into Treats B.Buying Less and Smarter

C.Food Trash Industry D.Warn against Food Waste

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲述全世界现在存在一种浪费现象：超市里有近三分之一的东西沦为垃圾，而实际上这些商品还是可以使用的。针对这种情况，欧美一些国家正在采取行动。

1.

词义猜测题。由划分部分所在句子“And the majority of this food, despite being past its shelf life, is still perfectly fit for human consumption.”可知，大部分这些食物仍然是非常适合人们消费的，尽管它们超过了它们的货架寿命。由此可见，这些食物只是超过了在货架上销售的时间，需要下架，但是它们仍然可以食用，“being past its shelf life”表示的是超过了最佳售卖的日期。结合选项可知，选项A正确。

2.

推理判断题。由第三段的第二句“The British company recently made headlines in the UK after it became the country’s first “food waste supermarket”, offering products that would otherwise have ended up in waste.”可知，在它成为英国第一个提供可能会变成废物的产品的“食物废品超市”之后，这个英国公司最近在英国成为头条。由此可见，这个英国公司的 真的垃圾食物项目吸引了人们的注意力，成为了头条。结合选项可知，选项C正确。

3.

推理判断题。由第四段的第二句“France recently passed a law that says all supermarkets must now donate all of their unsold produce to charities, while the Italian government has also put similar measures in place.”可知，法国最近通过了一部法律，规定所有的超市现在必须将所有它们不售卖的食物捐赠给慈善机构，同时，意大利政府也适当地实施了相似的措施。由此可见， 欧洲的一些国家正在努力解决食物浪费问题。结合选项可知，选项B正确。

4.

主旨大意题。由全文内容可知，第二段的第一句“In the West, most of this food is thrown away by businesses that are unable to sell it, or by consumers who buy too much.”表示的是在西方，大部分这种食物被不能再销售它的企业丢弃或者被购买太多的消费者丢弃。第三段的第二句“The British company recently made headlines in the UK after it became the country’s first “food waste supermarket”, offering products that would otherwise have ended up in waste.”表达的是在它成为英国第一个提供可能会变成废物的产品的“食物废品超市”之后，这个英国公司最近在英国成为头条。第四段的第一句“Some shops across Europe are also taking action.”表示的是全欧洲的一些商店也正在采取行动。最后一段的最后一句“After all, the best place for food is in our stomachs, not the trash.”表示的是毕竟，食物最佳的地方是在我们的胃里而不是垃圾。由此可见，整篇文章主要是针对被丢弃的食物的问题，介绍了几种将废物转变为好物的方法。结合选项可知，选项A正确。