Question

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 journey．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．

1.What is called “food miles” according to this passage?

A. The origins of the food．    B. The effects of long distances．

C. The journey from field to plate．    D. The disadvantages of imported food．

2.The underlined word“available”in Paragraph 2 most probably means “______”．

A. easy to get    B. not busy

C. willing to talk    D. impossible to get

3.Some countries like the United Arab Emirates have to import most of their food because of __________．

A. long distances    B. difficult climates

C. fresh and tasty food    D. modern technology

4.The writer uses the LAST paragraph mostly to encourage readers to ______．

A. buy more local food    B. increase international trade

C. travel long distances    D. use imported materials

5.This passage is mainly about _________．

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

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.A

5.B

【解析】文章介绍了现代食品全球流通的方式、原因和面临的问题。因为某地气候的影响，有些食物或水果不能在当地生产，所以需要长途运输才能运到。但是食品在运输的过程中可能出现污染问题或者不能保鲜的问题，所以作者提倡人们要尽可能地去买当地的食品。

1.细节理解题。根据A food mile is the distance that food travels from the farmer’s field to the person who buys the food．可知，食品里程指的是从农民的地里到买的人的手里要经过的路程。故选C。

2.词义猜测题。根据We do not have to wait for spring or summer to buy strawberries or tomatoes．可知，不必等到春天或夏天去买草莓或西红柿，所以在冬天是可以买到的。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据 Some countries have to import(进口) most of their food．This is because they have difficult climates．可知，一些国家不得不进口一些食物，由于气候太难了，不能种植这些食物。故选B。

4.细节理解题。根据Local food has a better taste, and it also reduces the amount of global pollution．We need to buy more local food．可知，当地的食品味道更好，并且减少了地球的污染，所以我们要买更多的当地的食品。故选A。

5.主旨大意题。根据短文的内容是关于食物里程的定义及影响。故选B。

点睛：主旨大意题是考生容易出错的题型之一，错误主要表现为：概括文章中心时以偏概全（只见树木不见森林），概括性不够，或者概括过度，超出了文本的内容，缺乏针对性。

5题，选项ACD都具有片面性。