Question

In the rush to get to school, you drop a piece of toast on the floor. Do you throw it away or dec ide it’ s still OK to eat? If you’re like most people, you eat it. Maybe you follow the “5-second rule”, which claims foods are safe to eat if you pick them up within 5 seconds after dropping them. But you might want to think again. Scientists now say that 5 seconds is all it takes for foods to become polluted with enough bacteria（细菌） to make you sick.

     Bacteria can cause many kinds of illnesses. Some kinds of bacteria can grow on food. If you eat foods on which these bacteria are growing, you can become sick.

 One of these food-borne bacteria is Salmonella. It makes 1.4 million people sick every year. Salmonella is often found in raw eggs and chicken. Cooking kills these bacteria, which is why it is so important to cook eggs, chicken, and other foods thoroughly.

 But how long does it take these bacteria to pollute food? A team of scientists in South Carolina did an experiment. First, they placed an amount of Salmonella on three surfaces; wood, tile (瓦片), and carpet. They placed a piece of bread and a piece of bologna（大腊肠） on each surface for 5,30, or 60 seconds. After just 5 seconds, both the bread and the bologna picked up enough bacteria to make you sick.

 So forget the 5-second rule. If your toast drops on the floor, throw it away and get another piece of clean toast. This time, be careful not to drop it!

1. In which part of a newspaper can you most probably find this passage?

A. Culture B. Health C. Advertisement D. Technology

2.After dropping a piece of toast , a person who follows the “5-second rule”will

A. throw away dirty toast immediately and go away

B. pick up the toast as quickly as possible and eat it

C. eat the toast within 5 seconds and feel pleased

D. get another piece of clean toast quickly and eat it

3. The scientists in South Carolina did the experiment to

A.see how quickly bacteria can pollute food

B. show that the 5-second rule a correct

C. see how harmful bacteria are to people’ health

D. show that bacteria grow at different speeds on different foods

4. What’s the writer’s attitude to the “5-second rule”?

A. Positive B. Negative C. Neutral (中立) D. Cautious (谨慎)

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：人们遵循的“五秒钟法则”即：“掉落的东西在5秒钟之内是不会沾染细菌的”.这一说法是正确的吗？美国南卡罗莱纳州的科学家做了一个实验，结果发现仅仅五秒钟,沾染到食物上的细菌足以致病，所以下次掉地上食物的时候，还是忘掉五秒钟法则吧。

1.B推理判断题。在文中作者讲述的是掉地上的食物是否食用安全这一问题，内容与健康有关，由此推断B选项正确。

2.B细节理解题。根据文章第一段If you’re like most people, you eat it. Maybe you follow the “5-second rule”,。。。after dropping them.可知遵循“五秒钟法则”的人会把掉地上的食物尽可能快地拾起吃掉，故选B。3.A细节理解题。从文章第三段But how long does it take these bacteria to pollute food? A team of scientists in South Carolina did an experiment.可知科学家实验的目的就是为了证明食物在多长时间内才会沾染到足以致病的细菌，所以A选项正确。

4.B推理判断题。根据文章最后一段So forget the 5-second rule. If your toast drops on the floor, throw it away可知作者不赞同“五秒钟法则”，故选B。

考点：考查科学知识类短文阅读。