Question

“Clean your plate!” and “Be a member of the clean-plate club!” Just about every kid in the US heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it’s accompanied by an appeal(呼吁): “Just think about those starving orphans in Africa.” Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in the US take too many bites. Instead of “cleaning the plate’, perhaps we should save some food for tomorrow.

According to news reports, US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies(胃口,食欲). A waiter puts a plate of food in front of each customer, with two to four times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little.

Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion(一分,份額) sizes began (or grew) in the 1970s, the same time that the American waistline(腰圍) began to expand.

Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now, apparently, some customers are calling for this too. The restaurant industry trade magazine QSR reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believe restaurants serve portions that are too large; 23 percent had no opinion; 20 percent disagreed. But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who can’t afford fine dining still prefer large portions. Seventy percent of those earning at least $150,000 per year prefer smaller portions; but only 45 percent of those earning less than $25,000 want smaller.

It’s not that working-class Americans don’t want to eat healthily. It’s just that, “after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal. They live from paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year’s Christmas presents.”

1.Parents in the United States tend to ask their children _______.

A. not to save food

B. to wash the dishes

C. not to eat too much

D. not to waste food

2.Why do American restaurants serve large portions?

A. Because Americans associate quantity with value.

B. Because Americans have big bellies.

C. Because Americans are good eaters.

D. Because Americans are greedy.

3.Which of the following is NOT true of working-class Americans?

A. They work long hours.

B. They live from paycheck to paycheck.

C. They don’t want to be healthy eaters.

D. They want to save money for their children.

4.What happened in the 1970s?

A. The US government recommended the amount of food a restaurant gave to a customer.

B. Health experts persuaded restaurants to serve smaller portions.

C. The United Stated produced more grain than needed.

D. The American waistline started to expand.

 

Answer 1

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

試題分析：本文是一篇議論文。美國人在傳統(tǒng) 上把東西值不值是跟數(shù)量聯(lián)系在一起, 20世紀(jì)70年代飯館給的飯菜的量開始增加，與此同 時(shí),美國人的腰圍也開始增大。美國工人也想做 吃得健康的人。

1.1】D推理判斷題。根據(jù)第一段“Clean your plate!” and “Be a member of the clean-plate club!” Just about every kid in the US heard this from a parent or grandparent. 句意是：“吃光你盤子里的東西，成為清盤子俱樂部的成員”大約每個(gè)美國的孩子都聽到過父母或爺爺奶奶說這樣的話。Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food.句意是：當(dāng)然，我們應(yīng)該感激每一口食物。從而得知，美國的父母傾向孩子不要浪費(fèi)食物。故選D

2.2】A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。本題問的是：美國飯館為什么飯菜給得多?第二段相關(guān)的話是這么說的：Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little.美國人在傳統(tǒng)上把東西值不值是跟數(shù)量聯(lián)系在一起,因此大多數(shù)的飯館給的量大。這些飯館樂于讓顧客 們抱怨飯菜給得太多而不樂于讓他們抱怨飯菜給得太少。所以A是正確的答案。

3.3】C細(xì)節(jié)理解題。本題問的是:下面的哪一種說法不符合美國工人的實(shí)際情況?根據(jù)最后一段最后一句It’s not that working-class Americans don’t want to eat healthily.這不是工人階級(jí)的美國人不想吃得健康。得知C 項(xiàng)錯(cuò)誤They don’t want to be healthy eaters.他們不想成為健康的吃者。所以選C

4.4】D細(xì)節(jié)理解題。本題問的是:20世紀(jì)70年代發(fā)生了什么?文章第三段是這樣說的：Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion(一分,份額) sizes began (or grew) in the 1970s, the same time that the American waistline(腰圍) began to expand.一位賓州大學(xué)營養(yǎng) 教授,Barbara Rolls，告訴《今日美國》20世紀(jì)70年代飯館給的飯菜的量開始增加，與此同 時(shí),美國人的腰圍也開始增大。所以D是對(duì)的。

考點(diǎn)：考查日常生活類閱讀。