1 . Different Approaches to Reducing Food Waste
Food plays a key role in people’s life. While many people in poor communities suffer from a shortage of food, a large amount of food is wasted in the rest of the world.
Learn to store food. Not sure how to keep those greens from wilting overnight?
Can’t keep your tomatoes fresh for more than a day or two? Do your research on food storage and you’ll get the rewards. Not sure where to start?
Use it all.
Understand best-before dates correctly. People often confuse best-before dates with expiry dates. The best-before date has nothing to do with the safety of the food.
| A．Pick the “funny looking” food. |
| B．This will save you time in the long run. |
| C．Check out Local Produce Storage Guide online. |
| D．Keep a “need to eat” list everyday in your daily life. |
| E．Therefore, food waste is a serious problem that needs our attention. |
| F．It refers to flavour and nutritional value, which is of great help to your body. |
| G．You often remove a part of whatever food you’ re cooking with, but often those food items can be saved. |
2 . It’s estimated that families in the UK create more than six million tonnes of food waste each year. With food prices rising, it’s a good time to become a food-waste fighter. Not only will it save money, it is good for the environment. After all, growing, packaging and transporting food uses a lot of Earth’s resources such as energy and water.
First, it’s a good idea to find out just how much food goes into your rubbish can. Keep a diary and note down the foods that get thrown most often, and why.
Planning meals for the week can save time and money.
Cooking the correct size helps too. Weigh out pasta or rice you need before you cook it. Before you pile your plate, check how hungry you are.
It’s hard to keep track of food that’s gone to the back of the fridge. You could label a shelf an “Eat me first” spot for anything that has been there for a while.
| A．Finally, use your senses. |
| B．At last, ask an adult to help. |
| C．Your freezer is another way to save food. |
| D．Meat from a Sunday roast could go into sandwiches on Monday. |
| E．This may prevent you from leaving food because you’re too full. |
| F．Read the instruction carefully to make sure that you use it properly. |
| G．Here are some simple tips that can help you become food-waste fighters. |
3 . Globally, around 14 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail (零售). Farmers throw away a significant share of their crop due to factors beyond their control, such as produce not meeting supermarket standards for shape or size, unexpected weather patterns changing harvest times and yield as well as a shortage of pickers. These factors and others leave farmers with extra crops on their hands.
Gleaning — collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they haven’t been harvested or commercial use — may contribute to tackling the problem. In Britain, a growing network of volunteer gleaning groups are being welcomed into farmers’ fields to collect tonnes of free produce. The produce would then be given to local food banks, which would otherwise be left to rot after the commercial harvest.
The charity Feedback told The Times that its number of gleaning groups across England had risen from five in 2017 to twenty last year. Feedback’s overall aim is for closer links between farmers and the communities they feed.
Holly Whitelaw, 52, from St Just in Penwith, set up the Cornwall Gleaning Network last year after watching a BBC series that highlighted food poverty in Cornwall. She contacted Feedback which gave her a £2, 000 grant (拨款) to get insurance, knives, and cut-proof gloves. She set up a Facebook page, found willing volunteers and then managed to get a £10, 000 grant from Feeding Britain, a national network of anti-hunger partnerships, to establish seven coordinators across the county and pay for more knives and gloves. They also raised funds to buy a pick-up truck. As a thank you to the farmers, they have begun planting trees to reduce wind speed across their land, preventing damage to crops and minimizing soil erosion.
Gleaning offers an opportunity for environmental win by reducing food waste on the farm. Also, it has a social benefit, as the collected fresh food can be donated to charity organizations and food banks to support those in need.
1. According to the passage, which of the following has little impact on crop waste?| A．Produce in poor quality. |
| B．Lack of labor on the farm. |
| C．Increasing supermarket orders. |
| D．Changeable weather conditions. |
| A．A grand from the charity Feedback. |
| B．Feedback’s overall aim for closer links. |
| C．Communities and volunteers’ joint effort. |
| D．A TV series revealing regional food poverty. |
| A．It proves rewarding. |
| B．It needs to be more creative. |
| C．It is physically challenging. |
| D．It takes ages to see the result. |
| A．To set a new standard for farming. |
| B．To explain the reasons for overproduction. |
| C．To gather the information about produce in Britain. |
| D．To introduce a solution to the problem of food waste. |
4 . It can be hard to convince homeowners to use less water on their lawns (草坪), particularly during a hot and dry summer. But tell them it’s a competition for the ugliest lawn, and suddenly they may be more willing to give up using the sprinkler(洒水器).
This clever strategy was employed by the government of Gotland, Sweden’s largest island located in the Baltic Sea. Gotland sees its population double during the summer months as tourists arrive. This puts pressure on the island’s already-limited water supply, which is projected to decrease by 13% between 2021 and 2050, as demand is expected to rise by 40% by 2045.
The campaign, called “Gotland’s Ugliest Lawn”, urged homeowners to compete for the saddest, deadest and brownest yard. They were asked to avoid watering for an entire season, then post a photo of the lawn using a label that linked it to the campaign.
Mimmi Gibson, the acting marketing and brand manager at Region Gotland, said that “the ugliest lawn contest would remind the islanders not to waste water, and to talk about ways they can adapt their gardens to suit the existing conditions and the climate crisis”.
The winner for this year was announced in mid-August, and it’s Marcus Norstrom, who did not water his lawn once throughout the entire summer. His photo shows a large brown space with some sparse yellow grasses sticking out——the kind of yard in which you would not want to walk barefoot (赤脚地)for risk of hurting your feet. The government must be feeling pleased ; its strategy has worked.
It’s an interesting strategy which attempts to normalize and even celebrate dead grass. It is reasonable to assume that the more people see it around their communities, the more acceptable it will become. They may also grow curious when they realize there are other ways to create and maintain an attractive-looking yard, even without irrigation(灌溉).
1. What’s the aim of the competition for the ugliest lawn?| A．To reduce the waste of water. | B．To limit the growth of local lawns. |
| C．To strengthen citizens’ friendship. | D．To enhance citizens, health awareness. |
| A．Gotland is rich in water resources. |
| B．People will have no water to drink in 2050. |
| C．Gotland is faced with serious lack of water. |
| D．The population of Gotland grows faster and faster. |
| A．Unconcerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Unclear. | D．Positive. |
| A．To explain the success of the strategy. |
| B．To tell citizens the danger of the ugliest lawn. |
| C．To discuss why it’s dangerous to waste water. |
| D．To show citizens what the ugliest lawn looks like. |
5 . Scientists at the University of Minnesota report Thursday in the journal Science that about a third of all food grown around the world never gets eaten. In terms of calories per person, cutting food waste is more of an immediate opportunity to feed more people than increasing crop yields around the world.
“But not all these calories are equal, when you look at how they hurt the global food supply,” says Paul West, who led the study. “Throwing away a pound of boneless beef effectively wastes 24 times more calories than discarding a pound of wheat. If you throw out some cabbage at a fancy restaurant in upstate New York, it doesn’t have much impact on the world’s food system. But throwing out a small steak has a huge impact—maybe more than all the cabbage in the restaurant put together. Wasting other animal products, such as chicken, eggs and dairy, has less effect on the global food supply than beef, but still more than vegetables and grains.
The US, China and India together throw out enough food each year to feed more than 400 million people, the team found. And the biggest global contributor to that loss is the US. Each day the average Americans waste up to about 1,200 calories per person. They throw out 290 effective calories from beef. They also waste about 550 calories from chicken and pork.
On the other side, India wastes the least amount of food and meat of the three countries. Each Indian, on average, effectively throws out about 44 calories a day, mostly rice and wheat.
China falls between the US and India. Each Chinese person wastes about 280 calories of wheat and rice every day. But the Chinese also love pork and each person effectively tosses 200 calories from pork each day. “The food service industry in China has really high amounts of waste,” West says. “It’s a cultural standard for them to order seven to nine dishes in restaurants to honor the guests. All that food doesn’t get eaten.”
1. What is the most direct way to feed more people in the world?| A．Reducing food waste. | B．Eating less than necessary. |
| C．Growing more crops. | D．Replacing grain with meat. |
| A．Eating. | B．Buying. | C．Wasting. | D．Donating. |
| A．India. | B．The US. | C．The UK. | D．China. |
| A．China should adopt Western food culture. | B．The number of dishes should be limited by law. |
| C．Chinese people should eat more wheat and rice. | D．Food waste in Chinese restaurants is very serious. |
6 . Food is part of who we are. We all need it, survive because of it and derive happiness from it. So if food matters so much, why do we let so much of it go rotten in our fridges, or get thrown out in our stores? Sadly, we love food, but we don’t take care of it.
• Reduce your food waste.
Buy only the food you need, store food wisely, donate excess and turn leftover food into the next day’s meals. When we waste food, all the resources used for growing, processing, transporting and marketing that food are wasted too.
• Support your local food producers.
Chefs get awards, stars and recognition for their creations. But what about our farmers?
• Adopt a healthier, more sustainable diet.
•
By treating each meal with pride, we respect the farmers who produced it, and the resources that went into it. Respect can be passed on. Talk to the people around and to the next generation about making informed, healthy and sustainable food choices.
Respecting food means appreciating the back-story of food. When we know the full picture, it is easier to see what our food really stands for and how precious it really is.
| A．Have a conversation. |
| B．Learn where food comes from. |
| C．Our bodies consume calories and nutrients. |
| D．For many people on the planet, food is giving. |
| E．Food is so much more than what is on our plates. |
| F．One third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. |
| G．Without them, we wouldn’t have the fresh food we need on a daily basis. |
7 . Like most of us, I try to be mindful of food that goes to waste. The arugula (芝麻菜)was to make a nice green salad, rounding out a roast chicken dinner. But I ended up working late. Then friends called with a dinner invitation. I stuck the chicken in the freezer. But as days passed, the arugula went bad. Even worse, I had unthinkingly bought way too much; I could have made six salads with what I threw out.
In a world where nearly 800 million people a year go hungry, “food waste goes against the moral grain,” as Elizabeth Royte writes in this month’s cover story. It’s jaw-dropping how much perfectly good food is thrown away — from “ugly” (but quite eatable) vegetables rejected by grocers to large amounts of uneaten dishes thrown into restaurant garbage cans.
Producing food that no one eats wastes the water, fuel, and other resources used to grow it. That makes food waste an environmental problem. In fact, Royte writes, “if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world.”
If that’s hard to understand, let’s keep it as simple as the arugula at the back of my refrigerator. Mike Curtin sees my arugula story all the time — but for him, it's more like 12 bones of donated strawberries nearing their last days. Curtin is CEO of DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., which recovers food and turns it into healthy meals. Last year it recovered more than 807,500 pounds of food by taking donations and collecting blemished (有瑕疵的) produce that otherwise would have rotted in fields. And the strawberries? Volunteers will wash, cut, and freeze or dry them for use in meals down the road.
Such methods seem obvious, yet so often we just don’t think. “Everyone can play a part in reducing waste, whether by not purchasing more food than necessary in your weekly shopping or by asking restaurants to not include the side dish you won’t eat,” Curtin says.
1. What does the author want to show by telling the arugula story?| A．We pay little attention to food waste. | B．We waste food unintentionally at times. |
| C．We waste more vegetables than meat. | D．We have good reasons for wasting food. |
| A．Moral decline. | B．Environmental harm. |
| C．Energy shortage. | D．Worldwide starvation. |
| A．It produces kitchen equipment. | B．It turns rotten arugula into clean fuel. |
| C．It helps local farmers grow fruits. | D．It makes meals out of unwanted food. |
| A．Buy only what is needed. | B．Reduce food consumption. |
| C．Go shopping once a week. | D．Eat in restaurants less often. |
8 . World Food Day falls on October 16 in memory of the day the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN was formed. The events of the day usually focus on reducing, or rather, removing hunger from the face of the earth. Farmers and government officials are often given tips on how to effectively get rid of hunger.
World Food Day was created by FAO member countries in November 1979. It was during their 20th General Conference that the observance of World Food Day was decided. It was not observed until 1981 when the specific date was determined. Pal Romany, the then Hungary's Minister of Agriculture and Food, played an important role in the founding of World Food Day during the 20th General Conference. Many people at the conference welcomed the idea.
World Food Day is not only celebrated by FAO and the United Nations, but several other organizations concerned with food security, hunger reduction, consumption of balanced diet and health also take part in the celebration. On the day, which is usually observed in more than 150 countries in the world, a number of activities like marathons, concerts, agricultural inventions, and cultural exhibitions and performances are usually organized.
Each year has its own theme to celebrate World Food Day. The themes are always related to food production, availability, and consumption. The themes are always set so that the public can come up with suggestions and ideas that are effective in dealing with hunger, poverty, and famine. In fact, most themes are agriculture related. This is because agriculture is the chief source of food.
World Food Day hopes to bring awareness to help people from around the globe solve issues concerning hunger and famine. It is meant to help farmers attain modern skills that would help achieve food security. The day is also set aside to encourage the government to think of approaches to keeping food security in a country.
1. What have you got to know about World Food Day?| A．Its celebrations have the identical theme relevant to agriculture. |
| B．It has been observed across the globe ever since it was created. |
| C．It is celebrated to remember one of the former crucial ministers. |
| D．It is meant to make people realize the importance of food security. |
| A．World Food Day is well-received. | B．Innovation is essential to agriculture. |
| C．The hunger problem is alleviated. | D．Food shortage is a worldwide issue. |
| A．World Food Day History | B．Why to Advocate Agriculture |
| C．World Food Day ABC | D．How to Tackle Hunger Issues |
9 . Paper is one of our oldest, simplest and most important inventions. But it also presents a danger to the world in two significant ways. First, the making of paper requires the loss of millions of trees each year. Between 2001 and 2019, the world lost 386 million hectares of forest. Of the trees that were cut down, 42% went to paper production. And worldwide use of paper is expected to double in the next 40 years. Clearly, the planet cannot sustain such a high rate of forest loss.
The second great problem with paper is what happens once it is no longer useful. A huge quantity of wastepaper ends up in dumps and landfills (垃圾填埋场), where it can produce harmful gases. Paper in landfills leads to the release (释放) of methane, a gas that is a significant contributor in global warming.
One simple solution can greatly reduce both of these problems: paper recycling. Paper is mainly made from cellulose (纤维素), which makes up the cell walls of trees and many other plants. Because of its structure, cellulose can be used repeatedly in papermaking. So far, trees are the only source of cellulose that can fill the massive demand for paper products. Therefore, recycling paper is simply one of the best ways to save trees.
Thanks to advances in processing, recycled paper isn’t the dull-colored stuff many of us are familiar with any more. It now can offer the same print performance as non-recycled paper.
Effective recycling requires a consistent effort. The way to begin is with education and understanding. Once enough people realize the need for recycling, more effective recycling systems can be carried out. The massive loss of trees affects everybody on earth. Everyone should do their part to recycle paper and encourage government and industries to do the same.
1. What does the author want to express in paragraph 1?| A．Consequences resulting from forest loss. |
| B．The significance of paper in daily life. |
| C．The disadvantages of current paper production. |
| D．The severe situation caused by papermaking. |
| A．It releases smelly gases. | B．It results in global climate change. |
| C．It pollutes the nearby land. | D．It may lead to fire accidents. |
| A．It produces cellulose to make more paper. | B．The structure of cellulose makes it possible. |
| C．The color of recycled paper is different. | D．It produces cellulose without using trees. |
| A．To introduce paper recycling technology. | B．To stress the threat of global warming. |
| C．To appeal to people to recycle paper. | D．To describe the considerable need for paper. |
10 . Apples, oranges and other fruit should be kept in the fridge to last long, new supermarket labels (标签) will say, in a move which could tell the end of the traditional fruit bowl. The labels will form part of the government-backed guidance to help customers bring down the amount of food they throw by changing advice on packs of supermarket food.
Under the plan supermarkets will introduce a new “Little Blue Fridge” sign for food which should be kept chilled (冷藏), or benefit from being kept in the fridge to prevent it going off. The sign will appear on much food which is not usually kept in the fridge. For example, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) pointed out that apples, oranges and pear, which are usually kept in a fruit bowl, should in fact be stored in the fridge.
Dr. Andrew Parry, a Special Advisor at WRAP, said, “Most fresh fruit and vegetables will keep fresher for longer if kept in their packaging and in the fridge. Generally a good way to manage fruit at home is to take out enough into the fruit bowl-if you prefer it at room temperature, but use your fridge as cold storage for the rest. This will give you more time to enjoy your food, and help cut down on waste.”
Environment Minister Therese Coffey said, “We know that confusing labels can lead to food waste by suggesting that esculent items need to be thrown away sooner. This new guidance will make packaging much clearer for customers, saving them money and cutting waste. I encourage all food businesses, large and small, to use this guidance to help them put the right date mark on food and help to guide people on the freezing products, which are key to cutting down on the amount of eatable food thrown away.”
Heather Hancock, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said, “I think this clear guidance can help deal with food waste, without damaging the safety of food. It will help businesses supply food that is properly described and stored, and safely provided to consumers.”
1. Which is in line with the goal of the government-backed guidance?| A．Encouraging business. | B．Lowering goods prices. |
| C．Cutting down on waste. | D．Improving product quality. |
| A．Eatable. | B．Bad. | C．Fresh. | D．Packaged. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Tolerant. | C．Positive. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．The Clearer Label Plan to Reduce Food Waste. |
| B．The Disadvantages of Confusing Labels on the Food. |
| C．The New Ways to Keep Fruit and Vegetables Fresh. |
| D．The End of the Traditional Fruit Bowl. |
