1 . In an effort to control the nation’s growing problem with food wastage, the South Korean government has started a unique new plan—“Pay as You Trash (丢弃)”. Residents are required to separate their food waste from the rest of their rubbish and throw it separately into a centralized dustbin. And to access the bin, they actually need to pay by the kilo!
As of now, the South Korean government has three methods in place to charge citizens for the food thrown away. One is through an RFID (Radio Frequency identification) card—when users tap this card over a specially designed food waste bin, the lid (盖子) will open. This waste is automatically weighed and recorded in the user’s account. The user needs to settle this bill on a monthly basis.
The second billing method is through pre-paid garbage bags. For example, in Seoul, a 10-liter garbage bag costs around 1dollar. There’s also a bar code management system in place, in which citizens throw food waste directly into compost bins (堆肥桶) and pay for it by purchasing barcode stickers (条形码贴条) attached to the bin.
Nearly every suburban area in the nation is equipped with one of these three payment systems. Even before the pay-by-weight system was introduced, South Koreans were still being charged for food waste—the cost was simply divided equally among the residents of each apartment block. The new system is not only fair, but is also designed to make consumers feel the pinch of excessive (过度的) waste. The more food they throw out, the more they end up paying.
Citizens1ike Seoul housewife Ms Kwan are now adopting creative methods to avoid food waste. She makes sure to remove all the liquid out of leftover food before throwing it away. While preparing vegetables, she tries to use as much as the eatable parts as possible.
“Because I’m worried about the fees, I’m more careful about food waste now,” Ms Kwan said. “Our food waste has become much less than before.”
1. What do we know about the three payment systems?| A．A compost bin costs about 1 dollar. |
| B．All of them can weight the rubbish automatically. |
| C．The pre-paid garbage bags are charged on a monthly basis. |
| D．RFID cards can record the weight of rubbish users throw. |
| A．didn’t pay for their food waste | B．shared the waste cost equally |
| C．paid for their food waste by weight | D．had to pay for their food garbage bags |
| A．Suffer from financial stress. | B．Blame themselves. |
| C．Change their behavior. | D．Figure out the cost. |
| A．It is quite expensive to carry out. | B．It was thought to be unfair at first. |
| C．It is working effectively. | D．It is being tried out in some areas. |
2 . 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. |
3 . 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. |
4 . In the United States, farmers who are trying to earn money find the situation difficult to deal with. The United States Department of Agriculture found that more than half of the small farms in California do not make money. But the United Nations reported at least one third of the food is wasted by not selling it out in time.
One California farm family is using social media to change the situation and reduce wasted food. Nick Papadopoulos is the manager of Bloomfield Farms in Sonoma County. He was sad and worried to watch his employees returning from some weekend farmers’ markets with top quality unsold products.
Mr. Papadopoulos said he would find boxes of leaf greens and carrots left in a storehouse. The vegetables would go bad before the next market day. One night, he began thinking about the matter of wasted food when he didn’t know how to deal with 32 cases of broccoli (西兰花). Usually he would give it to chickens and use the rest to make fertilizer (肥料). He thought he shouldn’t let the farm products go to waste.
Then his daughter showed him a book she bought online. Suddenly it hit him that he could offer the food at a low price by advertising it on the farm’s Facebook page on Sunday nights. The deals were open to anyone using the social media website. In the first week, some neighbors came to his home to buy the vegetables. Another week, the buyers were a group of friends. And now many people wait to buy his cheap products.
After his success, Mr. Papadopoulos helped to set up a website called cropmobster. com, which is a place where people deal with food production at low prices, feeding the hungry. Since March, the website has stopped more than 20, 000 kilograms of food from going to waste.
1. According to the United Nations, much food is wasted mainly because .| A．there is too much food | B．the food can’t be sold out |
| C．the food isn’t of good quality | D．the prices of the food are high |
| A．On weekend markets. | B．On a food website. |
| C．In the supermarkets. | D．Beside his farms. |
| A．Gave them to the poor. |
| B．Sold them at lower prices. |
| C．Put them in a storehouse for the next chance. |
| D．Gave them to chickens and turned them into fertilizer |
| A．Improving the farm products. |
| B．Improving the farmers’ incomes. |
| C．Providing cheap food for the poor. |
| D．Helping farmers sell out farm products. |
5 . 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 |
