题目内容
If you bought some candy months ago but never ate it, how can you tell whether it’s still safe to eat? The easiest way is to check the “expiration date (保质期)” printed on the wrapper. If that date has already passed, you’re likely to throw the candy away. But is that really necessary?
According to a new report from the US Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), tons of food is wasted each year, largely because people don’t fully understand what expiration dates, or “use-by dates”, actually mean.
Food dating was introduced in 1970s because customers wanted more information about the things that they were eating. When they first showed up, use-by dates were only supposed to indicate freshness because producers wanted their products to be tasted in their best conditions.
But the truth is that these dates aren’t related to the risk of food poisoning or food-born illness, according to Time News. However, most customers misinterpreted use-by dates and related them to the safety of the food, and they still largely do now.
Eggs, for example, can still be eaten three to five weeks after purchase even though the use-by date is much earlier. When their use-by dates pass, strawberry juice may lose its red color and biscuits may lose their crunch(松脆的口感), but they are not harmful.
“It’s a confusing subject, the difference between food quality and food safety,” said Jena Roberts, vice president of National Food Lab, a US food testing company. “Even in the food industry I have colleagues who get confused.”
This is why scientists are calling for a standard explanation to be printed following the use-by dates. “We want this to be clearly communicated so customers are not misinterpreting the date and contributing to a lot of waste,” said Dana Gunders, a staff scientist with the NRDC.
But this won’t be a mistake that is easy to correct since people have believed it for so long. Another problem is that the quality levels of different foods change differently-some are still eatable long after their use-by date while others are not.
As a result, food industry officials are now thinking of changing the use-by date to a date indicating when food is most likely to throw away.
1.According to the text, use-by date was first intended to ________.
A. reduce the waste of food
B. show whether the food was fresh
C. show the safety of food
D. give a warming of food poisoning
2.Which of following is TRUE?
A. Most customers understand what use-by date mean.
B. Biscuits can’t be eaten when not as crunchy as they were bought.
C. “ Use-by dates” have existed for more than 50 years.
D. Even after their use-by dates pass, some food are still safe to eat.
3.Scientists are calling for a standard explanation to be printed together with the use-by dates because________.
A. Most consumers often misunderstand use-by dates
B. use-by dates are not helpful or reliable
C. more consumers get worried about food safety
D. the quality level of different foods changes differently
任务型阅读
注意:每空只填一个单词。
Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, which is a nonprofit organization that conducts research on many public issues. He says that a long summer vacation doesn’t make sense in today’s world.
Can American students afford to take a summer vacation? In a summer vacation, millions of kids spend valuable time sending messages, watching TV, playing video games and doing shopping in the mall. They will also be putting their academic futures at risk.
Summer vacation once made sense in the past when you didn’t need an education to get a good job. But now things have changed. For today’s students, academic skills are important to students’future success, but such skills are affected in the summertime. Many nations don’t give kids an American-style summer vacation. They offer no more than seven consecutive(连续的) weeks of vacation. Most American school districts offer up to thirteen weeks. To compete in the global marketplace, Americans must be prepared to go up against international competitors.
Summer vacation also causes challenges for today’s families. In the 1960s, more than 60% of families had a stay-at-home Mom. Now two-thirds of American children live in households where every adult works. For these families, summer vacation can be more burden than break. Someone must watch the kids.
But the biggest problem may be how summer vacation hurts academic achievement. Researchers have found that disadvantaged students lose significant ground in the summertime.
A longer school year does not have to be an invitation to hard boring work. Rather, it should allow time-pressed teachers to conduct richer and more imaginative lessons. Schools would have more time to devote to athletics, languages, music and the arts. Summer vacation can be a grand thing. But in the 21st century, it may also be outdated.
Title: Summer Vacation
Theme | A long summer vacation isn’t 1. in today’s world. | |
Basic Information | 2. length | 13 weeks in most American schools |
Students’ 3. | ·Sending messages and watching TV ·Playing video games ·Doing shopping | |
Disadvantages | · 4. student’s academic skills and putting academic futures at risk. ·Being a 5. to families for they have to watch kids. ·Hurting students’ academic achievement and resulting in 6. significant ground. | |
Suggestion | A longer school year does not have to 7. to hard boring work. Richer and more imaginative lessons should be 8. , such as athletics, languages, music and the arts. | |
9. | Though being a ground thing, summer vacation might be out of 10. in the 21st century. | |