Passage A
Hot boning is an energy saving technique for the processing industry. It has received considerable attention in recent years when increased pressure for energy conservation has accentuated the need for more efficient methods of processing the bovine carcass. Cooling of an entire carcass requires a considerable amount of refrigerated space, since bone and trimmable fat are cooled along with the muscle. It is also necessary to space the carcasses adequately in the refrigerated room for better air movement and prevention of microbial contamination, thus adding to the volume requirements for carcass chillers.
Conventional handing of meat involves holding the beef sides in the cooler for 24 to 36 hours before boning. Chilling in the traditional fashion is also associated with a loss of carcass weight ranging from 2% to 4% due to evaporation of moisture from the meat tissues.
Early excision, or hot boning, of muscle prerigor followed by vacuum packaging has several potential advantages. By removing only the edible muscle and fat prerigor, refrigeration space and costs are minimized, boning labor is decreased and storage yields increased. Because hot boning often results in toughening of meat, a more recent approach, hot boning following electrical stimulation, has been used to reduce the necessary time of rigor mortis. Some researchers have found this method beneficial in maintaining tender meat, while others have found that meat also becomes tough after electrical stimulation.
Which of the following was not mentioned as a drawback of conventional methods of boning?
根据第一段最后一句“adding to the volume requirements for carcass chillers”，第二段第一句“cooler for 24 to 36 hours”，第二段第二句“a loss of carcass weight”可知，文中关于传统方式的缺点未提到“Toughness of meat”（肉的韧性）的缺点，因此答案选D。
Hot boning is becoming very popular because ________.
根据第三段第二句“By removing only the edible muscle and fat prerigor, refrigeration space and costs are minimized, boning labor is decreased and storage yields increased.”可知，肌肉预先切除术通过仅去除可食用的 肌肉和脂肪预制器，制冷空间和成本被最小化，剔骨劳动力减少并且储存产量增加，因此答案选B。
Carcass chiller means most nearly ________.
根据第一段第三句“Cooling of an entire carcass requires a considerable amount of refrigerated space”可 知，“屠体冷却器”实际上指的就是给动物身体的冰箱，因此答案选A。
Early excision means most nearly ________.
根据第三段第一句“Early excision, or hot boning, of muscle prerigor followed by vacuum packaging has several potential advantages.”可知肌肉预先切除术与热剔骨术最接近，都是之后进行真空包装，因此答案选 B。
The toughening of meat during hot boning has been combated by ________.
根据第三段倒数第二句“Because hot boning often results in toughening of meat, a more recent approach, hot boning following electrical stimulation, has been used to reduce the necessary time of rigor mortis.”可知，由于热 剔骨通常导致肉变硬，最近的一种方法是在电刺激后再进行热剔骨，因此答案选C。