A few degrees can make a big difference when it comes to food storage. Foods can go bad if they get too warm. But for many of the world's poor, finding a good way to keep food cool is difficult. Refrigerators are costly and they need electricity. Yet spoiled food not only creates health risks but also economic losses. Farmers lose money when they have to throw away products that they cannot sell quickly. But in 1995 a teacher in northern Nigeria named Mohammed Bah Abba found a solution. He developed the "Pot-in-Pot Preservation/Cooling System." It uses 2 round containers made of clay. A smaller pot is placed inside a larger one. The space between the 2 pots is filled with wet sand. The inner pot can be filled with fruit, vegetables or drinks. A wet cloth covers the whole cooling system. Food stored in the smaller pot is kept from spoiling through a simple evaporation process. Water in the sand between the 2 pots evaporates through the surface of the larger pot, where drier outside air is moving. The evaporation process creates a drop in temperature of several degrees. This cools the inner pot and helps keep food safe from harmful bacteria. Some foods can be kept fresh this way for several weeks. People throughout Nigeria began using the invention. And it became popular with farmers in other African countries. Mohammed Bah Abba personally financed the first 5,000 pot-in-pot systems for his own community and five villages nearby. In 2000, the Rolex Watch Company of Switzerland honored him with the Rolex Award for Enterprise. This award recognizes people trying to develop projects aimed at improving human knowledge and well-being. A committee considers projects in science and medicine, technology, exploration and discovery, the environment and cultural history. Winners receive financial assistance to help develop and extend their projects. The award is given every 2 years. The most recent one was given last year.

单选题 According to the first paragraph, without a refrigerator, the poor people have to suffer in their_____.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：从第2段第1句的not only…but also…句型可知该句是承上启下句，表明食物变质后对买不起冰箱的人造成两种影响，其中第1段提到是该句的承上，即对健康的影响，第2段提到是该句的启下，即对经济的影响。虽然本题问的是without a refrigerator而不是“食物变质”对穷人有什么影响，但是从第1段可知“食物变质”正是因为“没有冰箱”引起，可知本题实际上就是问第1段提到的“食物变质”对穷人的影响，本题应选A。

单选题 The Cooling System invented by Mohammed Bah Abba is different from a refrigerator in that it is more _____.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：第3段第1句开头的But一词表明Mohammed Bah Abba发明the Cooling System的目的应在上面两段中寻找，第1段和第2段提到了一个矛盾现象，即冰箱很贵且耗电与农民必须拥有冰箱以避免损失的矛盾，接着第3段便提到Mohammed Bah Abba找到了解决的办法，即Cooling System，可见Cooling System既不用花很多钱又能解决农民的问题，因此，本题应选A。