"Clean your plate!" and "Be a member of the clean-plate club!" Just about every kid in the US has heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it's accompanied by an appeal: "Just think about those starving orphans (孤儿) in Africa!" Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in the US take a few too many bites. Instead of saying "clean the plate", perhaps we should save some food for tomorrow. According to news reports, US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies (肚子). A waiter puts a plate of food in front of each customer, with two to four times the amount recommended by the government, according to a USA Today story. Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. They serve large portions to stand apart from competitors and to give the customers value. They prefer to have customers complain about too much food rather than too little. Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Pennsylvania State University, told USA Today that restaurant portion sizes began to grow in the 1970s, the same time that the American waistline began to expand. Health experts have tried to get many restaurants to serve smaller portions. Now, apparently, some customers are calling for this too. A restaurant industry trade magazine reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believed restaurants serve portions that are too large; 23 percent had no opinion; 20 percent disagreed. But a closer look at the survey indicates that many Americans who can't afford fine dining still prefer large portions. Seventy percent of those earning at least $ 150,000 per year prefer smaller portions. But only 45 percent of those earning less than $ 25,000 want smaller. It's not that working class Americans don't want to eat healthy. It's just that after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal. They live from paycheck to paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year's Christmas presents.
单选题
By saying "Be a member of the clean-plate-club!" (Para. 1) a parent or grandparent is asking the children to________.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：本题的答案在文章第一段的第一句，正确答案为B。从“Clean your plate!”and “Be a member of the clean—plate club!”“Just about every kid in the US has heard this from a parent or grandparent．”这几句话可以看出家长或祖父母希望孩子把盘子里的东西吃干净，不许剩饭。
单选题
According to news reports, US restaurants________.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：从文章第三段的第一句话可以看出美国餐馆对人们过胖问题是负有一部分责任的。“According to news reports，US restaurants are partly to blame for the growing bellies．”意为：“根据新闻报道，民众逐渐增胖的部分原因是由美国的餐馆引起的。”所以正确答案为A。
单选题
US restaurants provide large portions of food because________.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：B选项“他们想在同行的服务竞争中获胜”符合文章第四段第二句的表述：“They serve large portions to stand apart from competitors and to give the customers value．”因此正确答案为B。
单选题
According to the passage, working class Americans dining in restaurants________.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：本题的答案在文章的最后一段。正确答案为C。其中“It’s not that working class Americans don’t want to eat healthy．It’s just that after long hours at low—paying jobs，getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal．”意为：“并不是这些美国的工薪阶层不想吃得健康一些，而是在他们长时间工作之后，所得薪水又很少，如果他们盘子中的食物不吃完，在他们看来，这顿饭钱就花得不值。”