单选题
Many Americans harbor a grossly distorted and exaggerated view of most of the risks surrounding food. Fergus Clydesdale, head of the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, says bluntly that if the dangers from bacterially contaminated chicken were as great as some people believe, "the streets would be littered with people lying here and there."
Though the public increasingly demands no-risk food, there is no such thing, since it has been proved that up to 10% of a plant"s weight is made up of natural pesticides. Bruce Ames, chairman of the biochemistry department at the University of California, Berkeley, says: "Since plants do not have jaws or teeth to protect themselves, they employ chemical warfare." And many naturally produced chemicals, though occurring in tiny amounts, prove in laboratory tests to be strong carcinogens—a substance which can cause cancer. Mushrooms might be banned if they were judged by the same standards that apply to food additives. Declares Christina Stark, a nutritionist at Cornell University: "We"ve got far worse natural chemicals in the food supply than anything man-made."
Yet the issues are not that simple. While Americans have no reason to be terrified to sit down at the dinner table, they have every reason to demand significant improvements in food and water safety. They unconsciously and unwillingly take in too much of too many dangerous chemicals. If food already contains natural carcinogens, it does not make much sense to add dozens of new man-made ones. Though most people will withstand the small amounts of contaminants generally found in food and water, at least a few individuals will probably get cancer one day because of what they eat and drink.
To make good food and water supplies even better, the Government needs to tighten its regulatory standards, stiffen its inspection program and strengthen its enforcement policies. The food industry should modify some long-accepted practices or turn to less hazardous alternatives. Perhaps most important, consumers will have to do a better job of learning how to handle and cook food properly. The problems that need to be tackled exist all along the food-supply chain, from fields to processing plants to kitchens.
单选题
What does the author think of the Americans" view of their food?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 态度题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第一段“Many Americans harbour a grossly distorted and exaggerated view of most of the risks surrounding food”，即“很多美国人对有关食物的多数危险持极度歪曲、夸张的观点”，从其中的“distorted(歪曲的，扭曲的)”和“exaggerated(夸张的)”可知作者对美国人有关食物的观点持否定态度，选项C(他们过度估计了食物的危险)中“overestimate”与原文中的“exaggerated”为同义改写，“hazard”与原文中的“risk”为同义改写，因而本题的正确答案为C。(over-为常见的词缀，意为“过度的，在……之上”，如overestimate(过高估计，高估)，overstate(夸张，夸大)，overoptimistic(过于乐观)，overlook(忽视，眺望)等)
单选题
The author considers it impossible to obtain no-risk food because ______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第二段“Though the public increasingly demands no-risk food, there is no such thing, since it has been proved that up to 10% of a plant"s weight is made up of natural pesticides”，即“虽然公众越来越要求安全食品，但世界上没有这样的东西，因为据证明一棵植物中多达10%的重量是由天然杀虫剂构成的”，由此可知，植物中多含有天然的杀虫成分，因此该题的答案为C(许多植物都含有危险的自然化学物质)，其中选项中的“dangerous natural chemicals”与“natural pesticides”为同义改写。
单选题
By saying "they employ chemical warfare" (Para. 2), Bruce Ames means "______".
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 句子含义题。利用定位关键词可以定位到第二段“Since plants do not have jaws or teeth to protect themselves, they employ chemical warfare”，即“植物没有嘴和牙齿来保护自己，它们就使用化学战(保护自己)”，由此可知植物通过自身的化学物质来保护自己，所以答案为A(植物生产特定的化学物质来抗击害虫和疾病)，其他几个选项都与原文的信息不一致。
单选题
The reduction of the possible hazards in food ultimately depends on ______.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。定位题干关键词发现无法定位到有效的原句子，因而可以改为定位选项关键词。定位“government(政府)”可以定位到第四段“To make good food and water supplies even better, the Government needs to tighten its regulatory standards, stiffen its inspection program and strengthen its enforcement policies”，即“为使食物和供水质量更高，政府需严格管理标准，严格检查计划并强化执行政策”；定位“the consumer(消费者)”可以定位到第四段“Perhaps most important, consumers will have to do a better job of learning how to handle and cook food properly”，即“最重要的也许是消费者将不得不学习如何正确处理和烹制食物”；分别定位“the processor(加工者)”和“the grower(种植者)”则无法定位到相关的原句。但是从“most important”可知该题的正确答案为B，其中原文中的“most important”与题干的“ultimately(最终地，最后地)”为同义改写。
单选题
What is the message the author wants to convey in the passage?