单选题
Next week, as millions of families gather for their Thanksgiving (感恩节) feasts, many other Americans will go without. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, more than 12 million households lack enough food for everyone in their family at some time during the year—including holidays. Hunger is surprisingly widespread in our country—one of the world's wealthiest—yet the government estimates that we waste almost 100 billion pounds of food each year, more than one-quarter of our total supply. Reducing this improper distribution of resources is a goal of America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization. Last year, it distributed nearly 2 billon pounds of food to more than 23 million people in need. America's Second Harvest is a network of 214 inter-connected food banks and other organizations that gather food from growers, processors, grocery stores and restaurants. In turn, the network distributes food to some 50,000 soup kitchens, homeless shelters and old people's centers in every county of every state. A great deal of work is involved in distributing tons of food from thousands of donors (捐赠者) to hundreds of small, nonprofit organizations. Until a few years ago, America's Second Harvest lacked any effective way to manage their inventory. Without accurate and timely information, soup kitchens were sometimes empty while food was left to spoil in loading places. In 2000, America's Second Harvest began to use a new inventory and financial-management system—Ceres. It is software designed specifically for hunger-relief operations. It is used by more than 100 America's Second Harvest organizations to track food from donation to distribution. Ceres has helped reduce the spoiling of food and improve distribution. An evaluation found that the software streamlined food banks' operations by 23 percent in the first year alone. With more accurate and timely reports, Ceres saves time, flees staff members to focus on finding new donors, and promises more efficient use of donations. Hunger in America remains a troubling social problem. Technology alone cannot solve it. But in the hands of organizations such as America's Second Harvest, it is a powerful tool that is helping to make a difference—and helping more Americans to join in the feast.
单选题
According to the passage, the total supply of food in America every year reaches ______. A. 12 million pounds B. more than 12 million pounds C. almost 100 billion pounds D. about 400 billion pounds
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】细节题。本题答案在文章第二段:“…yet the government estimates that we waste almost 100 billion pounds of food each year,more than one-quarter of our total supply.(政府估算我们每年都会浪费掉几乎1000亿磅的食物,这超过我们年食物供应总量的 1/4。)”,由此可推出美国每年食物供应总量应是大约4000亿磅,即D选项about 400 billion pounds。
单选题
By "this improper distribution of resources" in Paragraph 3, the writer means that many Americans lack enough food while ______. A. their country is one of the richest in the world B. much food is left to spoil C. others waste too much food D. others consume too much food
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】推断题。本题答案在文章的第一、二段。第一段“According to the United States Department of…including holidays.”表明美国的部分国民的饥饿现状,而第二段“…yet the government estimates that we waste almost 100 billion pounds of food each year,more than one-quarter of our total supply.”表明每年浪费掉大量的食物的现实,可推知作者是想指出在很多人忍受着饥饿的同时,却有那么多人在浪费大量的食物,故答案为C。
单选题
A problem for America's Second Harvest a few years ago was that ______. A. it did not get enough food from donors B. it did not have a large enough network C. it did not have enough soup kitchens D. it did not have a good way to manage its food stock
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】细节题。本题答案在第五段第二句“Until a few years ago,America's Second Harvest lacked any effective way to manage their inventory.”意为“直到几年以前,美国Second Harvest组织一直缺乏有效的库存管理方法。”D选项就是这句话的同义替换。
单选题
With Ceres, America's Second Harvest is now able to ______. A. enlarge its network B. prevent food from spoiling C. give out food more efficiently. D. solve the hunger problem in the country
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】推断题。本题答案在文章的第六、七、八段。根据第六段,Ceres是a new inventory and financial-management system(一种新的库存和财务管理系统),接着第七、八段论述了Ceres的优点和作用,总结起来就是:通过这一系统,食物可以更有效地分配。因此答案为C。而A、B、D都过于具体、片面。
单选题
The main idea of the passage is that ______. A. technology can help in the fight against hunger B. America's Second Harvest has found more donors C. America's Second Harvest promotes the development of technology D. hunger is a problem even in the wealthiest country in the world