Question

【题目】 The fridge is considered necessary. It has been so since the 1960s when packaged food list appeared with the label: “Store in the refrigerator.”

In my fridge-less fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthy. The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meat would last until Wednesday and surplus（剩余的）bread and milk became all kinds of cakes. Nothing was wasted, and we were never troubled by rotten food. Thirty years on food deliveries have ceased, fresh vegetables are almost unobtainable in the country.

The invention of the fridge contributed comparatively little to the art of food preservation. Many well-tried techniques already existed -- natural cooling, drying, smoking,salting, sugaring, bottling ...

What refrigeration did promote was marketing -- marketing hardware and electricity, marketing soft drinks, marketing dead bodies of animals around the world in search of a good price.

Consequently, most of the world’s fridges are to be found, not in the tropics where they might prove useful, but in the rich countries with mild temperatures where they are climatically almost unnecessary. Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense, busily maintaining an artificially-cooled space inside an artificially-heated house -- while outside, nature provides the desired temperature free of charge.

The fridges’ effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself, invest in a food cabinet and turn off your fridge next winter. You may not eat the hamburgers, but at least you’ll get rid of that terrible hum.

【1】The statement “In my fridge-less fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthily.” suggests that ____.

A.the author was well-fed and healthy even without a fridge in his fifties

B.the author was not accustomed to fridges even in his fifties

C.there was no fridge in the author’s home in the 1950s

D.the fridge was in its early stage of development in the 1950s

【2】Why does the author say that nothing was wasted before the invention of fridges?

A.Because people would not buy more food than was necessary.

B.Because food was delivered to people two or three times a week.

C.Because food was sold fresh and did not get rotten easily.

D.Because people had effective ways to preserve their food.

【3】Who benefited the least from fridges according to the author?

A.Inventors.B.Consumers.C.Manufacturers.D.Travelling salesmen.

【4】Which of the following phrases in the fifth paragraph indicates the fridge’s negative effect on the environment?

A.“Hum away continuously”.B.“Climatically almost unnecessary”.

C.“Artificially - cooled space.”D.“With mild temperatures.”

【5】What is the author’s overall attitude toward fridges?

A.Neutral.B.Critical.C.Objective.D.Compromising.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】D

【3】B

【4】A

【5】B

【解析】

本文讲述了作者认为冰箱的坏处大于好处。在作者的童年是没有冰箱的，吃得很好，很健康。每年冬天，数以百万计的冰箱不停地嗡嗡作响，花费巨大，忙着在人工加热的房子里维持一个人工冷却的空间。在外面，大自然免费提供所需的温度。冰箱对环境的影响是显而易见的，而它对人类幸福的贡献是微不足道的。

【1】细节理解题。根据“In my fridge-less fifties childhood, I was fed well and healthy.”在作者的童年是没有冰箱的，吃得很好，很健康，所以20世纪50年代，作者家里没有冰箱。故选C。

【2】推理判断题。根据“The milkman came every day, the grocer, the butcher, the baker, and the ice-cream man delivered two or three times each week. The Sunday meat would last until Wednesday and surplus（剩余的）bread and milk became all kinds of cakes”，所以是因为人们有有效的方法来保存他们的食物。故选D。

【3】推理判断题。综观全文，作者对认为冰箱不是必备品，再结合最后一段中“The fridges’ effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant ”更明确指出，它对人类幸福的贡献微不足道，故可推断，消费者从冰箱中获益最少，故选B。

【4】细节理解题。根据“ Every winter, millions of fridges hum away continuously, and at vast expense,”每年冬天，数以百万计的冰箱不停地嗡嗡作响，花费巨大，所以是嗡嗡的声音，故选A。

【5】观点态度题。根据“The fridges’ effect upon the environment has been evident, while its contribution to human happiness has been insignificant ” 冰箱对环境的影响是显而易见的，而它对人类幸福的贡献是微不足道的，所以作者是对冰箱持批判态度的。故选B。