阅读理解
阅读理解
Eat Healthy
"Clean your plate!" and "Be a member of the clean-plate club1!’’ Just about every kid in the UShas heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it"s accompanied by an appeal： “Just think about those starving orphans in Africa!2" Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in theUStake too many bites3. Instead of staying "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. 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.4 Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. 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 (o 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. The restaurant industry trade magazine QSR reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believe 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.5 They live from paycheck to paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year"s Christmas presents.
词汇：
orphan /"ɔːf(ə)n/ n.孤儿
nurition /njʊ"trɪʃ(ə)n/ n.营养
belly /"belɪ/ n.肚子
waistline /"weɪs(t)laɪn/ n.腰围
paycheck/"pe,tʃɛk/ n.薪金支票
注释：
1. Be a member of the clean -plate club!做清盘俱乐部的成员
2. Just think about those starving orphans inAfrica!只要想想在非洲挨饿的孤儿们！
3. take too many bites 吃得太多
4. 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.根据《今日美国》刊登的一个故事,服务员给每个顾客一盘饭菜,其量是政府推荐的2至4倍。
5. It"s just that, after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal.事情是这样的，美国工人觉得做许多个小时低收入的工作下来,盘子里的饭菜量小有点不合算。Why do American restaurants serve large portions?
A:Because Americans associate quantity with value B:Because Americans have big bellies C:Because Americans are good eaters D:Because Americans are greedy
Eat Healthy
"Clean your plate!" and "Be a member of the clean-plate club1!’’ Just about every kid in the UShas heard this from a parent or grandparent. Often, it"s accompanied by an appeal： “Just think about those starving orphans in Africa!2" Sure, we should be grateful for every bite of food. Unfortunately, many people in theUStake too many bites3. Instead of staying "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. 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.4 Americans traditionally associate quantity with value and most restaurants try to give them that. 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 (o 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. The restaurant industry trade magazine QSR reported last month that 57 percent of more than 4,000 people surveyed believe 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.5 They live from paycheck to paycheck, happy to save a little money for next year"s Christmas presents.
词汇：
orphan /"ɔːf(ə)n/ n.孤儿
nurition /njʊ"trɪʃ(ə)n/ n.营养
belly /"belɪ/ n.肚子
waistline /"weɪs(t)laɪn/ n.腰围
paycheck/"pe,tʃɛk/ n.薪金支票
注释：
1. Be a member of the clean -plate club!做清盘俱乐部的成员
2. Just think about those starving orphans inAfrica!只要想想在非洲挨饿的孤儿们！
3. take too many bites 吃得太多
4. 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.根据《今日美国》刊登的一个故事,服务员给每个顾客一盘饭菜,其量是政府推荐的2至4倍。
5. It"s just that, after long hours at low-paying jobs, getting less on their plate hardly seems like a good deal.事情是这样的，美国工人觉得做许多个小时低收入的工作下来,盘子里的饭菜量小有点不合算。Which of the following is Not true of working class Americans?
A:They work long hours B:They live from paycheck to paycheck C:They don"t want to be healthy eaters D:They want to save money for their children
Starting a New Tradition
Shantelle Davis is a nine-year-old girl in New York. On a cold night in December, her family is standing around the kitchen table while she lights a candle. The table is decorated with baskets of fruits and vegetables and ears of com for Shantelle and her two brothers.
“This candle represents umoja, an African word that means being together,” Shantelle says. “That"s the most important thing for a family.”
Tonight is the first night of Kwanzaa, and Shantelle is spending the holiday with her family. More than 5 million African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa every year from December 26 until January I. It"s a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa 1.
Kwanzaa is very unusual because it was started by one man. In 1966, an American named Maulana Karenga wanted a holiday for African-Americans to honor their culture and traditions. So he used words and customs fromAfricato create a new celebration. He took the name Kwanzaa from the words for “first fruits” in Swahili, an African language. At first, a few American families had small celebrations at home. Now there are also Kwanzaa events in schools and public places，and Kwanzaa has spread to other countries like Canada and Jamaica.
The main symbol of Kwanzaa is a candleholder with seven candles, one for each of the principles of Kwanzaa. Each night, a family member lights one of the candles and talks about the idea it represents：being together, being yourself, helping each other, sharing, having a goal，creating, and believing. The candles are red, black, and green, the colors of Kwanzaa. The parents also pour drinks to honor family members who have died. On the last night of Kwanzaa, there is a big dinner with African food, and children receive small presents.
Today people can buy Kwanzaa greeting cards and special Kwanzaa clothes. Stores sell Kwanzaa candles and candleholders. Some people don"t believe that Kwanzaa is a real holiday，because it"s so new. But other people say that customs and celebrations are always changing and that Kwanzaa shows what is important in people"s lives 2.
Shantelle Davis says she likes Kwanzaa because it"s fun. “But I also learn new things every year," she says.
词汇：
ancestor n.祖宗，祖先
be decorated with 由……所装饰
honor/ "ɒnə(r) / vt. 尊敬,使荣幸; n.荣誉,尊敬
ears of com玉米穗
candleholder/ "kændlˌhəʊldə / n.烛台
注释：
1. It"s a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa.这段时间里他们和家人待在一起缅怀他们的历史和非洲的祖先。
2. ... shows what is important in people"s lives. ……展现了人们生活中重要的东西。
Kwanzaa is a holiday for African-Americans.
A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned
The Beginning of American Literature
American has always been a land of beginnings. After Europeans “ discovered” Americain the fifteenth century, the mysteriousNew Worldbecame for many people a genuine hope of a new life, an escape from poverty and persecution, a chance to start again. We can say that, as nation,Americabegins with that hope. When, however, does American literature begin?
American literature begins with American experiences. Long before the first colonists arrived, before Christopher Columbus 1, before the Northmen who foundAmericaabout year 1,000, Native Americans lived here. Each tribe"s literature was tightly woven into the fabric of daily life and reflected the unmistakably American experience of lining with the land 2. Another kind of experience, one filled with fear and excitement, found its expression in the reports that Columbus and other explorers sent home inSpain, French and English. In addition, the journals of the people who lived and died in theNew Englandwilderness 3 tell unforgettable tales of hard end sometimes heartbreaking experiences of those early years.
Experience, then, is the key to early American literature. TheNew Worldprovided a great variety of experiences, and experiences demanded a wide variety of expressions by an even wider variety of early American writers. These writers included John Smith, who spent only two-and-a-half year: on the American, continent. They included Jonathan Edwards and William Byrd，who thought of themselves as British subjects, never suspecting a revolution that would create a United States of America with a literature of its own. American Indians, explorers,
Puritan ministers, frontier wives, plantation owner一they are all the creators of the first American literature.
词汇：
colonist [ˈkɒlənɪst] n.殖民者
subject ["sʌbdʒɪkt] n.臣民
puritan [ˈpjʊərɪtən] n.清教徒的
注释：
1．Christopher Columbus:克里斯托弗·哥伦布，美洲新大陆的发现者
2. Each tribe"s literature was tightly woven into the fabric of daily life and reflected the unmistakably American experience of lining with the land.每个部落的文学都紧密地交织到日常生活的架构中去，反映了和土地密切相连的确凿无疑的美洲生活经历。
3．New England wilderness:新英格兰的荒原，新英格兰指如今美国东北部的几个州，为来自欧洲的殖民者最早定居的地区。
What can we leam from the literature of the tribes of the native Americans？
A:About the everyday life of the native Americans. B:About the arrival of Columbus C:About the experience of the first European settlers. D:About the experience of those who died in the New Englandwildemess
Starting a New Tradition
Shantelle Davis is a nine-year-old girl in New York. On a cold night in December, her family is standing around the kitchen table while she lights a candle. The table is decorated with baskets of fruits and vegetables and ears of com for Shantelle and her two brothers.
“This candle represents umoja, an African word that means being together,” Shantelle says. “That"s the most important thing for a family.”
Tonight is the first night of Kwanzaa, and Shantelle is spending the holiday with her family. More than 5 million African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa every year from December 26 until January I. It"s a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa 1.
Kwanzaa is very unusual because it was started by one man. In 1966, an American named Maulana Karenga wanted a holiday for African-Americans to honor their culture and traditions. So he used words and customs fromAfricato create a new celebration. He took the name Kwanzaa from the words for “first fruits” in Swahili, an African language. At first, a few American families had small celebrations at home. Now there are also Kwanzaa events in schools and public places，and Kwanzaa has spread to other countries like Canada and Jamaica.
The main symbol of Kwanzaa is a candleholder with seven candles, one for each of the principles of Kwanzaa. Each night, a family member lights one of the candles and talks about the idea it represents：being together, being yourself, helping each other, sharing, having a goal，creating, and believing. The candles are red, black, and green, the colors of Kwanzaa. The parents also pour drinks to honor family members who have died. On the last night of Kwanzaa, there is a big dinner with African food, and children receive small presents.
Today people can buy Kwanzaa greeting cards and special Kwanzaa clothes. Stores sell Kwanzaa candles and candleholders. Some people don"t believe that Kwanzaa is a real holiday，because it"s so new. But other people say that customs and celebrations are always changing and that Kwanzaa shows what is important in people"s lives 2.
Shantelle Davis says she likes Kwanzaa because it"s fun. “But I also learn new things every year," she says.
词汇：
ancestor n.祖宗，祖先
be decorated with 由……所装饰
honor/ "ɒnə(r) / vt. 尊敬,使荣幸; n.荣誉,尊敬
ears of com玉米穗
candleholder/ "kændlˌhəʊldə / n.烛台
注释：
1. It"s a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa.这段时间里他们和家人待在一起缅怀他们的历史和非洲的祖先。
2. ... shows what is important in people"s lives. ……展现了人们生活中重要的东西。
Kwanzaa is a holiday for African-Americans.
A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned
The typical conversation between Americans takes a form that is quick and witty. No one speaks for very long. Speakers take turns frequently, often after only a few sentences have been spoken. "Watching a conversation between two Americans is like watching a table tennis game," a German observer said. "Your head goes back and forth and back and forth so fast it makes your neck hurt."
Americans tend to be impatient with people who take long turns. Such people are said to "talk too much." Many Americans have difficulty paying attention to someone who speaks more than a few sentences at a time, as Nigerians, Arabs, and some others do. Americans value conciseness, or what they call "getting to the point."
Americans engage in little ritual interaction (礼节式的互致问候). Only a few ritual greetings are common: "How are you" "I’m fine, thank you," "Nice to meet you," and "Hope to see you again." These things are said in certain situations and are concerned with form rather than with substance. That is, similar questions are supposed to be asked and statements are supposed to be made in particular situations, no matter what the people involved are feelings or what they really have in mind. To many Americans, people who rely heavily on ritual greetings are "too shy" or "too polite," unwilling to show their true natures and ideas.
Americans are generally impatient with long ritual greetings about family members’ health-common among Latin Americans-considering them a waste of time.
A:Americans enjoy talking as well as watching table tennis games B:Americans like to take short turns in a conversation. C:Americans get excited easily in a conversation D:Americans talk with great emotion
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