Section II Reading Comprehension

Part A

Directions:

Read the following four texts. Answer the questions after each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. (40 points)

Text 1

On a recent sunny day, 13,000 chickens roam over Larry Brown’s 40 windswept acres in Shiner, Texas. Some rest in the shade of a parked car. Others drink water with the cows. This all seems random, but it’s by design, part of what the $6.1 billion U.S. egg industry bets will be its next big thing: climate-friendly eggs.

These eggs, which are making their debut now on shelves for as much as $8 a dozen, are still labeled organic and animal-friendly, but they’re also from birds that live on farms using regenerative agriculture—special techniques to cultivate rich soils that can trap greenhouse gases. Such eggs could be marketed as helping to fight climate change.

“I’m excited about our progress,” says Brown, who harvests eggs for Denver-based NestFresh Eggs and is adding more cover crops that draw worms and crickets for the chickens to eat. The birds’ waste then fertilizes fields. Such improvements “allow our hens to forage for higher-quality natural feed that will be good for the land, the hens, and the eggs that we supply to our customers.”

The egg industry’s push is the first major test of whether animal products from regenerative farms can become the next premium offering. In barely more than a decade, organic eggs went from being dismissed as a niche product in natural foods stores to being sold at Walmart. More recently there were similar doubts about probiotics and plant-based meats, but both have exploded into major supermarket categories. If the sustainable-egg rollout is successful, it could open the floodgates for regenerative beef, broccoli, and beyond.

Regenerative products could be a hard sell, because the concept is tough to define quickly, says Julie Stanton, associate professor of agricultural economics at Pennsylvania State University Brandywine. Such farming also brings minimal, if any, improvement to the food products (though some producers say their eggs have more protein).

The industry is betting that the same consumers paying more for premium attributes such as free-range, non-GMO, and pasture-raised eggs will embrace sustainability. Surveys show that younger generations are more concerned about climate change, and some of the success of plant-based meat can be chalked up to shoppers wanting to signal their desire to protect the environment. Young adults “really care about the planet,” says John Brunnquell, president of Egg Innovations. “They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand what they’re doing.”

21. The climate-friendly eggs are produced ______.

[A] at a considerably low cost

[B] at the demand of regular shoppers

[C] as a replacement for organic eggs

[D] on specially designed farms

22. Larry Brown is excited about his progress in ______.

[A] reducing the damage of climate change

[B] accelerating the disposal of waste

[C] creating a sustainable system

[D] attracting customers to his products

23. The example of organic eggs is used in Paragraph 4 to suggest ______.

[A] the doubts over natural feeds

[B] the setbacks in the egg industry

[C] the potential of regenerative products

[D] the promotional success of supermarkets

24. It can be learned from the last paragraph that young people ______.

[A] are reluctant to change their diet

[B] are likely to buy climate-friendly eggs

[C] are curious about new food

[D] are amazed at agriculture advances

25. John Brunnquell would disagree with Julie Stanton over regenerative product’s ______.

[A] market prospects

[B] standard definition

[C] nutritional value

[D] moral implication

【答案解析】

21. [D] on specially designed farms

【解析】本題為細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞climate-friendly eggs定位到第一段末句：This all seems random, but it’s by design, part of ... next big thing: climate-friendly eggs(這看起來(lái)隨意，但其實(shí)是設(shè)計(jì)好的，是下一個(gè)大事件氣候友好蛋的一部分)。其中This指的是第一段開(kāi)頭描述的養(yǎng)雞農(nóng)場(chǎng)景象。養(yǎng)雞農(nóng)場(chǎng)是設(shè)計(jì)好的，用于生產(chǎn)氣候友好蛋，由此可知?dú)夂蛴押玫笆窃趕pecially designed farms(經(jīng)過(guò)特別設(shè)計(jì)的農(nóng)場(chǎng))上生產(chǎn)的，所以本題選D。

22. [C] creating a sustainable system

【解析】本題為細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞Larry Brown is excited about his progress定位到第三段①句，該句提到(Brown) is adding more cover crops that draw worms and crickets for the chickens to eat(Brown正在添加更多的覆蓋作物來(lái)吸引蠕蟲(chóng)和蟋蟀給雞吃)。結(jié)合②句The birds’ waste then fertilizes fields(然后雞的排泄物可以給田地施肥)和③句中的Such improvements “allow our hens to forage for higher-quality natural feed ...”(這樣的改進(jìn)使我們的母雞能夠找到更高質(zhì)量的天然食物)可知，C項(xiàng)creating a sustainable system(創(chuàng)造一個(gè)可持續(xù)的系統(tǒng))是對(duì)①-③句的合理概括，所以本題選C。

23. [C] the potential of regenerative products

【解析】本題為例證題。例證題通常考查根據(jù)論據(jù)尋找論點(diǎn)的能力，論點(diǎn)一般在論據(jù)的前面。根據(jù)題干關(guān)鍵詞organic eggs定位到第四段②句，該句為論據(jù)，其所要說(shuō)明的事物為①句：whether animal products from regenerative farms can become the next premium offering(來(lái)自再生農(nóng)場(chǎng)的動(dòng)物產(chǎn)品能否成為下一個(gè)優(yōu)質(zhì)產(chǎn)品)。C項(xiàng)the potential of regenerative products(再生產(chǎn)品的潛力)是對(duì)①句中問(wèn)題的合理概括，所以本題選C。

24. [B] are likely to buy climate-friendly eggs

【解析】本題為細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干中的young people可先定位到最后一段中的②句：younger generations are more concerned about climate change(年輕一代更加關(guān)心氣候變化)。結(jié)合③句中的Young adults “really care about the planet”(年輕人真的關(guān)心地球)和④句中的They are absolutely altering the food chain(他們絕 對(duì)在改變食物鏈)，可以判斷年輕人很可能在從食物方面為改善氣候和地球環(huán)境做貢獻(xiàn)。B項(xiàng)are likely to buy climate-friendly eggs(可能購(gòu)買氣候友好蛋)是對(duì)②-④句的合理推斷，所以本題選B。

25. [A] market prospects

【解析】本題為細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)題干中的John Brunnquell定位到最后一段中的③句，Brunnquell說(shuō)年輕人真的關(guān)心地球。結(jié)合④句他說(shuō)年輕人絕 對(duì)在改變食物鏈，可見(jiàn)他認(rèn)為年輕人可能通過(guò)消費(fèi)氣候友好蛋等再生產(chǎn)品來(lái)保護(hù)地球，對(duì)再生產(chǎn)品的市場(chǎng)前景是樂(lè)觀的。再根據(jù)題干中的Julie Stanton定位到倒數(shù)第二段的①句，Stanton說(shuō)Regenerative products could be a hard sell(再生產(chǎn)品可能要被強(qiáng)行推銷)，可見(jiàn)她對(duì)再生產(chǎn)品的市場(chǎng)前景是悲觀的。因此這兩人在再生產(chǎn)品的市場(chǎng)前景方面的觀點(diǎn)是不一致的，A項(xiàng)market prospects(市場(chǎng)前景)準(zhǔn)確指出了兩人觀點(diǎn)的分歧所在，所以本題選A。