Once there was a man traveling in a faraway village. As he was passing the elephants, he stopped at once. He found that these huge elephants were being held by only a small rope tied to their front legs. No chains, no cages. It was clear that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their ropes but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and didn’t try to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they were very young and much smaller, we used the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it was enough to hold them. As they grow up, they still believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can hold them, so they never try to break free.”
How could it be? These animals could at any time break free from their ropes. But because they were always stuck right where they were, they believed they couldn’t.
Just like the elephants, how many of us go through life believing that we cannot do something, just because we failed in it once before?
▲ . We should never give up the struggle (斗争) in life.
1.The elephants were being held by ________.
A. a small rope B. a big chain C. a long line D. a piece of cloth
2.The man felt ________ after he heard what the trainer said.
A. excited B. surprised C. angry D. nervous
3.The elephants never tried to break free from the ropes because ________.
A. they liked their living places B. they were too old to do it
C. they thought they could not D. they got on well with the trainer
4.In the last paragraph which of the following can be put in ▲ ?
A. Failure is part of learning
B. We should be different from others
C. Helping animals is helping ourselves
D. Traveling always makes people relaxed
5.What is the best title for this passage?
A. A Pleasant Trip B. A Bad Trainer
C. Elephant Training D. The Elephant Rope
Nowadays, the food that you buy comes from many different countries. Have a look in your fridge and fruit bowl, and check the origins (来源) of the food. Perhaps there are apples from California or potatoes from Egypt. You will probably be surprised how far food travels to get to your plate. This journey, from “field to plate”, is called “food miles”. A food mile is the distance that food travels from the farmer’s field to the person who buys the food. Nowadays, food often travels thousands of miles to get to the consumer (消费者). Why is this, and what are the effects (影响) of these long distances?
Traditionally, farmers sold their food in the local market, so the food didn’t have to travel very far. The consumers also did not travel very far because they went to their local market to buy the food. Now, because of modern technology, food comes from all over the world. We do not have to wait for spring or summer to buy strawberries or tomatoes. They are available in winter if we want.
Some countries have to import (进口) most of their food. This is because they have difficult climates. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, get 85% of its food from other countries.
I believe these miles are worrying for some reasons. First of all, because food travels such long distances, we need more planes, trucks and ships to move the food. This means we use more oil or petrol, so there is more pollution and more global (全球的) warming. Besides, food that travels a long way is not fresh and usually not very tasty. Tomatoes, for example, are picked early and stored for their long journeys. For this reason, they are usually tasteless when they get to the consumer. Local food has a better taste, and it also reduces (makes sth. less) the amount of global pollution. We need to buy more local food.
提示词：distance距离； climates气候； petrol汽油
1.What is called “food miles” according to this passage?
A. The origins of the food. B. The effects of long distances.
C. The journey from field to plate. D. The disadvantages of imported food.
2.The underlined word “available” in Paragraph 2 most probably means “________”.
A. easy to get B. not busy
C. willing to talk D. impossible to get
3.Some countries, like the United Arab Emirates, have to import most of their food because
of ________ .
A. long distances B. difficult climates
C. fresh and tasty food D. modern technology
4.The writer uses the LAST paragraph mostly to encourage readers to ________.
A. buy more local food B. increase international trade
C. travel long distances D. use imported food
5.This passage is mainly about ________.
A. how local food travels from field to plate
B. where different kinds of food come from
C. how some countries import their food
D. what “food miles” is and its effects
