Perhaps the real virtue of the UglyRipe’s “ugliness,” which is nothing compared with the deformed beauty of true heirloom tomatoes, is that it helps us see how strange the uniformity of regular winter tomatoes really is. For a backyard grower, taste is everything. But in commercial production, taste is an abstraction. It is what’s left after all the other criteria for a good commercial tomato have been met: disease resistance, regular shape, consistent ripening, the ability to withstand picking and packing and shipping, a long shelf life. Taste is too subjective, according to the Florida Tomato Committee, to judge tomatoes by.
The UglyRipe may be a better tomato. After all, its growers have selected for better taste, not perfect shape. But one thing that would certainly make the UglyRipe a better tomato is a different way of growing it. Santa Sweets produces organic UglyRipes, but they are few and hard to find. It now grows its conventional tomatoes without using agricultural chemicals that carry reproductive risks—but it still uses methyl bromide, a powerful, ozone---depleting pesticide, to fumigate the soil in which conventional UglyRipes grow.
Under the terms of the Montreal Protocol, the use of methyl bromide was supposed to be phased out completely by January 2005. But for the past few years, the Bush administration has claimed an exemption for “critical uses,” one of which is growing winter tomatoes in Florida. We used to consider it a luxury to eat fruits and vegetables out of season. But what we eat out of season has been machined to withstand the rigors of the supply chain and produced in ways that only our ignorance can sustain. The truth is that there is no luxury---nor critical use—in it. Even an ugly, better-tasting winter tomato isn’t worth the price.
59. The word “machined” in the last paragraph means（ ）.
60. The criteria for a good commercial tomato does not include（ ）.
61.（ ）makes the UglyRipe better.
62. Methyl bromide is used to（ ）.
63. Methyl bromide, a powerful ozone-depleting pesticide（ ）.
64. The main point of this article is（ ）.
问题1选项
A.a machine that has been used
B.using as a machine
C.unconditioned
D.conditioned
问题2选项
A.the ability to withstand picking, packing, and shipping
B.consistent ripening
C.bright red color
D.disease, resistance
问题3选项
A.Its shape
B.Its shelf life
C.Its taste
D.Its bright red color
问题4选项
A.fumigate the soil
B.fumigate the plants
C.fumigate the tomato
D.none of the above
问题5选项
A.is commonly used today
B.is safe for the atmosphere
C.was to be completely phased out by January 2005
D.is safe for the environment
问题6选项
A.finding tomatoes that taste good
B.what backyard growers need most
C.there is no luxury nor critical use worth the price of poisoning our environment
D.what you don’t know won’t hurt you
第1题:D
第2题:C
第3题:C
第4题:A
第5题:C
第6题:C
59.【试题答案】D
【试题解析】词义辨析题。根据题干，可以定位到文章最后一段倒数第二句But what we eat out of season has been machined to withstand the rigors of the supply chain and produced in ways that only our ignorance can sustain（但我们吃的非季节性食物经过加工，经受住了供应链的严酷考验，而且只有我们的无知才能维持下去），最后一段讲到：人们以前认为吃非季节性水果或蔬菜很奢侈，然而现在这些非季节性产品已经适应了供应的需求，因为人们使用农药大量的生产非季节性水果或蔬菜。所以machine在这里的意思是表示“适应”。D选项“使适应”，符合文章词义，D选项正确。A选项“被使用过的机器”，文章的词义应该是一个动词，A选项名词可排除。B选项“作为机器使用”，不符合文章内容，可排除。C选项“无条件的”，不符合文章内容，可排除。因此D选项正确。
60.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】细节事实题。根据文章第一段第三句 It is what’s left after all the other criteria for a good commercial tomato have been met: disease resistance, regular shape, consistent ripening, the ability to withstand picking and packing and shipping, a long shelf life.（它是在一个好的商业番茄的所有其他标准都得到满足之后剩下的东西：抗病、形状规则、成熟一致、经得起采摘、包装和运输的能力、保质期长）。C选项“明艳大红色彩”，在文章没有提到，C选项可排除。A选项“经得起挑选、包装和运输的能力”，文章提到，经得起采摘、包装和运输的能力，A选项可排除。B选项“一致的成熟”，文章提到，成熟一致，B选项可排除。D选项“抗病性”，文章提到，抗病能力，D选项可排除。因此C选项正确。
61.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】细节事实题。根据第二段第一句The UglyRipe may be a better tomato. After all, its growers have selected for better taste, not perfect shape.（UglyRipe可能是更好的番茄。毕竟，它的种植者选择更好的口味，而不是完美的形状）。C选项“它的口感”，符合文章内容，故答案选项为C。A选项“它的形状”，跟文章内容正好相反，可排除。B选项“它的保质期”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。D选项“鲜红的颜色”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。因此C选项正确。
62.【试题答案】A
【试题解析】细节事实题。根据文章第二段倒数第三句but it still uses methyl bromide, a powerful, ozone-depleting pesticide to fumigate the soil.（但它仍然使用甲基溴，一种强大的、消耗臭氧的杀虫剂来熏蒸土壤），A选项“用烟熏消毒土壤”，符合文章内容，A选项正确，B选项“香薰植物”，文章没有提到香薰植物，可排除B选项。C选项“香薰番茄”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。D选项“以上都不是”，可排除。因此A选项正确。
63.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】细节事实题。根据最后一段第二句the use of methyl bromide was supposed to be phased out completely by January 2005（甲基溴的使用应该在2005年1月之前完全停止），也就是说这种农药会完全停止。be phased out（逐渐淘汰，逐渐停止），C选项“会在2005年1月前完全淘汰”，符合文章内容。A选项“现在被广泛使用”，文章没有提到此内容，可排除。B选项“对大气安全”，文章提到甲基溴是一种强消耗农药，可知会对大气造成污染。D选项“对环境安全”，文章提到农药会破坏环境，D选项可排除。因此C选项正确。
64.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】主旨大意题。文章从西红柿的种植开始，到最后一段讲到农药的使用，才涉及到了文章的主题“the truth is that there is no luxury — nor critical use—in it”这里的it 指的便是环境。这些关键性的使用和奢侈的代价绝没有破换环境的代价大。A选项“找到好吃的西红柿”，B选项“这是后院种植者最需要的”，C选项“任何奢侈或重要用途都不值得我们为污染环境付出代价”和D选项“你不知道的事不会伤害你”中对文章的主旨概括最准确的是C选项。因此C选项正确。
