Stephanie Smith, a children's dance instructor, thought she has a stomach virus. The aches and cramping were tolerable that first day, and she finished her classes. Then her diarrhea turned bloody. Her kidneys shut down. Seizures knocked her unconscious. The convulsions grew so relentless that doctors had to put her in a coma for nine weeks. When she emerged, she could no longer walk. The affliction had ravaged her nervous system and left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Ms. Smith was found to have a severe form of food-borne illness causes by E. coli, which Minnesota officials traced to the hamburger that her mother had grilled for their Sunday family party. In the simplest terms, she ran out of luck in a food-safety game of chance whose rules and risks are not widely known.
Meat companies and grocers have been barred from selling ground beef tainted by the virulent strain of E. coli known as O157: H7 since 1994. Yet tens of thousands of people are still sickened annually by this pathogen, with hamburgers being the biggest culprit. Ground beef has been blamed for 16 outbreaks in the last three years alone. This summer, contamination led to the recall of beef from nearly 3 000 grocers in 41 states.
Ms. Smith's reaction to the virulent strain of E. coli was extreme, but tracing the story of her burger shows that neither the system meant to make the meat safe, nor the meat itself, is what consumers have been led to believe.
Ground beef is usually not simply a chunk of meat run through a grinder. Instead, a single portion of hamburger meat is often an amalgam of various grades of meat from different parts of cows and even from different slaughterhouses. This makes the costs 25% less than it would have for cuts of whole meat. These cuts of meat are particularly vulnerable to E. coli contamination, food experts and officials say. Despite this, there is no federal requirement for grinders to test their ingredients for the pathogen.
Those ingredients include cuts from areas of the cow that are more likely to have had contact with feces, which carries E. coli, industry research shows. Yet most meat companies rely on their suppliers to check for the bacteria and do their own testing only after the ingredients are ground together.
Unwritten agreements between some companies appear to stand in the way of ingredient testing. Many big slaughterhouses will sell only to grinders who agree not to test their shipments for E. coli for fear of a recall of ingredients they sold to others.
“ Ground beef is not a completely safe product," said Dr. Jeffrey Bender, a food safety expert at the University of Minnesota who helped develop systems for tracing E. coli. contamination. He said that while outbreaks had been on the decline, “unfortunately it looks like we are going a bit in the opposite direction. ”
1.What is the main idea of this passage?
2.We can learn from the passage that （ ）.
3.The reason behind the way ground beef produced is （ ）.
4.We can infer that many big slaughterhouses （ ）.
5.As Bender implies at the end of the passage,（ ）.
问题1选项
A.An outbreak of O157 :H7.
B.Food contamination on a rise.
C.A case report on food poisoning.
D.The flaws in the system of beef inspection.
问题2选项
A.most people get sickened every year for eating hamburgers tainted by E . coli
B.so far there have been outbreaks of E . coli contamination of beef
C.beef contamination is so serious that it can be found in 41 states
D.Ms. Smith's reaction to O157: H7 is uncommon
问题3选项
A.the making of more profits
B.the satisfaction of the customers’ needs
C.the vulnerability to E .coli contamination
D.the requirement of the federal government
问题4选项
A.conducted a recall if ground beef this summer
B.cannot be too careful about the safety of their beef products
C.actually know the possibility of their ground beef contamination
D.are completely ignorant of E. coli contamination of their beef supplies
问题5选项
A.it is wise for consumers to stay away from beef products
B.the outbreaks of E coli contamination are on the decline
C.things are not completely satisfying
D.it is unhealthy to live on hamburgers
第1题:D
第2题:D
第3题:A
第4题:C
第5题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
What is the main idea of this passage? 这篇文章的主旨是什么？
A. An outbreak of 0157:H7. A. 0157：H7病毒爆发。
B. Food contamination on a rise. B. 食品污染呈上升趋势。
C. A case report on food poisoning. C. 食物中毒病例报告。
D. The flaws in the system of beef inspection. D. 牛肉检验体系的缺陷。
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】第一段首先通过一个案例引出牛肉食品的安全问题，然后接下来几段说明“这些肉块特别容易受到大肠杆菌污染。”也就是搅碎的牛肉容易受到污染，然后强调说明尽管如此，联邦政府并没有要求研磨机测试其成分中的病原体，并且大多数肉类公司依赖他们的供应商来检查细菌，只有在原料混合在一起后才进行自己的检测。一些公司之间的不成文协议似乎阻碍了成分检测。这使得牛肉安全得不到保障，即缺乏牛肉检测；最后一段强调绞碎的牛肉并不是完全安全的产品。因此全文指的是牛肉检验体系存在缺陷。因此D选项“牛肉检验体系的缺陷。”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“0157：H7病毒爆发。”文章只是说了儿童舞蹈教练斯蒂芬妮•史密斯患有一种由大肠杆菌引起的严重食源性疾病，并没有说该病毒爆发，该选项属于过度推断；
B选项“食品污染呈上升趋势。”文中只是说牛肉产品，并不是指所有产品，该选项属于以偏概全；
C选项“食物中毒病例报告。”文章是用这个女士食物中毒的例子来说明牛肉安全体系有缺陷，该选项属于以偏概全。
第2题:
【选项释义】
We can learn from the passage that ____. 我们可以从文章中了解到____。
A. most people get sickened every year for eating hamburgers tainted by E. coli A. 大多数人每年都会因为吃了被大肠杆菌污染的汉堡而生病
B. so far there have been outbreaks of E. coli contamination of beef B. 到目前为止，已经爆发了大肠杆菌污染的牛肉
C. beef contamination is so serious that it can be found in 41 states C. 牛肉污染如此严重，在41个州都发现了
D. Ms. Smith’s reaction to 0157: H7 is uncommon D. 史密斯对0157：H7的反应并不常见
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】文章第二段最后一句提到“简而言之，她在一场规则和风险并不广为人知的食品安全碰运气游戏中失去了运气。”以及“史密斯女士对有毒大肠杆菌菌株的反应是极端的”。由此可推断0157：H7这种病毒并不是所有人都会感染的，感染患病的几率很小，史密斯对大肠杆菌的反应是极端的也就是不常见的。因此选D选项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“大多数人每年都会因为吃了被大肠杆菌污染的汉堡而生病”，根据文中“史密斯女士对有毒大肠杆菌菌株的反应是极端的”可知并不是所有人会吃了被大肠杆菌污染的汉堡而生病，该选项属于过度推断；
B选项“到目前为止，已经爆发了大肠杆菌污染的牛肉”，文中只是用史密斯的例子来说明搅碎的牛肉中容易存在大肠杆菌，而并不爆发，该选项属于过度推断；
C选项“牛肉污染如此严重，在41个州都发现了”，文中提及“牛肉污染导致41个州的近3000家食品杂货店召回牛肉。”只是说导致41个州的3000家食品杂货店召回牛肉，并不一定说这41个州的牛肉都被污染了，属于过度推断。
第3题:
【选项释义】
The reason behind the way ground beef produced is ____. 这种牛肉生产方式背后的原因是____。
A. the making of more profits A. 赚取更多的利润
B. the satisfaction of the customers’ needs B. 顾客需求的满足
C. the vulnerability to E. coli contamination C. 大肠杆菌污染的脆弱性
D. the requirement of the federal government D. 联邦政府的要求
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干信息可定位到第五段“绞碎的牛肉通常不是简单地通过绞肉机的一块肉。相反，一份汉堡肉往往是来自牛的不同部位，甚至来自不同屠宰场的不同等级的肉的混合物。这使得成本比切割整块肉低25%。”由此可知成本下降可以赚取更多利润，因此A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“顾客需求的满足”，文中没有提及，该选项属于无中生有；
C选项“大肠杆菌污染的脆弱性”，这种生产牛肉的方式没有顾虑到大肠杆菌，因此该选项属于无中生有；
D选项“联邦政府的要求”，第五段最后一句“尽管如此，联邦政府并没有要求研磨机测试其成分中的病原体。”说的是联邦政府对待测试病菌没有要求，而不是对牛肉的生产方式有要求，该选项属于过度推断。
第4题:
【选项释义】
We can infer that many big slaughterhouses ____. 我们可以推断，许多大型屠宰场____。
A. conducted a recall of ground beef this summer A. 今年夏天召回了碎牛肉
B. cannot be too careful about the safety of their beef products B. 对他们的牛肉产品的安全再怎么小心也不为过
C. actually know the possibility of their ground beef contamination C. 知道他们的碎牛肉污染的可能性
D. are completely ignorant of E. coli contamination of their beef supplies D. 完全不知道他们的牛肉供应受到大肠杆菌污染
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干信息可定位到倒数第二段最后一句“许多大型屠宰场只会把肉卖给同意不检测大肠杆菌的研磨商，因为担心他们卖给别人的原料会被召回。”由此可推断，这些屠宰场知道他们的牛肉可能有污染，因此出售给那些不检测的屠宰场，不然可能会被退回。因此C选项“知道他们的碎牛肉污染的可能性”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“今年夏天召回了碎牛肉”，文中第三段最后一句提到“今年夏天，牛肉污染导致41个州的近3000家食品杂货店召回牛肉。”可知是食品杂货店召回牛肉而不是屠宰场召回，该选项属于张冠李戴；
B选项“对他们的牛肉产品的安全再怎么小心也不为过”，倒数第二段最后一句“许多大型屠宰场将只向那些同意不检测其装运的食品中是否含有大肠杆菌的研磨商出售，因为他们担心出售给其他人的原料会被召回。”由此可推断这些屠宰场并不注意他们牛肉产品的安全，反而害怕因为有大肠杆菌而被退回所以卖给不检测货物的研磨商，该选项与原文语义相反，属于反向干扰；
D选项“完全不知道他们的牛肉供应受到大肠杆菌污染”，倒数第二段最后一句“许多大型屠宰场将只向那些同意不检测其装运的食品中是否含有大肠杆菌的研磨商出售，因为他们担心出售给其他人的原料会被召回。”说明他们知道他们的牛肉可能受到大肠杆菌污染，该选项与原文意思相反，属于反向干扰。
第5题:
【选项释义】
As Bender implies at the end of the passage, ____ 正如本德在文章末尾所暗示的，____。
A. it is wise for consumers to stay away from beef products A. 对于消费者来说，远离牛肉产品是明智的
B. the outbreaks of E. coli contamination are on the decline B. 大肠杆菌污染的爆发正在下降
C. things are not completely satisfying C. 事情并不完全令人满意
D. it is unhealthy to live on hamburgers D. 吃汉堡包是不健康的
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干信息可定位到最后一段最后一句“他说，虽然疫情一直在下降，但‘不幸的是，我们似乎正朝着相反的方向发展。’”也就是说，事情并不完全令人满意，选项C符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“对于消费者来说，远离牛肉产品是明智的”，曲解原文，属于过度推断；
B选项“大肠杆菌污染的爆发正在下降”，文章最后说到“虽然疫情一直在下降”，疫情指的是因大肠杆菌污染而患病的现象，疫情下降只能代表患病者人数减少，但并不能代表大肠杆菌污染的爆发下降，该选项属于过度推断。
D选项“吃汉堡包是不健康的”，曲解原文，该选项属于过度推断。
【参考译文】
斯蒂芬妮·史密斯是一名儿童舞蹈教练，她以为自己得了胃病。第一天，疼痛和痉挛还可以忍受，她也上完了课。后来，她的腹泻变成了血性腹泻。她的肾脏停止工作。癫痫让她失去了知觉。抽搐越来越厉害，医生不得不让她昏迷九周。当她醒来时，已经无法行走。这种疾病摧残了她的神经系统，使她下半身瘫痪。
史密斯女士被发现患有严重的由大肠杆菌引起的食源性疾病，明尼苏达州官员追溯到她母亲为周日家庭聚会烤制的汉堡包。最简单地说，她是在一场食品安全概率游戏中运气不佳，而这场游戏的规则和风险并不广为人知。
自1994年以来，肉类公司和食品杂货店一直被禁止销售被名为0157: H7的剧毒大肠杆菌污染的碎牛肉。然而，每年仍有数以万计的人因这种病原体而患病，其中汉堡包是最大的罪魁祸首。仅在过去的三年中，碎牛肉就被指控导致了16起疫情爆发。今年夏天，污染导致41个州近3000 家杂货店召回牛肉。
史密斯女士对剧毒大肠杆菌菌株的反应是极端的，但追溯她的汉堡的故事可以发现，无论是确保肉类安全的系统，还是肉类本身，都不是消费者所相信的那样。
碎牛肉通常不是简单地将一大块肉放在绞肉机里绞碎。相反，一份汉堡肉往往是来自牛的不同部位甚至不同屠宰场的不同等级肉类的混合物。这使得成本比切割整块肉的成本低25%。食品专家和官员说，这些肉块特别容易受到大肠杆菌的污染。尽管如此，联邦并没有要求绞肉机对其原料进行病原体检测。
行业研究表明，这些原料包括来自牛身上更有可能接触过粪便的部位的肉块，而粪便中含有大肠杆菌。然而，大多数肉类公司依靠供应商来检查细菌，只有在配料磨碎后才自己进行检测。
一些公司之间的不成文协议似乎阻碍了成分检测。许多大型屠宰场只卖给那些同意不对装运的货物进行大肠杆菌检测的研磨商，因为他们担心卖给别人的原料会被召回。
明尼苏达大学食品安全专家杰弗里·本德博士说：“碎牛肉并不是一种完全安全的产品。”他曾帮助开发了追踪大肠杆菌污染的系统。他说，虽然疫情一直在下降，但“不幸的是，我们似乎正朝着相反的方向发展。”
