食物与文化

Task 1

Simon Groot， a seed expert of the Netherlands， is credited with introducing high⁃quality， disease⁃resistant vegetable seeds to more than 60 countries， including the Philippines， Thailand and Indonesia. He was awarded the World Food Prize.

Developing seeds has been the Groot family business for a long time. He is the sixth generation of， what is called， a seedsman. He began his search for better vegetable seeds to help farmers in Southeast Asia in 1981. When he was 47， his familys company had just been taken over by a larger corporation.

19 years earlier， he had made his first trip to Indonesia. There， Groot learned that vegetable seeds which were developed for the moderate climate of Europe， did poorly when planted in the tropics （热带地区）. He thought there was a great possibility of introducing hybrid （杂交的） vegetables to the area. The area lacked vegetable seed developers who were trying to create hybrids for the local climate.

“It was neither charity nor business. It was a passion for providing farmers all over the world with good seeds，” said Groot. He also said developing seeds has always concerned him， “I noticed the seed quality in that part of world was so much below our standards and below achievable standards.” He added that he could not stand that the farmers there did not have better seeds.

At the time， farmers in Southeast Asia usually saved seeds from season to season. That was because the seeds available for sale were often old. Those seeds were usually from Europe or North America and did not grow well in their tropical climate. This meant that the farmers ended up with smaller crops， and lower quality that changed greatly from season to season. The plants could also easily become infected with diseases.

Groot received the $250，000 World Food Prize during an award ceremony at the Iowa Capitol.

1. What do we learn about Groot from paragraph 2？

A. He learned vegetable seeds did poorly in Europe.

B. He carried on a business of several generations.

C. He has introduced seeds to countries worldwide.

D. He turned his familys company into a larger one.

2. What drove Groot to develop new vegetable seeds？

A. Doing charity. B. Making money.

C. Support from farmers. D. A sense of responsibility.

3. What was the challenge for farmers in Southeast Asia？

A. Having no access to high⁃quality seeds.

B. Having no financial support for better seeds.

C. Lacking advanced technology for growing crops.

D. Failing to export their produce to Western countries.

4. What is the best title for the text？

A. Business has been passed from generation to generation

B. Vegetable seeds for hot areas have been created

C. Family business serves farmers in Southeast Asia

D. World Food Prize goes to Dutch seed developer

Task 2

My name is Allison， an American boy. During my second year of high school， I participated in an exchange program where a Spanish student came to live in my home for a few weeks and then I went to live in her house in Spain. 1

After the initial excitement of being in a new place wore off， some of the cultural differences began to affect me， causing me to feel anxious and homesick. 2 My Spanish skills were not at the level of being able to express how I felt clearly.

3 I usually ate dinner at 6：00 pm at home， but in Spain， we ate it at 10：00 pm when I was very hungry and ready for bed！ I was a picky eater， and while I ate meat， I still wasnt very adventurous with it. But there was a lot of meat in Spanish cuisine. Almost every meal was filled with rich unidentifiable foods.

One night， I asked what we were going to eat. Since I didnt know the Spanish word “conejo” they used， the entire family started acting like rabbits at the dinner table in an effort to help me understand its meaning. 4 Sometimes I just wanted to curl up in my room alone and order a pizza， but not the pizza they had in Spain.

Some of the new and unusual foods I first had in Spain caused me much stress. 5 This trip taught me how to be flexible and leave my comfort zone， and how important it is to try new things.

A. I was shocked at why they did so.

B. Both of us liked the program very much.

C. But I missed them very much when I left Spain.

D. And I thought I would never set foot on the land any more.

E. The most difficult challenge I faced was the food and meal time.

F. I was a little nervous but mostly excited about the coming experience.

G. What made culture shock difficult to deal with was the language barrier.

Task 3

Being a parent is already a life⁃changing experience. However， this 40⁃year⁃old dad 1 a surprising transformation （转变） after a hike with his kids.

Before Jeremiah Peterson looked like a supermodel， he weighed 290 pounds. He was only 2 to lose weight after he went on a hike with his family and 3 how quickly he was tired out from the activity.