一、考试概述：本次考试的文章是三篇旧文章，难度中等。第一篇讲了有调查研究显示，美国市中心出现了食物沙漠的现象“fooddesert”，住在市中心的市民往往收入较低，无法购买健康食品，同时市中心土地面积少而贵，超市无法自给自足出售蔬菜等，于是面临着健康食物稀缺的问题。第二篇讲了考古学家挖掘出这个古城，讲述了它是怎样发展成一个城市，城市的构造和体系以及为什么能发展成为一个大城市。第三篇讲了一些濒危蜥蜴的现状，如skink，以及介绍了如何拯救这些濒危蜥蜴的方法。
二、具体题目分析
Passage 1：
题目：如何走出食物沙漠
题型：填空题5 + 判断题7
题号：旧题
相似文章：Howtofindawayoutof “fooddesert”
A
Fooddesertscanbedescribedasgeographicareaswhereresidents’ accesstoaffordable, healthyfoodoptions (especiallyfreshfruitsandvegetables) isrestrictedornonexistentduetotheabsenceofgrocerystoreswithinconvenienttravellingdistance. Forinstance, accordingtoareportpreparedforCongressbytheEconomicResearchServiceoftheUSDepartmentofAgriculture, about 2.3 millionpeople (or 2.2 percentofallUShouseholds) livemorethanonemileawayfromasupermarketanddonotownacar. [1] Inurbanareas, accesstopublictransportationmayhelpresidentsovercomethedifficultiesposedbydistance, buteconomicforceshavedrivengrocerystoresoutofmanycitiesinrecentyears, makingthemsofewandfarbetweenthatanindividual’sfoodshoppingtripmayrequiretakingseveralbusesortrains. Insuburbanandruralareas, publictransportationiseitherverylimitedorunavailable, withsupermarketsoftenmanymilesawayfrompeople’shomes.
B
Theotherdefiningcharacteristicoffooddesertsissocio-economic: thatis, theyaremostcommonlyfoundincommunitiesofcolorandlow-incomeareas (wheremanypeopledon’thavecars). Studieshavefoundthatwealthydistrictshavethreetimesasmanysupermarketsaspooronesdo, [2] thatwhiteneighborhoodscontainanaverageoffourtimesasmanysupermarketsaspredominantlyblackonesdo, andthatgrocerystoresinAfrican-Americancommunitiesareusuallysmallerwithlessselection. [3] People’schoicesaboutwhattoeatareseverelylimitedbytheoptionsavailabletothemandwhattheycanafford—andmanyfooddesertscontainanoverabundanceoffastfoodchainssellingcheap “meat” anddairy-basedfoodsthatarehighinfat, sugarandsalt. Processedfoods (suchassnackcakes, chipsandsoda) typicallysoldbycornerdelis, conveniencestoresandliquorstoresareusuallyjustasunhealthy.
C
FoodEmpowermentProject’sreport, “ShiningaLightontheValleyofHeart’sDelight (PDF),” showsthatitispossibletooverlookcommunitiesthatarelocatedinfooddesertswhenrelyingondatacollectedbytheUSgovernment. Wefoundthat, “PartoftheproblemishowtheUSgovernment’sNorthAmericanIndustryClassificationSystem (NAICSisthestandardusedbythefederalstatisticalagenciesinclassifyingbusinessestablishments) categorizesretailoutletsthatsellfood. AccordingtotheNAICScode, smallcornergrocerystoresarestatisticallylumpedtogetherwithsupermarkets, suchasSafeway, WholeFoodsMarket, etc. Inotherwords, acommunitywithnosupermarketandtwocornergrocerystoresthatofferliquorandfoodwouldbecountedashavingtworetailfoodoutletseventhoughthefoodofferedmaybeextremelylimitedandconsistmainlyofjunkfood.”
D
Inadditiontothis, wefoundthatmanyoftheconveniencestoresthathaditemssuchasabunchofbananasorafewappleswouldsellthefruitsindividually. Becausetheseitemsarenotpriced, thecustomersareoftenatthemercyofthepersonbehindthecounterwhodeterminesthecostthenandthere. Customerswhodon’thaveagoodunderstandingofEnglishmightneveraskthepriceoftheitem.
E
Thoselivinginfooddesertsmayalsofinditdifficulttolocatefoodsthatareculturallyappropriateforthem, anddietaryrestrictions, suchaslactoseintolerance, glutenallergies, etc., alsolimitthefoodchoicesofthosewhodonothaveaccesstolargerchainstoresthathavemoreselection. Additionally, studieshavefoundthaturbanresidentswhopurchasegroceriesatsmallneighborhoodstorespaybetween 3 and 37 percentmorethansuburbanitesbuyingthesameproductsatsupermarkets.
F
Healthierfoodsaregenerallymoreexpensivethanunhealthfulfoods, particularlyinfooddeserts. Forinstance, whiletheoverallpriceoffruitsandvegetablesintheUSincreasedbynearly 75 percentbetween 1989 and 2005, thepriceoffattyfoodsdroppedbymorethan 26 percentduringthesameperiod. Whilesuchinflationhasstrainedthefoodbudgetsofmanyfamiliesregardlessoftheirfinancialstatus, thehighercostofhealthyfoodsoftenputsthementirelybeyondthemonetarymeansofmanylower-incomepeople.
G
Whileunhealthyeatingmaybeeconomicallycheaperintheshort-term, theconsequencesoflong-termconstrainedaccesstohealthyfoodsisoneofthemainreasonsthatethnicminorityandlow-incomepopulationssufferfromstatisticallyhigherratesofobesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovasculardisease, andotherdiet-relatedconditionsthanthegeneralpopulation.
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