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【分析解答题】It is hard to get a grip on fooD、The UN’s World Health Organisation worries about diminishing supplies and increased prices in poor countries; recent riots and near-riots in Haiti,Bangladesh andEgypt were sparked by the growing cost of wheat and rice.But, as Paul Roberts observes in "TheEnd of Food", the developed world has lived through "a near miraculous period during which the things we ate seemed to grow only more plentiful, more secure, more nutritious, and simply better. " 46． In the second half of the 20th century, world output of corn, wheat and cereal crops more than tripleD、Yet there is not enough to feed the rich, the aspirational and the poor in the worlD、A、golden age has been transformed quite suddenly into a global crisis.
Mr Roberts insists that modern agribusiness is unsustainable and becoming more so. "Precisely at the moment in history when we need to shift our system of food production into overdrive, our agricultural engine is breaking down," he says. The industry has taken cheap oil for granteD、Oil fuels transportation and farm machinery, and natural gas is the basis of synthetic nitrogen production ( prices have tripled since 2002).Agriculture accounts for three- quarters of freshwater use, and water is becoming an increasingly scarce and expensive resource.Climate change makes some old assumptions about farming redundant. 47．A、combination of these factors, he says, will ultimately force a complete rethinking of the way we make fooD、
For years government subsidies held down grain prices, making food cheaper. 48．Water was also plentiful-it takes 1,000 tonnes of water to produce a tonne of grain-and an ingenious process known as Haber-Bosch makes synthetic nitrogen fertiliser easily available to grain farmers. Ruthless price-cutting at supermarkets means consumers have grown accustomed to eating too much. (In the late 19th century,Europeans already thoughtAmericans ate three or four times more than was necessary. ) The most damaging consequence is that by 2000 31% ofAmerican adults were obese, with another 16% defined as overweight.American airlines spend $ 275 million a year more on fuel simply to lift the heavier passengers. Mr Roberts claims that every year obesity causes 400,000 premature deaths inAmericA、Food has become as deadly as tobacco.
A、fruitful start would be to halve the size of portions in allAmerican restaurants, but most consumers are reluctant rethinkers. 49．Eating organic product could be a partial solution, although one study suggests that the cost of avoiding intensive farm chemicals would mean a 31% increase in food prices. Government scientists believe that genetically modified crops might be the only way out of the crisis, but a majority of consumers are reluctant to listen.
Is there a model for the future 50．Fashionably, Mr. Roberts believes that a local system based on easily obtainable seasonal foods that do not need to be transported huge distances would form part of a solution. The economics and greenery of this are far from proven. Mr Roberts can find only one country that has made "serious efforts" in this direction:Cuba, hardly a comforting example. The coming food crisis, warns the author, is as intractable as global warming, and no less urgent.

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试题答案：20世纪下半叶，世界玉米、小麦以及谷物产量增长三倍多，可是仍不足以养活全世界人民，包括富人、穷人以及那些正努力朝着中产阶级奋斗的人们。黄金时代突然演变成了全球性危机。 答案解析：[分析] mote than在这里做副词。aspiration是指渴望，热切希望，那么句中包含在rich和poor之间，the aspirational则可以译为朝着中产阶级奋斗的人们。the poor译为穷苦的人。 document.getElementById("warp").style.display="none"; document.getElementById("content").style.display="block"; 查看试题解析出处>>