
Part I Listening Task
Script for the recording:
Are you curious to know what can turn a young boy into a vegetarian? Listen to what James, an 11-year-old, has to say.
I decided to become a vegetarian when I was in first grade, after something happened to open my eyes. My teacher had brought two adorable turkeys to school for us to play with. Every day, when we were dismissed for recess, I would go to Mr. and Mrs. Turkey. It was the best part of my day.
Thanksgiving came and went. The first day back for school, I ran to go see the turkeys, but both of them were gone. I was terrified! I went up to my teacher and asked her what had happened to the turkeys. She said that she had killed them and eaten them for Thanksgiving dinner! I was horrified to think of those sweet creatures being nothing more than someone's meal.
That's how I became a vegetarian. From that day on, I decided not to eat meat ever again. I am the only vegetarian in my family, which is tough sometimes. My mom says I have a lot of willpower because she tried becoming a vegetarian but couldn't. She did not have the same experience I had because she did not know Mrs. & Mr. Turkey. I think it is harsh to kill animals and then eat them. I know that some animals are raised to be killed and eaten but it is just not right in my opinion. I know that this might sound a bit ridiculous, but I think that if we are able to eat animals then animals should be able to eat us too. Most kids my age don't agree with me but I plan to stick with my beliefs and stay a vegetarian for life.
After Listening
1.When James was in first grade, his teacher brought two adorable turkeys to school for the children to play with.
2.The first day back for school after Thanksgiving, James was terrified to see that both of the turkeys were gone. He went up to his teacher and found out that the sweet creatures had been reduced to nothing more than someone’s meal.
3.From that day on, he decided not to eat meat ever again.
4.James thinks it is harsh to kill animals and then eat them. Most children his age don’t agree with him but he plans to stick with his beliefs and stay a vegetarian for life.
Part II Reading Task
Text A
Comprehension
Possible answers to content questions:
1.They have chosen to not eat meat.
2.Vegetarian food sales are showing unparalleled growth. Especially popular are meat-free burgers and hot dogs, and the plant-based cuisines of India, China, Mexico, Italy and Japan.
3.The basic truth that medical research has uncovered is that plant foods lower your risk of chronic disease; animal foods increase it.
4.The nutritional drawbacks of animal foods are: they are devoid of fiber, contain far too much saturated fat and cholesterol, and may even carry traces of hormones, steroids and antibiotics.
5.Animal foods are also unsafe in that they are the breeding grounds for E. coli, campylobacter and other bacteria that cause illness. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, six out of ten chickens are infected with salmonella.
6.Governments have unfortunately bowed to pressure from powerful lobby groups such as the Beef Information Center, the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency and the Dairy Farmers of Canada. The exertion of pressure by these groups should come as no surprise: Even a minor reduction in recommended intakes of animal protein could cost these industries billions of dollars a year.
7.The author says so because vast resources are required to raise, feed, shelter, transport, process and package farm animals slaughtered each year. Water and energy are used at every step of the way.
8.John Robbins suggested that we eat lower on the food chain. And that, according to him, is perhaps the most potent single act we can take to halt the destruction of our environment and preserve our natural resources.
9.What he saw at the country’s largest “processing” plants shocked him drastically. He watched "stubborn" cows being beaten and squealing pigs chased around the killing floor with electric calipers. He saw a cow which had missed the stun gun was hoisted fully conscious upside down by its hind leg and cut to pieces, thrashing until its last breath.
10.Because animal welfare always comes second to profit. It can cost hundreds of dollars per minute to stop the conveyor line.
11.Animals' living conditions on most of today's modernized farms are miserable. Most of today's modernized farms have long, windowless sheds in which animals live like prisoners their entire lives. Few of the animals ever experience sunlight or fresh air—and most of their natural urges are denied.
12.A vegetarian diet not only affects the quality of our lives, but the rest of the living world. We hold in our knives and forks the power to change this world. In Albert Einstein’s words, a vegetarian diet will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth.
Text Analysis
1.
| Parts | Paragraphs | Main Ideas |
| Part One | Paras 1-4 | Many people are now shifting away from meat. |
| Part Two | Paras 5-29 | There are various reasons for choosing a vegetarian lifestyle. |
| Part Three | Paras 30-32 | The author urges his readers to decide on a vegetarian diet for the benefit of all concerned. |
3.
| Causes | Effect | |
| 1 | To raise, feed ... animals consumes large quantities of resources. | Animal-based agriculture is one of the most environmentally destructive industries on the face of the Earth. |
| 2 | To graze and grow food for animals takes up vast agricultural land | |
| 3 | Animal waste pollutes wells, rivers, etc. | |
| 4 | Livestock produces 20 percent of the world's methane. |
Language Sense Enhancement
1.
| (1) vegetarian | (2) environmentally destructive |
| (3) process | (4) slaughtered |
| (5) grain | (6) grazing |
| (7) fuel | (8) heightens |
| (9) shift away from | (10) converted |
I. 1.
| 1) appetite | 2) destructive |
| 3) agency | 4) processed |
| 5) saturated | 6) utter |
| 7) hoisted | 8) referring to |
| 9) retrieve | 10) Unfortunately |
1)Peter was chasing the dog and Tom was riding the wooden horse in the garden.
2)They all looked on except one young man. He took her to the hospital instantly.
3)I laid charges against the company and won the case.
4)If we want to stay competitive, first of all we need to modernize our factory.
5)They got irrigation water from the dammed rivers.
3.
1)Except in the oases the desert is almost devoid of vegetation, although some stunted, thorny shrubs grow in the western Sahara.
2)The fruits growing wild in the coastal forest are edible.
3)The national security agency made recommendations for improving safety standards in airplanes / to improve safety standards in airplanes.
4)The Beatles enjoyed success on a scale unparalleled by any previous pop group.
5)The emergence of language was a defining factor in the evolution of modern humans.
4.
1)Excluding other factors such as quality and price, products which are attractively packaged are bound to attract more consumers, particularly children and young people. Packaging has become an important way to boost / of boosting the sales of products.
2)In the eyes of some businessmen, consumers' health comes second to profits. They sell chicken infected with salmonella and crabs with traces of antibiotics.
3)It can be hard to go vegetarian. The important thing is to make changes you feel comfortable with, at your own pace. While stopping consuming any products for which animals are bred and slaughtered may be ideal, even a slight reduction in meat consumption is a step in the right direction.
5.
| 1) get over | 2) got to |
| 3) get through | 4) get over |
| 5) get by | 6) get away |
| 7) got in | 8) get …out |
| 9) get along | 10) get away with |
1.I asked her why she didn't make use of her talent and sing a pop song on the graduation day.
2.Uncle Tom, the long-suffering slave in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, died a miserable death.
3.We still have to learn how to live a harmonious life, not only with other people but also with the environment.
4.Breathing a deep breath, he ran up to take the penalty kick.
5.I dreamed a bad dream last night in which I was running through the forest, and being chased by a bear.
6.My friend smiled a bitter smile when I asked her whether she'd found all the money she'd lost.
7.Black people have a hard fight to fight before they win real equality.
8.People with mood disorders often sleep a troubled sleep. They toss and turn, restlessly occupied with negative thoughts.
Comprehensive Exercises
I. Cloze
1. Text-related
| (1) exclude | (2) stubborn |
| (3) devoid of | (4) bow to |
| (5) potent | (6) drawbacks |
| (7) contaminating | (8) heightened |
| (9) infected | (10) come second to |
| (1) consumption | (2) between |
| (3) packed | (4) evident |
| (5) population | (6) encouraging |
| (7) grave | (8) against |
| (9) criticize | (10) itself |
Study after study has uncovered the fact that there is a close correlation between food and a number of chronic diseases. For example, a decreased risk of certain chronic diseases is associated with an increased consumption of plant-based foods. Therefore, in the past decade, the American Dietetic Association has urged Americans to reduce their intake of animal fats, and to boost consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture has released a document containing the food guide pyramid, which encourages a minimum of three vegetable and two fruit servings per day. However, many Americans still don’t meet / listen to these recommendations.
Part III Home Reading Task
Text B
Comprehension Check
| 1. a | 2. c |
| 3. b | 4. c |
| 5. d | 6. b |
除了某些宗教派别,很少有人自愿吃素。素食主义往往是贫穷的不幸产物。然而,那伙吃素的还说什么“人类并非天生的肉食者”。相比那些猫科动物及其他纯食肉动物,我们的牙齿不够锋利,我们的肠道又过长。但人类也并非理想的食草动物。如同其他杂食动物(如熊和浣熊)一样,我们的消化系统可以应付多种多样的食物。
Language Practice
1.
| 1) e | 2) g |
| 3) f | 4) h |
| 5) a | 6) b |
| 7) c | 8) d |
| 1) see…through | 2) readily |
| 3) imported | 4) with the exception of |
| 5) suffice it to say that | 6) hygiene |
| 7) harmful | 8) Strip away |
| 9) fallacy | 10) cycle |
| 11) surpluses | 12) made a mess of |
Model paper
What Does Diet Have to Do with the Environment?
Just what effect diet has on the environment is a matter of some contention. Vegetarians claim that meat eating is harmful to the environment for a number of reasons. They argue that raising animals is wasteful in terms of resources, requiring far more energy and land than is required for producing grain and other basics of a vegetarian diet. Far better, they suggest, to use land to raise crops that can be fed to people directly than to use so much land, as at present, to raise livestock. In addition, there is the problem of pollution posed by disposing of animal wastes.
Meat eaters tend to reject such arguments. They point out that much of the world's arable land is unsuitable for cultivation and is best suited to use as pasture. Animals can also use up damaged crops and crop residues left over from producing human food. Arguments about the amount of energy needed to raise animals are dismissed because they give insufficient attention to the greater food energy provided by meat. As for manure, this is seen as a positive benefit that should be ploughed back into the soil to increase fertility rather than relying so heavily on chemical fertilizers.
(201 words)
