问答题

44. The Single long a stock figure in stories, songs and personal ads. was traditionally someone at the margins of society: a figure of fun, pity or awe. In the place of withered spinsters and bachelors are people like Elizabeth de Kergorlay, a 29-year-old Parisian banker who views her independence and her own apartment as the spoils of professional success.
As the sages would say, we are all ultimately alone. But an increasing number of Europeans are choosing to be so at an ever earlier age. 45. This isn’t the stuff of gloomy philosophical meditations, but a fact of Europe’s new economic landscape, embraced by demographers, real-estate developers and ad executives alike. 46. The shift away from family life to solo lifestyles, observes French sociologist, Jean-Claude Kaufmanns, is part of the "irresistible momentum of individualism" over the last century. 47. The communications revolution, the shift from a business culture of stability to one of mobility and the mass entry of women into the workforce have wreaked havoc on Europeans’ private lives. More and more of them are remaining on their own: they’re living longer, divorcing more and marrying later—if at all. British marriage rates are the lowest in 160 years of records. INSEE, France’s National Institute of Statistics, reports that the number of French people living alone doubled between 1968 and 1990.
Europe’s new economic climate has largely fostered the trend toward independence. 48. The current generation of home-aloners came of age during Europe’s shift from social democracy to the sharper, more individualistic climate of American-style capitalism. Raised in an era of privatization and increased consumer choice, today’s tech-savvy workers have embraced a free market in love as well as economics. Modern Europeans are rich enough to afford to live alone, and temperamentally independent enough to want to do so. A recent poll by the Institute Francois Dominion Publique, the French affiliate of the Gallup poll, found that 58 percent of French respondents viewed living alone as a choice, not an obligation. Other European singles agree. "I’ve always wanted to be free to go on adventures," says Iris Expender, who lives by herself in Berlin.

【参考答案】

现在的独身一代出现于欧洲从社会民主主义向更激进更具个人主义思潮的美国式资本主义转变的过渡时期。成长于私有化和消费选择日益......

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Fermented foods are free of contamination.
A method to eliminate pathogenic (致病的) bacteria and inhibit their growth during storage of weaning preparations can benefit nutrition and health in young children considerably. Use of fermented foods for feeding children of weaning age appears to be an effective solution. Fermented foods have lower levels of diarrhoeal germ contamination, they are suitable for child feeding, and can be safely stored for much longer periods of time than fresh foods. The practice has been a traditional way of food preservation in many parts of the world. The anti-microbial properties of fermented foods and their relative higher safety—documented since the early 1900’s—have been indicated in a number of studies.
In Ghana, it is common to ferment maize dough before cooking it as porridge. In Kenya, cereal-based porridge and milk are traditionally fermented. Preserving milk in the form of yogurt has been known to many households living in hot climate.
What are the underlying mechanisms by which fermentation processes help to prevent or reduce contamination A possible answer suggests that during the fermentation process foods become more acid. This explains why diarrhea-causing bacteria are not able to grow in fermented foods as rapidly as in unfermented ones. It is also hypothesized that some of the germs present in the foods are killed or inhibited from growing through the action of antimicrobial substances produced during fermentation. The fermented foods can, therefore, be kept for a longer time compared to fresh ones. It has been shown that while contamination levels in cooked unfermented foods increase with storage time, fermented foods remain less contaminated.
Whatever the underlying mechanisms, the fact is that the exercise reduces contamination without adding to the household cost both in terms of time and money. Its preparation is easy. The cereal flour is mixed with water to form a dough which is left to be fermented; addition of yeast (酵母), or mixing with a small portion of previously fermented dough is sometimes needed. The dough can then be cooked into porridge for feeding to the child.Although beneficial, unfortunately the practice is going out of fashion, partly because of current emphasis on the use of fresh foods, particularly for children. For example, a study on the use of fermented foods for young children in Kenya, demonstrated that while foods are still frequently fermented at home for child feeding, their use is becoming less popular, particularly in urban area where commercial products are more available. Clearly they now need to be promoted.
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The statements below relate to the passage you have just read. Identify whether they are TRUE or FALSE and mark the corresponding letter (T for True and F for False) on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.