核心词汇 (Target Vocabulary)

学习 3A 核心词汇，点击语音按钮可听纯正美音发音，掌握核心释义与例句用法。

compulsory [kəmˈpʌlsəri] adj.
Required by law or a rule; mandatory.
强制的；必修的
"Although officials couldn't order a compulsory recall, stores voluntarily removed peanut products from their shelves."
confine [kənˈfaɪn] v.
To keep someone or something within limits; to restrict.
限制；局限于
"A captive is someone who has been captured by an enemy and is kept in a confined place."
contaminate [kənˈtæmɪneɪt] v.
To make something less pure or make it poisonous by adding chemicals or bacteria.
污染；弄脏
"When a food animal containing dangerous bacteria is cut open, bacteria inside can contaminate the meat."
determine [dɪˈtɜːmɪn] v.
To discover the facts or truth about something; to find out.
查明；确定
"Authorities determined that the cause of the salmonella outbreak was peanut products."
digestion [daɪˈdʒestʃən] n.
The body's process of breaking down food into nutrients.
消化；消化过程
"Most foodborne bacteria are destroyed by stomach acids during normal human digestion."
feasible [ˈfiːzəbl] adj.
Able to be made, done, or achieved easily or conveniently; practicable.
行得通的；可行的
"Health researchers examined whether nationwide testing of all poultry was economically feasible."
infect [ɪnˈfekt] v.
To pass a disease to a person, animal, or plant by pathogens.
感染；传染
"Over 700 people nationwide suffered infection from the contaminated peanut paste."
integral [ˈɪntɪɡrəl] adj.
Necessary and important as a part of a whole; essential.
不可或缺的；构成整体所必需的
"Peanuts are an integral ingredient of health bars, cookies, and thousands of processed foods."
nationwide [ˌneɪʃnˈwaɪd] adj./adv.
Happening or existing in all parts of a country.
全国性的；在全国范围内
"The Centers for Disease Control tracked a nationwide spike in foodborne gastrointestinal illnesses."
optimistic [ˌɒptɪˈmɪstɪk] adj.
Hoping or believing that good things will happen in the future.
乐观的；抱有希望的
"Food safety inspectors remain optimistic that new molecular tracking systems will halt future outbreaks."
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How Safe Is Our Food?

我们的食物安全吗？全球食源性细菌危机与检测前沿

Paragraph A
The everyday activity of eating involves more risk than you might think. It is estimated that each year in the United States, 48 million people suffer from foodborne diseases. 128,000 of them are hospitalized and 3,000 die. In the developing world, contaminated food and water kill over half a million children a year. In most cases, virulent types of bacteria are to blame. Bacteria are an integral part of a healthy life. There are 200 times as many bacteria in the intestines of a single human as there are human beings who have ever lived. Most of these bacteria help with digestion, making vitamins, shaping the immune system and keeping us healthy. Nearly all raw food has bacteria in it as well.
Paragraph B
But the bacteria that produce foodborne illnesses are of a different, more dangerous kind. Bad bacteria. Many of the bacteria that produce foodborne illnesses are present in the intestines of the animals we raise for food. When a food animal containing dangerous bacteria is cut open during processing. Bacteria inside can contaminate the meat. Fruts and vegetables can pick up dangerous bacteria if washed or watered with contaminated water. A single bacterium, given the right conditions, divides rapidly enough to produce billions over the course of the day. This means that even only lightly contaminated food can be dangerous. Bacteria can also hide and multiply on dish towels, cutting boards, sinks, knives, and kitchen counters, where they're easily transferred to food or hands.
Paragraph C
Changes in the way in which farm animals are raised also affect the rate at which dangerous bacteria can spread. In the name of efficiency and economy, fish, cattle, and chickens are raised in giant factory farms, which can find large numbers of animals in tight spaces. Cattle, for example, are crowded together under such conditions that if only one animal is contaminated with the virulent bacteria, E. coli, 0157H7, it will likely spread to others. Tracking the source. Disease investigators, like Patricia Griffin, are working to find the sources of these outbreaks and prevent them in the future. Griffin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC in the United States, has worked in the Foodborne Disease Business for 15 years. Periodic E coli outbreaks turned her attention to the public food safety threat that exists in restaurants and in the food production system. Food safety is no longer just a question of handling food properly in the domestic kitchen.
Paragraph D
Now, Griffin says, we are more aware that the responsibility does not rest solely with the cook. We know that contamination often occurs early in the production process, at steps on the way from farm or field or fishing ground to market. Griffin's job is to look for trends in food-related illness through the analysis of outbreaks, her team tries to identify both the food source of an outbreak and the contaminating bacteria. To link cases together, the scientists use a powerful tool called pulse net, a national computer network of health laboratories that matches types of bacteria using DNA analysis. Pulse net allows scientists to associate an illness in California, say, with one in Texas, tying together what might otherwise appear as unrelated cases. Then it's the job of the investigators to determine what went wrong in the food's journey to the table. This helps them decide whether to recall a particular food or to change the process by which it's produced. In January 2000, public health officials in the state of Virginia noted an unusual group of patients sick with food poisoning from Salmanella.
Paragraph E
Using pulse net, the CDC identified 79 patients in 13 states who infected with the same type of Salmanella bacteria. 15 had been hospitalized to her died. What was the common factor? All had eaten mangoes during the previous November and December. The investigation led to a single large mango farm in Brazil, where it was discovered that mangoes were being washed in contaminated water, containing a type of Salmanella bacteria. Salmanella contamination is a widespread problem. Salmanella cases involving contaminated chicken, melons, coconut, and cereals were reported in 2018. The mango outbreak had a larger lesson.
Paragraph F
We no longer eat only food that is in season or that is grown locally. Instead, we demand our strawberries, peaches, mangoes and lettuce year round. As a result, we are depending more and more on imports. Eating food grown elsewhere in the world means depending on the soil, water, and sanitary conditions in those places. And on the way in which their workers farm, harvest, process, and transport the food. Reducing the risk. There are a number of success stories that provide hope, and show us how international food production need not mean increased risk of contamination. Costa Rica has made sanitary production of fruits and vegetables a nationwide priority.
Paragraph G
Fresh fruits and vegetables are packed carefully in sanitary conditions. Frequent hand washing is compulsory and proper toilets are provided for workers in the fields. Such changes have made Carmella Velasquez a food scientist from the University of Costa Rica, optimistic about the future. The farmers we've trained, she says, will become models for all our growers. In Sweden, too, progress has been made in reducing the number of food-borne disease at an early stage. Swedish chicken farmers have eliminated Salmonella from their farms by thoroughly cleaning the area where the chickens are kept, and by using chicken feed that has been heated to rid it of dangerous bacteria. Consequently, the chickens that Swedes buy are now Salmonella free. These successes suggest that it is indeed feasible for companies and farms to produce safe and sanitary food while still making a profit.

课文原版配套练习 (Reading Exercises)

严格对应教材 Page 44–49 官方练习：Before You Read、Reading Comprehension 及 Cause & Effect 技能。

1.
Definitions (p.44) clean and not dangerous for your health
2.
Definitions (p.44) very small organisms that can cause disease
3.
Definitions (p.44) parts and processes of the body that fight illness
4.
Definitions (p.44) carried into our bodies through the things we eat
5.
Gist (p.48) What is the reading mainly about?
6.
Detail (p.48) Why is even a single disease-causing bacterium dangerous?
7.
Purpose (Para F, p.48) What is PulseNet used for?
8.
Detail (Para H, p.48) According to the passage, why are people eating more imported food now?
9.
Paraphrase (Para I, p.48) What does Carmela Velazquez mean in paragraph I when she says, 'The farmers we've trained will become models for all our growers'?
10.
Evaluating Statements (Para G, p.48) The salmonella outbreak in 2000 first affected people in Virginia.
11.
Evaluating Statements (Para G, p.48) Everyone affected by that outbreak had eaten mangoes in the previous months.
12.
Evaluating Statements (Para G, p.48) The outbreak was investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
13.
Evaluating Statements (Para G, p.48) The salmonella outbreak was caused by farmers not washing their mangoes.
14.
Evaluating Statements (Para G, p.48) Salmonella can contaminate several different kinds of food.
15.
Cause & Effect (p.49) In: 'I didn't go to the doctor because I forgot about the appointment.' — Which part expresses the CAUSE?
16.
Cause & Effect (p.49) In: 'The medicine in our cabinet was old, so we threw it out.' — Which part expresses the CAUSE?
17.
Cause & Effect (p.49) In: 'The reason I didn't go to school was that I had a stomachache.' — Which part expresses the CAUSE?
18.
Cause & Effect (p.49) In: 'Due to new health guidelines, all food will be removed from the staff fridge on weekends.' — Which part expresses the CAUSE?
19.
Cause & Effect (p.49) In: 'Investigators believe improper hand washing caused the disease outbreak at the school.' — Which part expresses the CAUSE?
20.
Matching Causes & Effects (Para C, p.49) Cause: Cutting open a food animal during processing — Effect?
21.
Matching Causes & Effects (Para D, p.49) Cause: The use of 'factory' farms — Effect?
22.
Matching Causes & Effects (Para G, p.49) Cause: A salmonella outbreak linked to mangoes — Effect?
23.
Matching Causes & Effects (Para H, p.49) Cause: All-year demand for fresh fruits and vegetables — Effect?
24.
Matching Causes & Effects (Para I & J, p.49) Cause: Improving sanitary conditions on farms — Effect?

Critical Thinking · Analyzing Solutions
How have Costa Rica and Sweden reduced the occurrence of foodborne diseases? Complete these notes with information from the reading passage:
• Costa Rica: focus on safer farming of fruits and vegetables (sanitary training for growers).
• Sweden: focus on safer farming of chickens (strict testing and eradication of salmonella).
What might be some of the challenges of each approach?