考研英语水平的进步，不仅要记单词，还需要阅读外语文献等资料。接下来，小编为2024考研者们，整理出——2024考研英语同源外刊:过保质期食物一定不能吃吗?供考生参考。
2024考研英语同源外刊:过保质期食物一定不能吃吗?
If on digging through your fridge you find food stamped with a phrase such as “Enjoy by,” “Best before,” “Expires on” or “Sell by” followed by a date that has passed, you might think it’s time to throw it away. In reality, those dates are mostly arbitrary, largely unregulated and often unrelated to food safety. They’re also responsible for a huge share of the food waste that Californians and other Americans generate every year. That could change under legislation being considered in Sacramento.
如果你翻翻冰箱，发现食品包装上贴着“赏味期”，“较佳食用期”，“保质期”，“售卖截止期”等字样，发现上面的时间已经过期了，你可能会认为是时候扔掉它了。实际上，商品上的这些日期大多很随意(本文指美国)，基本上不受监管，而且往往与食品安全无关。这件事情也造成了加州和其他美国人每年大量的食物浪费。在萨克拉门托正在考虑的立法的监管下，这种情况可能会改变。
It’s not surprising that consumers are confused by the current state of affairs. More than 50 phrases suggesting expiration have been documented on food labels in the United States. Only a few of these printed dates actually mean the food is no longer safe to eat. Others, such as “Sell by” dates, are meant only to help stores decide when to rotate their stock. The U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that most food is safe even after such dates unless “spoilage is evident.”
消费者对目前的这种情况感到困惑并不奇怪。全美国，意为过期的短语有50多个。印有日期的食物中，只有一少部分意味着这些食物真的过了安全保质期。还有一些标语，比如“售卖截止期”，只是为了帮商店决定轮换库存的时间。美国农业部指出，大多数食品除非“明显变质”，即使过了保质期也是安全的。
Given the lack of clarity about what these dates mean, many consumers employ a “when in doubt, throw it out” strategy. An estimated 20% of household food waste can be attributed to food tossed out because it “expired.” The USDA estimates that more than a third of the American food supply is wasted — more than enough to feed all the country’s hungry and food-insecure — and 43% of this garbage is generated at the household level. This suggests that the average American consumer spends around $1.300 a year on food that is ultimately thrown away.
由于这些日期的含义不明确，许多消费者采用“一有疑问就扔掉”的策略。估计20%的家庭食物浪费是由于食物“过期”被丢弃造成的。美国农业部估计，美国的食物供应中有超三分之一的部分被浪费了(这足以满足全国所有挨饿以及难以保障食品安全的人食用)其中43%的食品垃圾是由家庭产生的。这表明，美国消费者平均每年扔掉食物的成本约为1300美元。
All of this waste costs us in other ways as well. Food disposed in landfills emits methane as it decomposes. As a greenhouse gas that promotes global warming, methane is 86 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short term. Reducing food waste and the resulting methane emissions is therefore most individuals’ single most effective means of fighting climate change.
这一切浪费在其他方面也让我们付出了代价。被扔在垃圾填埋场中的食物在分解时会释放出甲烷。作为一种导致全球变暖的温室气体，甲烷短期内产生的温室效应是二氧化碳的86倍。因此，减少食物浪费和由此产生的甲烷排放是大多数人对抗气候变化的仅有的较有效的手段。
When we waste food, moreover, we have to buy more. Meeting the consequent demand also generates greenhouse emissions, further exacerbating our climate problems. Legislation by state Assembly member Jacqui Irwin would address this by mandating clearer food date labeling. Assembly Bill 660 would require food sold in California to use one of only two types of standardized labels: “BEST if Used by” or “BEST if Used or Frozen by” would indicate that products will decline in quality or freshness past the date on the label; “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze by” would indicate that a product’s safety risks can increase after that date.
而且，我们浪费了食物，就必须买更多的食物。满足了因此产生的需求也会产生温室气体排放，进一步加剧我们的气候问题。州议会成员杰基·欧文的立法将通过强制规定更清晰的食品日期标签来解决这个问题。
词汇:
1.rotate
英/ rəʊˈteɪt /美/ ˈroʊteɪt /
v.(使)旋转，(使)转动;(人员)轮换，轮值;轮种，轮作;定期调换地点(或位置)
adj.(植) 辐状的
2.spoilage
英/ ˈspɔɪlɪdʒ /美/ ˈspɔɪlɪdʒ /
n.损坏，糟蹋;掠夺;损坏物
3.landfill
英/ ˈlændfɪl /美/ ˈlændfɪl /
n.废物填埋，垃圾填埋;废物填埋场，垃圾填埋地;填埋的废弃物;填埋的废弃物
v.把…埋在垃圾填埋场
4.exacerbate
英 [ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt] 美 [ɪɡˈzæsərbeɪt]
v. 使恶化，使加剧
5.methane
英 [ˈmiːθeɪn] 美 [ˈmeθeɪn]
n. 甲烷，沼气
6.assembly
英 [əˈsembli] 美 [əˈsembli]
n. 议会，代表大会;集会，集会者;装配，组装;(计算机)汇编
7.decompose
英 [ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊz] 美 [ˌdiːkəmˈpoʊz]
v. (使)腐烂，腐败;(使)分解;(数)分解
8.expiration
英 [ˌekspəˈreɪʃ(ə)n] 美 [ˌekspəˈreɪʃ(ə)n]
n. 到期，(一段时间的)结束;呼气，吐气
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