英语听力精选进阶版 6314

Can you imagine what 680,000 tonnes of food looks like? That's the amount wasted in Britain each year, and at the top of the list of wasted foods is... bread.

One of the staples¹ in the British diet, bread is toasted for breakfast, used for sandwiches for lunch and dipped in soups at dinner. Almost everyone in Britain buys bread – from people in the upper crust of society to regular breadwinners who don't have much dough².

Bread is so important to Brits that we use the slang³ word 'bread' to mean 'money' and the word 'loaf' to mean 'head'. So let's use our loaves to understand why so much bread is wasted!

Even though bread is still selling like hot cakes, the packets are opened but not finished. We often say that half a loaf is still better than none, but it seems people are simply buying much more than they need.

Baker⁴ Chris Young suggests that the British aren't using every last crumb⁵ because bread is no longer respected: "None of the bread that is thrown away is 'real' bread, homemade or artisan bread."

Eco-campaigner Mark Boyle agrees. "If you make something yourself (…) you don't waste that bread because you know how much energy you've put into it." But although home baking is a nice idea, for many it's biting off more than they can chew. People work such long hours to put bread on the table and simply don't have the time.

Perhaps we British should just invest a little more of our hard-earned bread in buying better loaves. These would make our diet healthier and our bins⁷ lighter⁸: healthy, artisan loaves might just be the best thing since sliced bread.

Quiz 测验

Is this statement true, false or not given? 680,000 tonnes of bread are wasted every year in Britain.

False: 680,000 tonnes of food is wasted. The food we waste most is bread, which amounts to nearly a third of this total.

What kind of people buy bread in Britain?

Everyone buys bread in Britain: both people from the upper crust of society (who have a lot of money) and people who don't have much 'bread' or 'dough'.

Which English slang words related to bread does the article mention?

The article mentions 'bread' and 'dough', which are used to mean 'money', and 'loaf' which also means 'head'.

Which expression in the article refers to doing something that is too difficult?

The expression 'to bite off more than one can chew' means to try to do something that is too difficult. In the article, this means that for Brits baking at home might be too ambitious⁹ since people do not have enough time.

Find a phrasal verb that means 'to bin⁶' in the article.

To 'throw away' also means to put something in the bin.

Glossary 词汇表

a staple 主食

the upper crust 上等阶层 

breadwinner 家里主要挣钱的人

dough 面，此处的意思是钱

loaf 一条（面包），也可以指人的头

to sell like hot cakes 热销

half a loaf is still better than none （成语）半块面包总比没有好

every last crumb （短语）剩余的一点点

artisan 精工细作的

eco-campaigner 环保活动人士

baking 烤（面包）

to bite off more than one can chew 贪多嚼不烂

to put bread on the table （成语）拿回家

the best thing since sliced bread （常用成语）精彩的/很棒

1 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

2 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

3 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

4 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

5 crumb   

n.饼屑，面包屑，小量

参考例句：

• It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
• Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。

6 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

7 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

8 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

9 ambitious   

adj.有雄心的，劲头十足的，有野心的

参考例句：

• One may be poor but never ceases to be ambitious.人穷志不穷。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。