英语听力精选进阶版 6372

Successful businesses adopt the philosophy that the customer is always right and McDonald's, famous for serving hamburgers, hasn't ignored that. So much so that it is opening, next year, its first totally vegetarian¹ restaurant in India.

About 40% of households in the country are vegetarian, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, and the company, the world's second biggest food outlet², wants to beef up its operation.

''We just have 271 restaurants in India and across the world we have nearly 33,000'', said Rajesh Kumar Maini, a spokesman for the fast food chain in northern India.

Hindus see cows as sacred and abstain³ from eating beef, while Muslims view pigs as unclean and avoid pork. Since it decided⁴ to enter the market, McDonald's has tried not to risk ending up with egg on its face. The chain's Indian menu has some meat-free dishes and some that include chicken.

Vegetarianism⁵ has been around for centuries. According to the Vegetarian Society in Britain, the Greek philosopher and mathematician⁶ Pythagoras favoured the practice due to concerns about cruelty to animals. He also thought it could be a healthier lifestyle as it prevented men from being violent. Nowadays, the pressure on natural resources from rearing animals has been turning environmentally-conscious people into veggies.

Some people are even stricter about eating animal products than vegetarians⁷. They are known as vegans and they do not eat dairy products and eggs either.

But some experts frown upon the idea of a meat-free diet. Dr Elizabeth Weichselbaum, a nutritional⁸ scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, says meat is an important source of a number of nutrients⁹ in our diet, including high quality protein, iron, zinc¹⁰, selenium, vitamin D and some B vitamins.

"It can make an important contribution to a healthy and balanced diet. Meat and other protein sources, including eggs, beans and nuts, should be eaten in moderate amounts."

Quiz 测验

Why has McDonald's decided to offer meat-free dishes in India?

Because about 40% of the households in India are vegetarian.

According to the article, which group of people abstains¹¹ from eating pigs?

Muslims, because they consider pigs unclean.

Is the following statement true, false or not given? Some people, concerned about the over use of natural resources, have decided to become vegetarian.

True.

What expressions in the article include the name of a type of food but have a meaning that's nothing to do with food?

'To beef up' and 'with egg on its face'.

What phrasal verb used in the article means to disapprove¹² of something?

To frown upon (something).

Glossary 词汇表

the customer is always right 顾客永远是对的

vegetarian 素食的

household 家庭，人家

outlet 销售点

to beef up 加强

fast food 快餐

with egg on (someone's) face （比喻）非常难堪，丢脸

meat-free dish 无肉的菜肴

vegetarianism 素食主义

to favour 赞同，倾向于

lifestyle 生活方式

to rear animals 饲养动物

veggie （俚语）素食主义者

vegan 绝对素食主义者

dairy 奶制品

to frown upon 不赞同

nutritional 营养

protein 蛋白质

iron 铁

zinc 锌

selenium 硒

balanced diet 均衡的饮食

1 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

2 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

3 abstain   

v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免

参考例句：

• His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。
• Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 vegetarianism   

n.素食，素食主义

参考例句：

• More and more people are believing in vegetarianism and diet for health. 而今越来越多的人们相信素食和节食有利于身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is an exponent of vegetarianism. 她是一个素食主义的倡导者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

7 vegetarians   

n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 )；素食者；素食主义者；食草动物

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。

8 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

9 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

11 abstains   

戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的第三人称单数 )； 弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• She eats only vegetables and abstains from eating meat. 她光吃青菜，不吃肉。
• He abstains from smoking for his heavy cough recently. 他近来咳嗽地非常厉害，于是他把烟戒了。

12 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。