Famous American Foods
What, besides children, connects mothers around the world and across the seas of time? It's chicken soup, one prominent American food expert says.
From Russian villages to Africa and Asia, chicken soup has been the remedy for those weak in body and spirit. Mothers passed their knowledge on to ancient writers of Greece, China and Rome, and even 12th century philosopher and physician Moses Maimonides extolled (赞美)its virtues.
Among the ancients, Aristotle thought poultry should stand in higher estimation than four-legged animals because the air is less dense than the earth. Chickens got another boost (吹捧)in the Book of Genesis, where it is written that birds and fish were created on the fifth day, a day before four-legged animals.
But according to Mimi Sheraton, who has spent much of the past three years exploring the world of chicken soup, much of the reason for chicken's real or imagined curative (治愈的)powers comes from its color.
Her new book, "The Whole World Loves Chicken Soup", looks at the beloved and mysterious brew, with dozens of recipes from around the world. Throughout the ages, she said, "There has been a lot of feeling that white-colored foods are easier to eat for the weak woman and the ill".
In addition, "soups, or anything for that matter eaten with a spoon" are considered "comfort foods" Sheraton said. "I love soup and love making soup and as I was collecting recipes I began to see this as an international dish. It has a universal mystique as something curative, a strength builder," Sheraton said from her New York home.
Her book treats the oldest remedy as if it was brand new.
The National Broiler Council, the trade group representing the chicken industry, reported that 51 percent of the people it surveyed said they bought chicken because it was healthier, 50 percent said it was versatile, 41 percent said it was economical and 46 percent said it was low in fat.
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage? ______
A. Prominent American Foods
B. History of the Chicken Soup
Chicken Soup Recipes
D. Chicken Soup, a Universal Cure-All
Whether Is Reintroduction of the Death Penalty Necessary?
In the USA, 85% of the population over the age of 21 approve of the death penalty. In the many states which still have the death penalty, some use the electric chair, which can take up 20 minutes to kill, while others use gas or lethal injection.
The first of these was the case of Ruth Ellis who was hanged for shooting her lover in what was generally regarded as a crime passion. The second was hanged for murders which, it was later proved, had been committed by someone else.
The pro-hanging lobby (赞成极刑的活动集团) uses four main arguments to support its call for the reintroduction of capital punishment. First there is the deterrence theory, which argues that potential murders would think twice before committing the act if they knew that they might die if they were caught. The armed bank robber might, likewise, go back to being unarmed.
The other two arguments are more suspect. The idea of retribution demands that criminals should get what they deserve: if a murderer intentionally set out to commit a crime, he should accept the consequences. Retribution, which is just another word for revenge, is supported by the religious doctrine of an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth.
The arguments against the death penalty are largely humanitarian (人道主义的). But there are also statistical reasons for opposing it: the deterrence figures do not add up. In Britain, 1903 was the record year for execution and yet in 1904 the number of murders actually rose. There was a similar occurrence in 1946 and 1947. If the deterrence theory were correct, the rate should have fallen.
The other reasons to oppose the death penalty are largely a matter of individual conscience and belief. One is that murder is murder and that the state has no more right to take a life than the individual. The other is that Christianity advises forgiveness, not revenge.
All of the following death penalty methods are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT______.
A. the electric chair
B. the lethal injection
C. the poisonous gas
D. the shooting
The nocturnal habits and mournful cries of owls have made them objects of superstition for
A. strange
B. secret
C. frightful
D. sorrowful
According to the first four paragraphs, which of the following statements is NOT correct?
A. Ruth Ellis was shot by his lover, which was regarded as a crime of passion.
B. The death penalty may help the potential murderers to arouse moral awareness.
C. The intentional murderer should eat his own hitter fruit.
D. According to the religious doctrine, punishment should be as severe as the injury suffered.