Question

If you bought some candy months ago but never ate it, how can you tell whether it’s still eatable? The easiest way is to check the “expiration date (保质期)” printed on the wrapper. If that date has already passed, you’re likely to throw the candy away. But is that really necessary?

According to a new report from the US Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), tons of food is wasted each year, largely because people don’t fully understand what expiration dates, or “use-by dates”, actually mean.

Food dating was introduced in 1970s because customers wanted more information about the things that they were eating. When they first showed up, use-by dates only showed freshness because producers wanted their products to be tasted in their best conditions.

However, most customers mistakenly believed that use-by dates showed how safe the food was, and they still largely do. But the truth is that these dates aren’t related to the danger of food poisoning(中毒), according to Time News. Eggs, for example, can still be eaten three to five weeks after being bought, even though the use-by date is much earlier. When their use-by dates pass, strawberry-flavored cookies may lose their crunch（松脆的口感）, but they are not harmful.

“It’s an unclear subject, the difference between food quality(质量) and food safety,” said Jena Roberts, vice president of National Food Lab, a US food testing company. “Even in the food industry has workmates who are not sure about it.”

This is why scientists are calling for a standard explanation to be printed following the use-by dates. “We want this to be clearly communicated so customers are not misinterpreting the information and wasting a lot of food,” said Dana Gunders, a staff scientist with the NRDC.

But this won’t be a mistake that is easy to correct since people have believed it for so long. Another problem is that the quality levels of different foods change differently-some are still eatable long after their use-by date while others are not.

As a result, food industry officials are now thinking of changing the use-by date to a date showing when food is most likely to throw away.

1. What does the writer mainly want to tell us in Paragraph 1?   

A. When we throw the food away.     C. How we check the expiration date.

C. How we know if the food is eatable.  D. Whether we have to throw the food.

2. The underlined word “misinterpreting” probably means_________.

      A. paying attention to       B. taking no notice of

      C. making guesses about    D. having a wrong idea about 

3. What can we learn from the passage?

   A. Most customers have a clear idea of what expiration dates mean.

   B. Most customers now care more about freshness than food safety.

   C. Even after their expiration dates pass, some foods are still safe to eat.

   D. “Expiration dates” were first used to show when food was likely to go bad.

 4. What is probably the best title for this passage?   

A. Customers and food.

B. Food quality and freshness.

C. Use-by-dates and quality levels.

D. Expiration dates and food safety.

Answer 1

1. D    2. D    3.C    4.D