B
Free school meals are back in the news. Footballer Marcus Rashfbrd's petition （请愿书）to extend free school meals provision （供给）into the school holidays has collected 1.1 million signatures, causing the government to change policy. It has restarted the debate over free school meals by figures forecasting that if the government ends as planned the current £20 top-up （附加款），another 200,000 children will slip into poverty.
The roots of the current school meals system lie in the mid-19th century. In Manchester, independent charities as well as official bodies started to provide free meals for children lacking in nutrition in the 1870s. When education became compulsory later, the extent of the issue became apparent. Proponents of feeding starving children pointed out that it was due to government order that children were in school, not working and contributing to the family food budget, so the government should pay.
Reception was mixed. Then, children rejected foods they weren't used to. Some children were put off brassicas （芥菜类）for life. Finding the balance between cheap and good proved hard. The chief medical officer talked about the lack in calorie value and elements of a well-balanced diet which a needy child does not get at home, such as milk, cheese, eggs, green vegetables, fruit and meat. In 1980, the British government, desperate to cut costs, made provision largely optional and abolished nutritional standards. Over the next 15 years, convenience and cost became the most important.
In the last year, we've seen all of the age-old debates repeated once more. How do we guarantee quality? Who decides what children eat? Who pays? Undemutrition does not just have physical effects, but also affects behavior and ability to learn. It has a lifelong impact. The arguments around free school meals seem never to end. But they are hugely important and, until poverty is ended, they will not and should not go away.
4. Why did Marcus Rashfbrd start the petition?
A. To lift children out of poverty.
B. To raise fund for hunger relief for children.
C. To restart the debate over free school meals.
D. To feed an increasing number of children in poverty.
5. What can we infer about school meals from paragraph 3?
A. School meals were both tasty and cheap.
B. The British government chose nutrition over cost.
C. School meals failed to meet children's nutritional needs.
D. Some children liked brassicas provided in the school fbr its nutrition.
6. What does the writer think of the debates over free school meals?
A. Influential. B. Necessary.
C. Never-ending. D. Meaningless.
【答案】4. D 5. C 6. B
【解析】
【分析】这是一篇新闻报道。免费校餐又成了新闻。足球运动员马库斯·拉希夫布拉德的请愿书要求学校将免费校餐延长到学校假期，目前已经征集到110万人的签名，政府也因此改变了这一政策。
【4题详解】
细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“It has restarted the debate over free school meals by figures forecasting that if the government ends as planned the current £20 top-up (附加款)，another 200,000 children will slip into poverty.”(有数据预测，如果政府按计划终止目前的20英镑补贴，将会有另外20万儿童陷入贫困，这重新引发了关于免费学校餐的争论。)可知，Marcus Rashfbrd发起请愿是为了养活越来越多的贫困儿童。故选D。
【5题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段第二句“Finding the balance between cheap and good proved hard. ”(事实证明，在物美价廉之间找到平衡很困难。)和第四句“In 1980, the British government, desperate to cut costs, made provision largely optional and abolished nutritional standards.”(1980年，急于削减成本的英国政府将食品供应定为选择性的，并废除了营养标准。)可知，学校的膳食不能满足儿童的营养需求。故选C。
【6题详解】
推理判断题。根据最后一段最后两句“The arguments around free school meals seem never to end. But they are hugely important and, until poverty is ended, they will not and should not go away.”(关于学校免费午餐的争论似乎永远不会结束。但它们非常重要，在贫困结束之前，它们不会也不应该消失。)可知，作者认为关于学校免费午餐的争论是必要的。故选B。
Free school meals are back in the news. Footballer Marcus Rashfbrd's petition （请愿书）to extend free school meals provision （供给）into the school holidays has collected 1.1 million signatures, causing the government to change policy. It has restarted the debate over free school meals by figures forecasting that if the government ends as planned the current £20 top-up （附加款），another 200,000 children will slip into poverty.
The roots of the current school meals system lie in the mid-19th century. In Manchester, independent charities as well as official bodies started to provide free meals for children lacking in nutrition in the 1870s. When education became compulsory later, the extent of the issue became apparent. Proponents of feeding starving children pointed out that it was due to government order that children were in school, not working and contributing to the family food budget, so the government should pay.
Reception was mixed. Then, children rejected foods they weren't used to. Some children were put off brassicas （芥菜类）for life. Finding the balance between cheap and good proved hard. The chief medical officer talked about the lack in calorie value and elements of a well-balanced diet which a needy child does not get at home, such as milk, cheese, eggs, green vegetables, fruit and meat. In 1980, the British government, desperate to cut costs, made provision largely optional and abolished nutritional standards. Over the next 15 years, convenience and cost became the most important.
In the last year, we've seen all of the age-old debates repeated once more. How do we guarantee quality? Who decides what children eat? Who pays? Undemutrition does not just have physical effects, but also affects behavior and ability to learn. It has a lifelong impact. The arguments around free school meals seem never to end. But they are hugely important and, until poverty is ended, they will not and should not go away.
4. Why did Marcus Rashfbrd start the petition?
A. To lift children out of poverty.
B. To raise fund for hunger relief for children.
C. To restart the debate over free school meals.
D. To feed an increasing number of children in poverty.
5. What can we infer about school meals from paragraph 3?
A. School meals were both tasty and cheap.
B. The British government chose nutrition over cost.
C. School meals failed to meet children's nutritional needs.
D. Some children liked brassicas provided in the school fbr its nutrition.
6. What does the writer think of the debates over free school meals?
A. Influential. B. Necessary.
C. Never-ending. D. Meaningless.
【答案】4. D 5. C 6. B
【解析】
【分析】这是一篇新闻报道。免费校餐又成了新闻。足球运动员马库斯·拉希夫布拉德的请愿书要求学校将免费校餐延长到学校假期，目前已经征集到110万人的签名，政府也因此改变了这一政策。
【4题详解】
细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“It has restarted the debate over free school meals by figures forecasting that if the government ends as planned the current £20 top-up (附加款)，another 200,000 children will slip into poverty.”(有数据预测，如果政府按计划终止目前的20英镑补贴，将会有另外20万儿童陷入贫困，这重新引发了关于免费学校餐的争论。)可知，Marcus Rashfbrd发起请愿是为了养活越来越多的贫困儿童。故选D。
【5题详解】
推理判断题。根据第三段第二句“Finding the balance between cheap and good proved hard. ”(事实证明，在物美价廉之间找到平衡很困难。)和第四句“In 1980, the British government, desperate to cut costs, made provision largely optional and abolished nutritional standards.”(1980年，急于削减成本的英国政府将食品供应定为选择性的，并废除了营养标准。)可知，学校的膳食不能满足儿童的营养需求。故选C。
【6题详解】
推理判断题。根据最后一段最后两句“The arguments around free school meals seem never to end. But they are hugely important and, until poverty is ended, they will not and should not go away.”(关于学校免费午餐的争论似乎永远不会结束。但它们非常重要，在贫困结束之前，它们不会也不应该消失。)可知，作者认为关于学校免费午餐的争论是必要的。故选B。
