Karenand Ken Mullin,a young professional couple in Cleveland,own fifty cookbooks and two fully equipped kitchens in their house.Yet they rarely cook their own meals;instead,on their way home from work they usually stop at a supermarket and choose two portions of meat loaf and a container of ready-to-serve potatoes."My job,"says Karen,"is to pour the salad from the bag."
　　A half-century after the first TV dinner was born,the food industry is approaching its long-sought dream of relieving people like the Mullins of unpaid labor in the final,and arguably most profitable,step by which a cow gets turned into meat loaf.Increasingly,tables in America's kitchens are used not for cutting or peeling but for putting takeout food onto plates.For those who even bother with plates.According to Harry Balzar,an influential food-industry researcher,American dinners that came from a takeout counter increased by 24 percent in the past decade."We thought the microwave would bea cooking device,"says Harry Balzer,"but we find it reheating takeout pizza."
　　A cross the United States,entire business models are being transformed.Supermarket takeout counters,formerly a place where unsold chickens were coated with sauce,increasingly resemble high-end corporate cafeterias,with sushi bars andstir-fry stations.
　　One psychologist thinks the trend toward healthier eating is responsible;Americans have finally gotten the message that it's bad to eat fried chicken,so they'redoing it at home where no one can see them.
　　Of course,there are people you wouldn't expect to cook at home,like SteveTraxler,an unmarried Chicago theater producer,whose refrigerator containslittle more than orange juice,wine and leftovers.
　　Well,somebody must be using those cookbooks,right?"People don't have time to cook;I think they're reading them in bed,"says Rozanne Gold,author of a cookbook.
　　It's not entirely a question of time.The takeout fashion is fueled,in part,by thepopularity of foods like sushi,which even adventuresome American cooks areunlikely to try to make at home.And takeout fills another need as well,forthe atmosphere of the home-cooked dinner.
　　1、The food industry is approaching its final goal of _____.
　　A.freeing people of cooking at home
　　B.turning cows into meat loaf for people
　　C.relieving itself of unpaid labor for people
　　D.providing people with delicious TV dinners
　　参考答案：C
　　参考解析：题目问的是“食品产业正在达成的最终目标是什么”。定位到第二段第一句"...the food industry is approaching itslong-sought dream of relieving peoplelike the Mullins of unpaidlabor in the final,…"从关键词很容易看出应当选C.
　　2、We can inferfrom the text that some Americans ____.
　　A.are too busy to cut or peel
　　B.are too busy to use their tables
　　C.do not even use their plates
　　D.do not even use the microwave
　　参考答案：C
　　参考解析：题目问的是“我们能够从文中看出有些美国人是什么样的”。从第二段第二三句"Increasingly,tables in America's kitchens are used not for cutting or peeling bur forputting takeout food onto plates.Forthose who even bother with plates"。可见，有些美国人连盘子都懒得使用。
　　3、From thetext we can learn that the Mullins ____.
　　A.are experienced in cooking
　　B.are expert at food shopping
　　C.often go dining out at a restaurant
　　D.often eat ready-made food at home
　　参考答案：D
　　参考解析：题目问的是：从文中我们看出穆林夫妇是什么样的。文中第一段第二句"Yet they rarelycook their own meals…"可见穆林夫妇不亲自做饭，而是在家吃外带食品。故选D.
　　4、Takeout food is not only convenient but also enables Americans to ____.
　　A.avoid taking unhealthy food
　　B.follow the trend of eating out
　　C.enjoy eating together at home
　　D.have time to improve their cooking.
　　参考答案：C
　　参考解析：题目问的是“外带食品不仅方便而且能够让美国人……”，从最后一段最后一句"And takeout fillsanother need as well,for the atmosphere of the home-cooked dinner."看出外带食品可以让人感受在家做饭的气氛。故选C.
　　5、Supermarkettakeout counters ___.
　　A.have sushi bars and stir-fry stations now
　　B.used to process the left-over food for sale
　　C.cooperate with high-end corporation cafeterias
　　D.used to coat chickens of inferior quality with sauce
　　参考答案：A
　　参考解析：题目问的是“超市的外带柜台的情况”。从第三段第二句"Supermarkettakeout counters,formerly a place where unsold chickens were coated withsauce,increasingly resemble high-end corporate cafeterias with sushi bars andstir-fry stations."可知，“超市外带柜台从前是放没卖出去的鸡肉，而现在变成了有着寿司吧和小炒站的像高档商场自助餐厅的地方。”可知A正确，B项有一定的迷惑性，其中的left-over food是指吃剩下、残留下的食物，与文意不符
　　参考译文：
　　凯伦和肯，穆林这对年轻夫妇居住在克利夫兰，两人都上班，家里有50本烹饪书和2个设备齐全的厨房。但是他们很少做饭；取而代之的是，他们通常会在下班回家的路上去超市，挑选两份肉糜糕和一罐速食土豆。“我的工作，”卡伦说道，“就是把沙拉从袋子里倒出来。”
　　在第一份冷冻快餐出现半个世纪之后，食品产业正在实现它长久追求的梦想，让更多像穆林夫妇这样的人最终从在家做饭这样毫无报酬的劳动中解放出来，并且最有利可图的方式就是将奶牛变成肉糜糕。在美国，厨房里的桌子渐渐不再用来切菜或削皮，而是供需要把外带食品放进盘子里，或是连放盘子里都嫌麻烦的人使用。据极有影响力的食品业调查员哈利？鲍尔泽说，在过去的十年中，美国居民从柜台买来的外带食物增长了24%.“过去我们认为微波炉是烹饪设备，”哈利？鲍尔泽说道，“但是现在发现它可以重新加热外带的披萨。”
　　整个美国的商业模式都改变了。超市外带柜台从前是放卖不出去的裹着酱汁的鸡肉的地方，现在越来越像高端的自助餐厅，那里有寿司吧和小炒站。
　　一位心理学家认为这是由健康饮食趋势导致的：美国人终于知道吃炸鸡不好，所以他们在家吃，这样没人能看得到。
　　当然，有些人不愿意在家做饭，比如芝加哥的单身汉史蒂夫·川克希勒，他是剧场制作人，他的冰箱里只有些橘子汁、葡萄酒和剩菜。有些人一定在用那些烹饪书，对吧？“人们没有时间做饭；我想他们都在床上阅读烹饪书。”烹饪书作者洛束萨妮·戈尔德说道。