本文节选选自《卫报》2016年5月18日一篇名为“Are you confused by food expiration dates? You’re not alone”的文章。美国参众议院提出一项法案，意图为食品保质期制定统一的标识方案。文章指出，现行标识系统混乱，给消费者带来困惑，从而白白扔掉了很多事物，造成了大量资源浪费。该法案的出发点不是食品安全，而是资源节约。
原文
Ⅰ①The US Senate and the House of Representatives today introducedbillsto clarify the rules regardingexpirationdate labels on food. ②The current labeling system means an estimated 8mlbsof food is thrown awayprematurelyevery year.
Ⅱ①The billsaim tostandardizeAmerica’s food date labeling system. ②Instead of the many different dates currently in use, the new system would have just two – one toindicatepeak qualityand another for use on products, such asdelimeat andunpasteurizedcheese, that could make people ill if eaten after a certain date.
Ⅲ①Studies show that most consumers are confused about expiration dates. ②One survey found that roughly 90% of A Americansprematurelythrow away food because they think it has gone bad.③Overall, the US spends an estimated $218bnon food that is never eaten every year. ④For an average family of four, that works out to be $1,500 per year.⑤Along with that food, massive amounts of environmental resourcesend up inthedumpster: up to 25% of America’s fresh water and almost 30% of the world’s agricultural land is used every year to produce food that never gets eaten.
Ⅳ①Food expiration dates lie at the heart of a lot of that waste. ②Manufacturers usually choose the phrase they use on packaging. ③For example, one brand of milk mightstampits products “best before”, while another might say “sell by”. ④A third might just have a date with no words at all.
Ⅴ①Another problem is that manufacturers also choose their own methods for determiningexpirationdates. ②Some use consumer focus groups to identify the flavor peak, while others use lab tests to determine the point at which thepathogenpopulations in a particular food could make people sick. ③Canned food manufacturers often set dates far earlier than necessary because they worry about consumers’ suspicion of foods that stay fresh for a long time.
Ⅵ①Many consumers also misunderstand food expiration and are unaware of what causes food to go bad. ②While people often worry about getting sick from eating old food, illness is usually caused bycontaminationnotspoilage.③As John Ruff, the president of the Institute of Food Technologists,said: “In 40 years, in eight countries, if I think of major productrecallsand food poisoning outbreaks, I can’t think of [one] that was driven by a shelf life issue.”
(“Are you confused by food expiration dates? You’re not alone”. By Dana Gunders. May 18th, 2016.The Guardian.)
词汇短语
1.bill[bɪl] n. (提交议会讨论的）议案
2.*expiration [ˌekspəˈreɪʃn] n.截止日期
3.*prematurely [ˌpriməˈtjʊrlɪ]adv.过早地；贸然地
4.standardize [ˈstændədaɪz]v.使标准化
5.indicate [ˈɪndɪkeɪt]v.标示
6.*deli [ˈdɛli]n.熟食品
7.*unpasteurized[ʌn’peɪstʃəraɪzd]adj.未经高温消毒的
8.end up in以……结束
9.dumpster[‘dʌmpstə(r)]n.垃圾箱
10.stamp[stæmp] v.盖章；标记
11.pathogen [ˈpæθədʒən]n.病菌
12.contamination [kənˌtæmɪ’neɪʃən]n.污染
13.*spoilage[ˈspɔɪlɪdʒ]n.（食品等的） 腐败
14.recall [rɪˈkɔ:l] n.召回
（注：标*的为超纲词）
点评
Ⅰ①The US Senate and the House of Representatives today introducedbillsto clarify the rules regardingexpirationdate labels on food. ②The current labeling system means an estimated 8mlbsof food is thrown awayprematurelyevery year.
翻译：即日，美国参议院和众议院起草了一项法案，对食品保质期标签做出规定。据估计，现行的标签系统造成每年800万磅食物被贸然扔掉。
点评：段Ⅰ句①开门见山，引出话题，美国参众议院提出一项法案，就食品保质期标签标识系统制定规范。句②指出原因，现在的标识系统造成了大量食物被扔掉。这句话勾起读者好奇，引发读者思考背后的原因。prematurely意思是“过早地，贸然地”，也就是食物还在保质期内却被误认为不能食用而扔掉了。
Ⅱ①The billsaim tostandardizeAmerica’s food date labeling system. ②Instead of the many different dates currently in use, the new system would have just two – one toindicatepeak qualityand another for use on products, such asdelimeat andunpasteurizedcheese, that could make people ill if eaten after a certain date.
翻译：该草案试图标准化美国食品保质期标识系统。现行系统标明多个日期，新系统却只保留两种日期——最佳赏味期限和熟肉、生奶酪等食品的保鲜期，超过该日期食用此类食品会让人生病。
点评：段Ⅱ是对上一段的具体说明。句①指出法案的目的：标准化食品保质期标签标示系统。言下之意是，现行系统并没有统一规范。句②解释标准化，抛弃混乱的众多日期，只保留两个必要的日期。in stead of取舍结构对比新旧两种标识系统，展现出新系统的简单明了。peak quality“最佳赏味期”说明超过此期限也可以放心食用，只是风味略差而已。再者，为极易变质的食物标明保鲜期，超过此期限食用对健康有害。
Ⅲ①Studies show that most consumers are confused about expiration dates. ②One survey found that roughly 90% of A Americansprematurelythrow away food because they think it has gone bad.③Overall, the US spends an estimated $218bnon food that is never eaten every year. ④For an average family of four, that works out to be $1,500 per year.⑤Along with that food, massive amounts of environmental resourcesend up inthedumpster: up to 25% of America’s fresh water and almost 30% of the world’s agricultural land is used every year to produce food that never gets eaten.
翻译：研究表明，大部分消费者对食物有效期困惑不已。某研究发现，大约90%的美国人因为以为食物变质了，贸然地扔掉了食物。总的来说，美国每年大约扔掉价值2180亿美元的食物。对一个普通的四口之家来说，也就是每年扔掉1500美元。随着食物被扔掉，大量环境资源也扔进了垃圾桶：为了生产这些从来没被吃过的食物，要消耗美国25%的淡水资源和全球30%的耕地资源。
点评：段Ⅲ分析旧系统的缺陷：名目繁多——消费者弄不懂—贸然扔掉还能吃的食物——金钱和资源浪费。句①指出大部分消费者读不懂保质期标签，句②顺而指出这样的后果，很多事物被白白扔掉。句③④⑤从家庭、社会层面指出这造成的不仅是金钱损失，更重要的是资源浪费。
Ⅳ①Food expiration dates lie at the heart of a lot of that waste. ②Manufacturers usually choose the phrase they use on packaging. ③For example, one brand of milk mightstampits products “best before”, while another might say “sell by”. ④A third might just have a date with no words at all.
翻译：这种浪费很大程度上和食物保质期有关。生产厂家经常随意地选择印在包装上的措辞。比如，某品牌的牛奶也许会印上“此日期前最佳”，另一家可能印“上市日期”。第三家可能除了一个日期，什么话都没写。
点评：段Ⅳ承接上文，把这种资源浪费归结于食物保质期，lie at the heart of 强调了重要性。②句指出生产厂家没有统一的标识标准，随意性很大，句③④举例说明。
Ⅴ①Another problem is that manufacturers also choose their own methods for determiningexpirationdates. ②Some use consumer focus groups to identify the flavor peak, while others use lab tests to determine the point at which thepathogenpopulations in a particular food could make people sick. ③Canned food manufacturers often set dates far earlier than necessary because they worry about consumers’ suspicion of foods that stay fresh for a long time.
翻译：另一个问题是不同厂家选择不同的方法确定标签日期。有的厂家根据消费者焦点小组，确定最佳风味时间，有的用实验测试，确定何时某食物中的病原菌能致病。罐头食品的真实保质期往往比厂家标注的保质期长很多，因为厂家担心消费者不信任能够长期保存的食物。
点评：段Ⅴ和上一段并列，指出随意性的第二个表现。句①保质期确定方法也不统一，②③句举例说明。
Ⅵ①Many consumers also misunderstand food expiration and are unaware of what causes food to go bad. ②While people often worry about getting sick from eating old food, illness is usually caused bycontaminationnotspoilage.③As John Ruff, the president of the Institute of Food Technologists,said: “In 40 years, in eight countries, if I think of major productrecallsand food poisoning outbreaks, I can’t think of [one] that was driven by a shelf life issue.”
翻译：许多消费者也会误解保质期，不明白食物变质的原因。尽管人们常常担心吃下保存太久的食物会生病，但是致病的原因通常不是食物变质，而是食物污染。美国食品科学学会主席约翰·拉夫说：“40年内，在八个国家，我知道的大型食物召回和食物中毒事件中，没有一起和货架期有关。”
点评：说完了生产厂家的问题，段Ⅵ指出消费者对保质期的误解。保存太久不是问题，食物受到污染才是问题。
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