Question

【題目】 Fruit farmers in Okayama, Japan, have managed to make peeling (去皮) a banana optional by developing a special variety with eatable skin. The peel of their “Mongee bananas” isn’t particularly tasty, but it’s much thinner and far less bitter than that of regular bananas, making it 100% eatable.

Scientists at D&T Farm in the country’s Okayama Prefecture released the social media-ready news following months of experimenting with a freezing-and-thawing (解凍) method, which keeps the banana tree at extremely cold temperatures followed by a dramatic heat increase. The result is soft and thin skin that hasn’t fully developed. They froze young banana trees to -60 degrees Celsius, planting them again as they began to thaw. This apparently activated an ancient part of their DNA, which not only allows the plant to grow in Japan’s cool climate, but also speeds up its development. While tropical varieties of bananas require two years to grow large enough for consumption (消費), the Mongee banana needs just four months.

The first bunch of Mongee bananas hit department stores’ shelves in the November of last year, but getting your hand on one of these incredible fruits remains a huge challenge. D&T Farm only produces 10 bananas per week, and they only deliver them to the Fruit Corner of Tenmanya Okayama, a local department store. But even if you happen to find one available, you’d probably be a bit put off by the price – 648 yen ($5.70) per fruit.

Banana peel is an excellent ingredient that can contain vitamin B6 and magnesium related to the production of serotonin (血清素). At the same time, it has a positive effect on both brain and sleep. Research results that ripe fruit peels have a good effect on treating prostatic hypertrophy (前列腺肥大) have also been published.

John Guterman, a botanist, says, “And what about shipping? For most of the fruit’s history, the peel has provided protection, allowing it to travel long distances. A softer, more bruise-prone banana would be a step back from hardy banana varieties that travel thousands of miles. In this sense, the day we all stop peeling bananas and instead bite straight through their skin may still be a long way away.

【1】Compared with regular bananas, Mongee bananas ________.

A.are far easier to peelB.have much sweeter flesh

C.are much more thin-skinnedD.have a longer growth period

【2】Why is it hard to buy a Mongee banana now?

A.It isn’t affordable at all.B.It hasn’t come into the market yet.

C.It is made for certain people.D.Its production ability is still limited.

【3】What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A.The medical value of banana peel.

B.The nutrition (營養) of banana peel.

C.The way of making banana peel sweeter.

D.The studies about how to make banana peel eatable.

【4】What does John think of the Mongee banana?

A.It should not be widely grown.

B.It won’t be spread widely soon.

C.It indicates the future of fruits with skin.

D.It has no advantage over regular bananas.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】D

【3】A

【4】B

【解析】

這是一篇說明文。文章介紹了一種香蕉皮可以吃的香蕉，Mongee香蕉的特點、產量、醫學價值以及前景。

【1】細節理解題。根據第一段The peel of their “Mongee bananas” isn’t particularly tasty, but it’s much thinner and far less bitter than that of regular bananas, making it 100% eatable.（他們的“Mongee香蕉”的皮不是特別好吃，但它比普通的香蕉薄得多，也沒有那么苦，所以100%可以吃。）由此可知，與普通香蕉相比，Mongee香蕉的皮更薄。故選C。

【2】推理判斷題。根據第三段D&T Farm only produces 10 bananas per week, and they only deliver them to the Fruit Corner of Tenmanya Okayama, a local department store.（D&T Farm每周只生產10只香蕉，而且只把它們送到當地一家百貨商店的水果角。）由此推斷出，現在很難買到Mongee香蕉是因為其生產能力仍然有限。故選D。

【3】主旨大意題。根據第四段Banana peel is an excellent ingredient that can contain vitamin B6 and magnesium related to the production of serotonin (血清素). At the same time, it has a positive effect on both brain and sleep. Research results that ripe fruit peels have a good effect on treating prostatic hypertrophy (前列腺肥大) have also been published.（香蕉皮是一種很好的成分，它含有維生素B6和鎂，與血清素的產生有關。同時，它對大腦和睡眠都有積極的影響。成熟果皮對前列腺肥大有良好治療作用的研究結果也已發表。）由此推斷出，第四段主要講了香蕉皮的醫學價值。故選A。

【4】推理判斷題。根據最后一段In this sense, the day we all stop peeling bananas and instead bite straight through their skin may still be a long way away.（從這個意義上說，我們停止剝香蕉皮，而是直接咬香蕉皮的那一天可能還有很長的路要走。）由此可知，John 認為 Mongee 香蕉不會很快被廣泛傳播。故選B。

細節理解題大多是根據文章中的具體信息如事實、例證、原因、過程、論述等進行提問的。抓住文段中的事實和細節是做好該題型的關鍵，也是做好其它類型問題的基礎。該題型幾乎都可以在文章中直接找到與答案有關的信息，或是其變體。在一篇短文里大部分篇幅都屬于這類圍繞主體展開的細節。做這類題一般采用尋讀法，即先讀題，然后帶著問題快速閱讀短文，找出與問題和選項有關的詞語或句子，再對相關部分進行分析對比，找出答案。正確選項雖然一般不是原文照搬，但是一般是原文的改寫，意思不變。如換一個同義詞，把否定改為肯定，把肯定改為否定等。如第1小題，根據第一段The peel of their “Mongee bananas” isn’t particularly tasty, but it’s much thinner and far less bitter than that of regular bananas, making it 100% eatable.（他們的“Mongee香蕉”的皮不是特別好吃，但它比普通的香蕉薄得多，也沒有那么苦，所以100%可以吃。）由此可知，與普通香蕉相比，Mongee香蕉的皮更薄。故選C。