4.17 考研英语外刊阅读模拟试题【难度6.5】经济学人:自助早餐之谜

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Section II Reading Comprehension 

Part A 

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. 

Text 2

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and how it is served matters, too. Take the classic hotel buffet breakfast. Or, maybe, don’t: when people do, they take much more than they can eat. Compared with ordering from the menu, all-you-can-eat breakfasts waste more food—up to twice as much, according to one study. This all amounts to a problem for the environment and the bottom line of hotels.

Experts have puzzled for years over how to encourage eaters to show a little restraint. Now researchers in Norway and Italy have cooked up a new idea. They have built a virtual breakfast buffet populated with simulated guests and are using it to find the best strategies to make buffet-goers leave behind fewer leftovers.

Hotel guests go hog-wild for a variety of reasons, many of which have little to do with hunger. Cultural and environmental influences dominate decision-making during the buffet experience. Previous research has found that factors which influence how much ends up in the bin range from nationality (Russians wasted the most; Austrians the least) and age (children have bigger eyes than stomachs) to the size of the plates (radius correlates with waste). The passive-aggressive signs perched on some buffet tables imploring guests to take only what they know they will polish off have been shown to increase the piles of leftovers.

To simplify matters, researchers at NORCE, an independent research institute in Kristiansand, and their colleagues at the University of Bologna settled on four main motivations guiding their model’s buffet buffs: peckishness, the desire to live sustainably, social pressure and self-control. They then overlaid external drivers that turned those motives into behaviour. These altered variables such as the duration of the buffet, the size of plates and the diversity of food on offer.

Virtual guests could visit the buffet tables as often as they liked, within the time each had available. (Some were categorised as business guests and had to leave sooner than those on holiday, who could graze for up to three hours.) The researchers’ goal was to see which combinations of motivations and drivers had the biggest impact on the amount of waste produced. To validate aspects of the model, the team used data collected from real breakfast buffets in eight Norwegian hotels during the spring and summer of 2023.

After hundreds of runs the model suggested the most important influence in limiting waste was, unsurprisingly, someone’s attitude to sustainability. Conformism, too, was influential: people are more likely to overindulge if they believe others will. Plate size was the most important of the external drivers: although the people in the model with both small and large plates went back for more, those with smaller plates tended to finish what they took. How long guests were allowed to stick around and what food they could enjoy had less of an impact.

Hotels could use the virtual buffet to minimise food waste, and the money wasted as a result. They could try out different food layouts and what would happen if plates were 20% smaller, for example, or see exactly how those irritating signs could be rewritten to have the most effect given a hotelier’s typical clientele.

This work is just the starter, stresses Ivan Puga-Gonzalez of NORCE. The project is part of a larger European effort to investigate and reduce food waste called Changing Practices and Habits through Open, Responsible and Social Innovation towards Zero Food Waste (CHORIZO for short). He and his team are now using the model to test interventions in the real world, from shrinking the number of items on offer to changing the number of food tables. Travellers be advised: the next time you go for a second helping, you may be helping science, too.

26.What is the primary issue with hotel buffet breakfasts according to Paragraph 1?

[A] They severely limit the variety of food available to customers.
[B] They generate up to twice the food waste of menu-ordered meals.
[C] They cost hotels significantly more time to prepare and serve.
[D] They discourage guests from maintaining a balanced diet.

27. According to previous research, which of the following paradoxically leads to more food waste?
[A] Providing plates with a much smaller radius.
[B] Offering a wider diversity of food items.
[C] Allowing holidaymakers to stay for up to three hours.
[D] Putting up notices that advise against food waste.

附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。

参考答案见以下。

Quick look: BDCAB

26.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第一段第三、四句“Compared with ordering from the menu, all-you-can-eat breakfasts waste more food—up to twice as much... This all amounts to a problem for the environment and the bottom line of hotels.”
分析： 原文明确指出，与点餐相比，“自助餐（all-you-can-eat breakfasts）浪费的食物更多——高达两倍”。这不仅是环境问题，也是酒店利润的问题。选项B“它们产生的食物浪费高达点餐的两倍”是对原文的精准同义替换。
干扰项：[A] 严重限制了食物的种类，这与自助餐的常识相反，原文也未提及；[C] 花费酒店更多的时间来准备，原文提到了影响酒店的“底线（bottom line，即利润）”，但并未说花费更多“时间”；[D] 阻碍客人保持均衡饮食，文中未探讨营养均衡问题。

27.【正确答案】D
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第三段最后一句“The passive-aggressive signs perched on some buffet tables imploring guests to take only what they know they will polish off have been shown to increase the piles of leftovers.”
分析： 原文提到，一些自助餐桌上放置的“带有消极抵抗意味的标语（passive-aggressive signs）”，恳求客人只拿他们确定能吃完的食物，结果却被证明“增加了剩菜的堆积（increase the piles of leftovers）”。选项D“张贴建议不要浪费食物的通知”准确对应了这一自相矛盾（paradoxically）的现象。
干扰项：[A] 提供半径更小的盘子，原文提到盘子半径与浪费相关，第六段指出小盘子其实有助于减少浪费，而非增加；[B] 提供更广泛的食物种类，这是第四段提到的变量，并非导致浪费增加的悖论；[C] 允许度假者逗留长达三小时，第五段提到度假者可以“慢慢吃（graze）”三小时，第六段结论指出逗留时间影响不大。

28.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第四段和第五段。第四段提到研究人员确定了“四种主要动机（four main motivations）”，并叠加了“外部驱动因素（external drivers）”。第五段最后一句指出“为了验证模型的各个方面，团队使用了2023年春夏期间在八家挪威酒店的真实自助早餐中收集的数据（used data collected from real breakfast buffets...）”。
分析： 综合两段内容，研究人员构建模型是通过设定顾客的行为动机（peckishness, social pressure等），并通过真实酒店收集的数据来验证模型。选项C“通过将行为动机与实际酒店数据相结合”是对整个研究方法的最准确概括。
干扰项：[A] 严格限制虚拟客人在餐桌旁的时间，第五段首句明确说虚拟客人可以“随心所欲地经常光顾（as often as they liked）”；[B] 观察商务客人如何与度假者互动，原文对这两类客人的区分仅仅是“停留时间不同”，并未研究他们的互动；[D] 采访欧洲各国的酒店经理，原文未使用采访经理的方法，使用的是真实自助餐的数据。

29.【正确答案】A
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第六段第三句“Plate size was the most important of the external drivers: although the people in the model with both small and large plates went back for more, those with smaller plates tended to finish what they took.”
分析： 原文指出，盘子大小是最重要的外部驱动因素：虽然拿大盘子和小盘子的人都会“再去拿更多食物（went back for more）”，但那些拿小盘子的人往往能“吃完他们拿的东西（finish what they took）”。这说明小盘子虽然没阻止人多跑几趟，但确实减少了剩菜。选项A“即使客人多次取餐，它也有助于尽量减少剩菜”完美契合文意。
干扰项：[B] 它被证明是测试中最无效的外部驱动因素，原文明确说它是“最重要的（most important）”；[C] 它阻止了客人回到自助餐桌前拿更多食物，原文明确说他们“去了更多次（went back for more）”；[D] 它改变了客人对可持续性的根本态度，盘子大小是外部因素，并未改变内在的环保态度。

30.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：主旨大意题
定位： 全文逻辑结构。
分析： 文章开篇提出酒店自助餐食物浪费严重的问题，第二段引入核心：挪威和意大利研究人员构建了一个“虚拟自助早餐模型（virtual breakfast buffet）”来寻找减少浪费的最佳策略。后续段落详细介绍了该模型的变量、运行结果（态度、从众心理、盘子大小的影响）以及未来的实际应用（帮助酒店测试布局等）。核心内容始终围绕“用虚拟模型解决自助餐浪费”。选项B“对抗自助餐食物浪费的虚拟解决方案”是对全文最精准的概括。
干扰项：[A] 为什么酒店应该禁止不限量自助餐，文章只是探讨如何“减少浪费”，并未建议“禁止”自助餐；[C] 饮食习惯背后隐藏的心理驱动力，虽然文中提到了心理因素，但只是作为虚拟模型的一部分变量，并非全文的最终落脚点；[D] CHORIZO：一个养活饥饿人群的欧洲倡议，CHORIZO项目是为了“减少食物浪费（towards Zero Food Waste）”，而不是“养活饥饿人群（Feed the Hungry）”。

【词汇注释】

【参考译文】

早餐是一天中最重要的一餐，而它是如何供应的也很重要。以经典的酒店自助早餐为例。或者，最好别吃：当人们吃自助餐时，他们拿的食物往往远超他们能吃下的量。一项研究表明，与按菜单点餐相比，不限量的自助早餐浪费的食物更多——高达两倍。这一切不仅对环境造成了问题，也影响了酒店的利润。

多年来，专家们一直对如何鼓励就餐者表现出一点克制感到困惑。现在，挪威和意大利的研究人员想出了一个新主意。他们建立了一个虚拟的自助早餐模型，里面有模拟的客人，并正在利用它来寻找能让吃自助餐的人留下更少剩菜的最佳策略。

酒店客人在吃自助餐时会肆无忌惮，原因多种多样，其中许多与饥饿关系不大。文化和环境影响主导了自助餐体验中的决策过程。先前的研究发现，影响最终被扔进垃圾桶的食物量的因素，从国籍（俄罗斯人浪费最多；奥地利人最少）、年龄（儿童往往眼大肚子小），到盘子的大小（半径与浪费成正比）不等。事实证明，一些自助餐桌上那些带有“暗讽”意味、恳求客人只拿确定能吃完的食物的标语，反而增加了剩菜的堆积。

为了简化问题，位于克里斯蒂安桑的独立研究机构 NORCE 的研究人员及其博洛尼亚大学的同事们，确定了指导其模型中自助餐爱好者的四种主要动机：微饿感、对可持续生活方式的渴望、社会压力以及自我控制能力。然后，他们叠加了将这些动机转化为行为的外部驱动因素。这些改变的变量包括自助餐的时长、盘子的大小以及所提供食物的多样性。

虚拟客人可以在各自可用的时间内，随心所欲地多次造访自助餐桌。（有些被归类为商务客人，必须比度假客人更早离开，度假者可以慢慢吃上长达三个小时。）研究人员的目标是观察哪些动机和驱动因素的组合对产生的浪费量影响最大。为了验证模型的各个方面，该团队使用了2023年春夏季在八家挪威酒店的真实自助早餐中收集的数据。

经过数百次运行后，该模型表明，在限制浪费方面最重要的影响因素毫无疑问是某人对可持续性的态度。从众心理也很有影响力：如果人们认为别人会过度放纵，他们也更有可能这样做。盘子大小是最重要的外部驱动因素：虽然模型中拿着小盘子和大盘子的人都会回去拿更多食物，但那些拿着小盘子的人往往能吃完他们拿的东西。客人被允许逗留多长时间以及他们能享用什么食物的影响则较小。

酒店可以利用这个虚拟自助餐来最大限度地减少食物浪费，以及由此造成的金钱损失。例如，他们可以尝试不同的食物布局，看看如果盘子小20%会发生什么；或者看看考虑到一家酒店的典型客群，那些惹人烦的标语具体该如何重写才能发挥最大效用。

NORCE的伊万·普加-冈萨雷斯（Ivan Puga-Gonzalez）强调，这项工作只是个开胃菜。该项目是一项名为“通过向零食物浪费迈进的开放、负责任的社会创新来改变做法和习惯”（简称 CHORIZO）的更大欧洲计划的一部分，旨在调查和减少食物浪费。他和他的团队目前正利用该模型在现实世界中测试干预措施，从减少提供的菜品数量到改变餐桌的数量。游客们请注意：下次你再去拿第二份食物时，你可能也是在为科学做贡献。

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