It is an argument that has divided the East and the West for centuries: Are chopsticks better than the knife and fork, or vice versa? Now the winner may finally be decided, on environmental ground.
Chopsticks are made from a variety of materials, but bamboo and wood chopsticks are more popular. They are usually cheaper, lower in temperature conduction and provide better sense for holding food. That’s why almost all disposable (一次性的) chopsticks are made of bamboo or wood. With cutting down 25 million fully-grown trees a year to make chopsticks, China has ranked number one among the producers. “We must change our habitsand encourage people to take their own chopsticks when eating out,” said Mr. Bo, the owner of a forestry industry company in China. He even wentso faras to suggest that restaurants should offer metal knives and forks instead. If Mr. Bo’s suggestion is widely accepted, it would be a dark moment in chopsticks’ 4,000-year history.
Chopsticks were invented in ancient China and later spread around Asia. They are not only used as eating tools but also used for cooking, stirring the fire and serving food. Koreans sometimes use metal chopsticks because of their love of barbecue (烧烤). Chinese chopsticks are longer than Korean and Japanese chopsticks in order to reach the dishes in the center of the table. There are 1.4 billion people using 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks in China every year. However, the most widespread use of disposable chopsticks is in Japan. Around a total of 24 billion pairs are used in Japan each year, which means each Japanese uses almost
200 pairs yearly. However, most of its disposable chopsticks have been imported (进口) from China, up to over90%.
Today, China has to accept the truth that its forests can no longer provide enough chopsticks to feed Asian’s table habit. China is now the world’s largest importer of wood and even imports chopsticks from America. An American company said that the state’s native sweet gum and poplar wood would be perfectly used to make chopsticks. These materials do not need to be lightened with chemicals or bleach (漂白粉). The healthy materials and fairly reasonable prices of the products are appealingto Asian customers. More and more Asians start to use American-made chopsticks at their tables.
Although the U.S. has a huge amount of wood, which reduces the number of trees that are cut down in Asia, changing the table habit of using disposable chopsticks still seems to be a wiser choice for chopsticks-using countries.
1. According to Paragraph 2, Mr. Bo’s advice is that Chinese should ____________.
A. use metal chopsticks instead of wooden ones
B. plant more trees and produce fewer chopsticks
C. form the habit of taking their own chopsticks when eating out
D. change their habits and begin to use knives and forks at home
2. What do we know about chopsticks in Asia?
A. Koreans mainly use chopsticks to cook food over a fire.
B. Most disposable chopsticks in Japan are made in China.
C. The most disposable chopsticks are used in Japan yearly.
D. Chinese use the shortest chopsticks to take and serve food.
3. The underlined word “appealing” in Paragraph 4 probably means ______
A. normal B. necessary C. attractive D. surprising
4. What’s the best title for the passage?
A. Time to Change the Materials for Chopsticks
B. Time to Cut Down on Disposable Chopsticks
C. Time to Import Disposable Chopsticks
D. Time to Give UpUsing Chopsticks
1C 2B 3C 4B