2002年高考英语全国卷 - 阅读理解B

LONDON（Reuters）--Organic fruit，delivered right to the doorstep．That is what Gabriel Gold prefers，and he is willing to pay for it．If this is not possible，the 26-year-old computer technician will spend the extra money at the supermarket to buy organic food．
伦敦（路透社）——有机水果，送货上门。这是加布里埃尔·戈尔德所乐意的，他愿意为此付钱。如果这样行不通，这位26岁的电脑技术员不得不支付更多的钱从超市购买有机食品。

"Organic produce is always better," Gold said．"The food is free of pesticides, and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms．And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal，so it is more tasty．"Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend，and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business．But how many shoppers really know what they are getting，and why are they willing to pay a higher price for organic produce？Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences-but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete．For example，small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products．And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet growing demand．"The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year，so it is a very fast-growing market，"said Sue Flock，a specialist in this line of business．
“有机农产品总是更好，”戈尔德说，“食品中不含杀虫剂，你们通常支持家庭农场而不是大型农场，而且通常是在当地生长，更应季，因此更可口。”戈尔德是越来越多的购买有机食品顾客中的一员，英国各地的超市在发展有机食品业务时都指望更多像他一样的顾客。但有多少购物者真正知道他们得到的是什么，为什么愿意为有机产品支付更高的价格？市场研究表明，戈尔德和其他购买有机食品的人通常可以为他们的喜好给出明确的理由，但他们对有机食品的了解还远远不够。例如，有机产品可以使用少量杀虫剂。在英国，大约四分之三的有机食品并非产自本地，而是通过进口来满足不断增长的需求。“对有机食品的需求每年增长约三分之一，因此这是一个快速增长的市场，”这一行业的专家苏·弗洛克说。