C

    Similar to humans,produce comes in different shapes and sizes.Yet,chances are that you have probably never seen a strange-looking carrot or an apple with"character"at your local grocery store or farmers'market.That's because any fruit or vegetable that looks different from what is considered"normal"is considered unacceptable and thrown away.

    Experts estimate that six billion pounds or about twenty percent of all produce grown in the US ends up either in landfill or as animal food, annually.Now Ben Chester,Ben Simon and Ron Clark want to change that with their new company called"Imperfect".The Oakland-based company plans to purchase the strange-looking produce from farmers and sell it either through a supermarket chain they recently signed a deal with or by delivering it directly to consumers.

    Chester and Simon believe that once consumers realize that"ugly"fruits and vegetables taste as good as the "beautiful" produce supermarkets display,they will embrace the cause.The company who is working with farmers in California plans to start selling the produce to the residents of Oakland and Berkeley by July.If all goes well,Imperfect will extend the service to other California cities and then hopefully,to other states as well.

     I think they're doing the right thing.Here are my reasons.First,they will prevent waste.Second,their idea will also result in additional income for farmers who are sometimes forced to throw away as much as 50％of their harvest just because it doesn't look "right".Third,consumers that eat the produce will benefit,too.That's because the entrepreneurs estimate it will cost as much as 30-50％ less than grocery store produce.Fourth,it will help the environment,too!That's because rotting produce releases hazardous gas into the atmosphere.Fifth,for drought-ridden California the business could not have come at a better time.Each pound of food that gets sold prevents the 25-50 gallons of water it takes to grow a pound of produce from being wasted.Lastly,I think kids may consume more fruits and vegetables if they look "different" than the boring ones they see today!

(1) According to Paragraph 1,strange-looking truits are usually________.

A. dealt with as rubbish

B. improved to look better

C. sent to local grocery stores

D. sold at local farmers markets

(2) Ben Chester,Ben Simon and Ron Clark want to________.

A. help increase better-looking local produce

B. sign a special deal with a supermarket chain

C. provide consumers with better fruits and vegetables

D. focus on selling strange-looking fruits and vegetables

(3) Chester and Simon believe that "ugly" fruits and vegetables________.

A. taste even better than the normal ones

B. taste the same as the good-looking ones

C. will be unable to be found out of California

D. will be more popular in Oakland and Berkeley

(4) What does the underlined word "hazardous" in the last paragraph mean?

A. Harmful.

B. Colorless.

C. Clean.

D. Abundant.