Passage 2(2026·南通市如皋期末)
Whether yellow, red or white, the onion is a vegetable that you may not know well. The list of its uses in cooking is endless. People have used onions to add flavour(味道) to their foods for thousands of years. Besides onions' great taste, they are very good for you. They have special chemicals that improve your ability to fight off sickness and you have fewer chances of getting a disease.
No matter how good onions are for you, it is difficult to cut an onion without your eyes filling with tears! When you cut an onion, irritating(刺激性的) chemicals inside the onion will get into the air. They touch your whole eyes and cause pain. Your eyes make tears to wash away the chemicals and protect your eyes.
Luckily, cooks and scientists have discovered some ways to keep you from crying when you cut up onions:
• Cut the onion under running water. The water will wash away the chemicals before they can reach your eyes.
• Use a fan to blow air over the onion as you cut it. The air will blow the chemicals away from your eyes.
• Put the onion in a fridge for an hour before cutting. This helps make the chemicals in the onion move slowly, so they may not ever reach your eyes.
If you try out these good ideas and still cry while cutting onions, don't worry. Scientists think if you cut more onions, your body will become more resilient to the onion's chemicals. So the tears will not last long. If you think about how healthy onions are, you might even call those tears "happy tears".
1. What uses of onions are mentioned in Paragraph 1?

2. Why do your eyes make tears when cutting onions?

3. How can you avoid crying when cutting up onions? (Write one way)

4. In which part of a magazine can you probably read the text?

5. 新考法 开放性设问 Do you like eating onions? Why or why not? (Please answer in your own words)

1. Their great taste and their special chemicals that improve people's ability to fight off sickness. /They are used to add flavour to foods and their special chemicals are good for people's health.
2. To wash away irritating chemicals and protect our eyes.
3. ① Cut the onion under running water. ② Use a fan to blow air over the onion as we cut it. ③ Put the onion in a fridge for an hour before cutting.（任选其一）
4. Food/Health/Cooking/Daily Life.
5. Yes, I do. Because onions are delicious and good for my health. /No, I don't. Because I don't like their taste and it's annoying to cut them.（言之有理即可）

【分析】
本题为英语阅读理解题，包含细节理解、推理判断及开放性设问。解题时需先通读全文把握主旨，再针对每个问题定位对应段落的关键信息：第1题定位第一段找洋葱的用途；第2题定位第二段找流泪原因；第3题定位避免流泪的方法；第4题根据文章内容判断杂志板块；第5题结合文章内容用自己的话作答，言之有理即可。
【解析】
1. 第1题：根据第一段内容，洋葱的用途是为食物增添味道，且其特殊化学物质能帮助人体抵抗疾病，整理对应信息即可。
2. 第2题：根据第二段最后一句，眼睛流泪是为了冲洗刺激性化学物质并保护眼睛，直接提取该句核心内容。
3. 第3题：根据文中提到的三种避免切洋葱流泪的方法，任选其一作答即可。
4. 第4题：文章围绕洋葱的饮食用途、健康益处展开，属于健康、饮食或日常生活类板块，结合内容判断即可。
5. 第5题：开放性问题，结合文章中洋葱的优点（美味、健康）或缺点（切时流泪），用通顺的英语作答，符合要求即可。
【答案】
1. Their great taste and their special chemicals that improve people's ability to fight off sickness. /They are used to add flavour to foods and their special chemicals are good for people's health.
2. To wash away irritating chemicals and protect our eyes.
3. ① Cut the onion under running water. ② Use a fan to blow air over the onion as we cut it. ③ Put the onion in a fridge for an hour before cutting.（任选其一）
4. Food/Health/Cooking/Daily Life.
5. Yes, I do. Because onions are delicious and good for my health. /No, I don't. Because I don't like their taste and it's annoying to cut them.（言之有理即可）
【知识点】
英语阅读理解、细节理解题、开放性试题
【点评】
本题以生活中的洋葱为话题，考查学生快速提取文章信息的能力，开放性设问注重语言表达的灵活性，贴近学生生活实际，难度适中。
【难度系数】
0.6