How Americans Began to Eat Tomatoes
People have strange ideas about food. For example, the tomato is a kind of very delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grew them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous (有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples.”
President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President’s party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored (忠实的) guests about the fact.From the passage we know all the honored guests invited by Jefferson were .
| A．people from other countries | B．from France |
| C．people of his own country | D．men only |
After you read the passage, which of the following do you think is true?
| A．Americans never ate tomatoes after they began to plant them. |
| B．Americans didn’t eat tomatoes before 19th century. |
| C．Even now Americans don’t eat tomatoes. |
| D．In the 18th century Americans ate a lot of tomatoes. |
The passage tells us that Jefferson was a President who learned to love the taste of tomatoes .
| A．while he was in Paris | B．when he was a little boy |
| C．because his parents told him so | D．from books |
According to the text, _______ made the beautiful pink soup served at the President’s party?
| A．the President himself | B．a French cook |
| C．the President’s cook | D．the President’s wife |
The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses relate to diet and forty percent of cancer relates to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures.
That food is connected with illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, about 35 years ago, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a hi
gher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to contr
ol these procedures, the practices continue. What is the best possible title of the passage?
| A．Drug and Food | B．Cancer and Health |
| C．Food and Health | D．Health and Drug |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons. |
| B．Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are given to the living animals. |
| C．Researchers have known about the potential dangers of food additives for over thirty-five years. |
| D．Food may cause forty percent of cancer in world. |
How has science done something harmful to mankind?
| A．Because of science, diseases caused by polluted food haven’t been virtually eliminated. |
| B．It has caused a lack of information concerning the value of food. |
| C．Because of the application of science, some potentially harmful substances have been added to food. |
| D．The scientists have preserved the color of meat, but not of vegetables. |
What are nitrates used for?
A. They preserve flavor in packaged fo
ods.
B. They preserve the color of meats.
C. They are the objects of research. The word ‘carcinogenic’ most nearly means ‘_________’.
| A．trouble-making | B．color-maintaining |
| C．money-making | D．cancer-causing |
Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets．But for all the progress, people still don’t know one another very well.
That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “feast of conversation”－events where individuals pair with persons they don’t know for three hours of guided talk designed to get the past “Where are you from?”
Mr．Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.
The “feast” in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives．The “menu of conversation” includes topics like “How have your priorities changed over the years?” Or, “What have you rebelled against the past?”
As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized age, issues of human heart remain．Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the depth of one another．“We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,” he says．“But thinking interaction is what separates us from other species, except maybe dogs…who do have generations of human interactions.”
The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer．The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and dresses, looked to see whom with for hours．But 15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking. They would be ‘intimate’, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.
“It’s encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other,” Zeldin summed up．“What we did is not ordinary, but it can’t be madder than the world already is.”
Some said they felt “liberated” to talk on sensitive topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.” What can the “conversations” be best described as?
| A．Deep and one-on-one. | B．Sensitive and mad. |
| C．Instant and inspiring. | D．Ordinary and encouraging. |
In a “feast of conversations”, participants ________.
| A．pair freely with anyone they like |
| B．have a guided talk for a set of period of time |
| C．ask questions they themselves would not answer |
| D．wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features． |
In paragraph 6, “they would be ‘intimate’” is closest in meaning to “________”.
| A．they would have physical contact | B． they would have in-depth talk |
| C．they would be close friends | D．they would exchange basic information |
According to Zeldin, what prevents many people thoroughly knowing one another?
| A．Loneliness or routines. | B．Shallow conversations. |
| C．Unwillingness to think. | D．The fear for awkward moment. |
From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is _________.
| A．an attempt to promote thinking interaction |
| B．one of the maddest activities ever conducted |
| C．a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas |
| D．an effort to give people a chance of talking freely |
阅读理解（共20题； 每小题2分， 满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C 和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
They like using the Internet．They have lots of pocket money to spend．And they spend a higher proportion of it online than the rest of us．Teenagers are just the sort of people an online seller is interested in, and the things they want to buy－games, CDs and clothing－are easily sold on the Web.
But paying online is a tricky business for consumers who are too young to own credit cards．Most have to use a parent’s card．They want a facility that allows them to spend money.
That may come sooner than they think: new ways to take pocket money into cyber (网络的) space are coming out rapidly on both sides of the Atlantic．If successful, these products can stimulate online sales.
In general, teenagers spend huge amounts: $153bn (billion) in the US last year and ￡20bn annually in the UK．Most teenagers have access to the Internet at home or at school－88 percent in the US, 69 percent in the UK．According to the Jupiter Research, one in eight of those with Internet access has bought something online－mainly CDs and books.
In most cases, parents pay for these purchases with credit cards, an arrangement that is often unsatisfactory for them and their children．Pressing parents to spend online is less productive than pressing on the high street．They are more likely to ask “Why?” if you ask to spend some money online.
One way to help teenagers change notes and coins into cybercash is through prepaid cards such as InternetCash in the US and Smart cards in the UK．Similar to those for pay-as-you-go mobile telephones, they are sold in amounts such as ￡20 or $50 with a concealed 14-digit number that can be used to load the cash into an online account.What does the word “They” in paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Sellers. | B．Buyers. | C．Teenagers. | D．Parents. |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．More than half of the teenagers in the US and the UK have Internet access. |
| B．Teenagers pay for goods online with their own credit cards. |
| C．Most teenagers in the US and the UK have bought something online. |
| D．Teenagers found it easier to persuade parents to buy online than in a shop. |
A new way to help teenagers shop online is to use _________.
| A．a new machine | B．special coins and notes |
| C．prepaid cards | D．pay-as-you-go mobile phones |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Online shopping traps. | B．Internet users in the US and the UK. |
| C．New credit cards for parents. | D．The arrival of cyber pocket money. |
Which of the following words can best describe the writer’s attitude towards the phenomenon?
| A．Proud and satisfied. | B．Worried and anxious. |
| C．Objective and informative. | D．Concerned and sad. |
"But Ijust paid 1．69 for this bottle of wine last week．How is it that the price is 2.25?"
There are at least three things going on that have caused the price of wine to rise．All haveto do with the supply and demand factors of economics．
The first factor is that people are drinking more wine than ever before．This demand formore wine has increased wine sales in America at the rate of 15 percent a year．
The second factor is that the supply of wine has stayed relatively the same, which meansthat the same number of bottles is produced each year．Wine producers are trying to open upnew land to grow more grapes．But in at least three wine producing areas of the world-France,Germany, and California --- new vineyards（葡萄园）will not be useable in the near future．Wines are produced in other countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Argentine,Australia, Austria, and Chile．And these wines will be seen more often on the American market．But none of these countries will be able to fill the good wines．
The third factor is that costs of wine production are soaring．The workers who make wineare asking for more money, and the machinery needed to press the grapes is becoming moreexpensive．
When the demand for something is greater than the supply, prices go up．When productioncosts, meaning the price of labor and machinery rise, the producer adds this increase to theprice of the wine．For these reasons, that bottle of wine now costs 2．25 instead of 1．69．What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Every year people drink more wine． |
| B．Countries won't be able to fill the demand for good wines． |
| C．The prices of things go up when the demand for them is greater than the supply． |
| D．The supply of wine will always be less than demand． |
This passage is written to．
| A．describe where wine is produced |
| B．persuade people drink more beer |
| C．explain why the price of wine is rising |
| D．describe why wine is a favorite drink to many Americans |
Theunderlined word "soaring" means"___ .
| A．adding quickly | B．reducing fast |
| C．demanding badly | D．increasing fast |
People can be addicted to different things— e．g．alcohol, drug, certain foods，or eventelevision．People who have such an addiction are compulsive: they have a very powerfulpsychological need that they feel they must satisfy．According to psychologists, many peopleare compulsive spenders．They feel that they must spend money．This compulsion, like mostothers, is impossible to explain reasonably．For compulsive spenders who buy on credit, chargeaccounts are even more exciting than money．In other words, compulsive spenders feel thatwith credit, they can do anything．Their pleasure in spending large amounts is actually greaterthan the pleasure that they get from the things they buy．
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting．To save money, of course, mostpeople look for sales, low prices, and discounts．Compulsive bargain hunters，however, oftenbuy things that they don't need just because they are cheap．They want to believe that they arehelping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game．When they can buysomething for less than other people, they feel that they are winners．Most people, expertsclaim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and thereal reason．
It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, butalso business people．Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business．They consider people's needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs andopinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods．
Psychologists often use a method called "behavior therapy（疗法）"to help individuals solvetheir personality problems．In the same way, they can help people who feel that they haveproblems with money．According to psychologists, a compulsive spender is one who spends large amounts ofmoney．
| A．and takes great pleasure from what he or she buys |
| B．in order to satisfy his or her basic needs in life |
| C．just to meet his or her strong psychological need |
| D．entirely with an irrational eagerness |
According to the passage, compulsive bargain hunters are often in search of the lowest possible prices.
| A．because they feel satisfied if they spend less money than others |
| B．because they like to show off their success in getting things for less money |
| C．because they have money problem |
| D．because they want to save money to help heir budget |
The passage is mainly talking about．
| A．the psychology of money-spending habits |
| B．the purchasing habits of compulsive spenders |
| C．a special psychology of bargain hunting |
| D．the use of the psychology of spending habits in business |
From the passage we may safely conclude that compulsive spenders or compulsive bargainhunters .
| A．are really unreasonable |
| B．need special treatment |
| C．can't be cured |
| D．can never get any help to solve their problems with money |