Module 6　课下能力提升(二十一)

　　阅读理解

　　A

　　In the last 500 years nothing about people - not their clothes, ideas or languages - has changed as much as what they eat. Chocolate drink was first made from the seeds of the cacao (可可) tree by South American Indians. The Spanish introduced it to the rest of the world during the 1500s. And although it was very expensive, it quickly became popular. In London, shops where chocolate drinks were served became important places. Some still exist today. The potato is also from the New World. Around the 1600s, the Spanish brought it from Peru to Europe, where it soon was widely grown. Ireland became so dependent on it that thousands of Irish people starved (挨饿) when the crop failed during the years of 1845－1846, and thousands more were forced to go to live in America.

　　There are many other foods that have traveled from South America to the Old World. But some others went in the opposite direction. Brazil is now the world's largest grower of coffee, and coffee is an important crop in other South American countries. But it is native to Ethiopia. It was first made into a drink by Arabs during the 1400s. According to an Arabic story, coffee was discovered when a goat keeper named Lakdi noticed that his goats were eating red fruits on a coffee tree. He tried one and experienced the"wide­awake (彻底清醒的)" feeling that one third of the world's population now starts the day with.

　　1．According to the passage, which of the following changed more than others?

　　A．Clothes.　　　　　　　　B．Ideas.

　　C．Languages. D．Foods.

　　2．Chocolate drink was first invented in ________ while coffee was first invented in ________．

　　A．South America; Brazil

　　B．South America; the Old World

　　C．Spain; Ethiopia

　　D．London; Peru

　　3．According to the passage, which of the following is an"Old World"country?

　　A．Peru.

　　B．Brazil.

C．A certain American country.