We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it’s an ingredient(配料) in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices like chili peppers.

Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say “Ugh!” and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.

The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.

When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too. Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.

In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.

Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.

1.It was ________that discovered sugar could remove the bitter taste of cacao.

2.According to the passage which of the following statements is true?

3.The Spaniards think that cacao was a medicine because________

4.Which is the right time order of the events regarding chocolate?

a. Chocolate became a cheap and popular drink in England.

b. A factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate.

c. The Spaniards started drinking cacao.

d. It was found that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao.

e. A factory mixed milk and chocolate together.

5.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

1 Day Fly-Fly Aboriginal Rock Tour

Tour Details

Operator: Adventure North Australia

Destination: Cooktown

Departs From: Cairns

Tour Description

Voted as one of Australia's Must-Do-Experiences. Treat yourself to an amazing day out with Aboriginal Elder Willie Gordon.

Depart Cairns Domestic Airport for the Skytrans Flight to Cooktown. Flight departs Cairns at 6:45 a.m.

Enjoy a 45-minute flight with wonderful views from Cairns to Cooktown as you fly along the coast between the World Heritage rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. On arrival in Cooktown you will be met by Willie Gordon, the traditional storyteller of the Nugal-warra clan(部落).

Willie Gordon takes guests to his ancestral rock art sites, set high in the hills above Hope Vale, outside Cooktown. Here he shares the stories behind the art, and explains how the paintings speak of the most basic and important quality of life and the knowledge of his people.

The tour takes you through an impressive view of six rock art sites, including an ancestral Birth Cave and the Reconciliation Cave. This includes a 30-minute bush walk on generally easy terrian(地形). (Covered closed-on shoes must be worn.)

Return to Cooktown at 1:15 p.m. where Willie will take you to the Nature Power House Museum, Cooktown's Visitor Information Centre. Lunch is included at the Verhandah Cafe.

The rest of the afternoon is free to explore historical Cooktown before your transfer to Cooktown airport and return flight to Cairns. Flight arrives at Cairns Domestic Airport at 6:40 p.m. Own arrangements on arrival in Cairns.

Prices

Adults: $ 549.00

Children: $ 390.00

Families(2 adults and 2 children): $ 1,869.00

1.According to the passage, how will tourists arrive in Cooktown?

A. By ship.         B. By car.              C. By air.          D. By train.

2.What do we learn about Willie Gordon?

A. He acts as the guide of the tour.

B. He is the owner of the Verhandah Cafe.

C. He works in the Nature Power House Museum.

D. He is the manager of Adventure North Australia.

3.After viewing rock art, tourists will go to__________.

A. the World Heritage rainforest                B. the Great Barrier Reef

C. rock art sites outside the town              D. the Nature Power House Museum

4.We learn from the passage that the whole trip lasts about__________.

A. six hours            B. eight hours          C. ten hours        D. twelve hours

5.From the passage, the tour is designed to let the tourists__________.

A. learn about the custom                   B. enjoy the ancient art

C. taste the delicious snacks                   D. experience the lifestyle

Go ahead，talk to your dog.
As many a dog owner will prove, our furry friends are listening. Now, for the doubters, there is scientific proof that they understand much of what they hear. A border collie called Rico can fetch at least 200 objects by name， researchers in Germany say. The dog also appears to learn words for new objects as easily as a 3-year-old child would. Its word-learning skill is as good as that of a parrot or chimpanzee.
In one experiment, the researchers took all 200 items that Rico is supposed to know and divided them randomly into 20 sets of 10 objects each. The dog waited with one of his owners in one room, while an experimenter put a set of 10 objects into another room. Then, the owner told the dog to fetch one of the items. The dog had to go to the other room and bring the object back.
In four trials, Rico got 37 out of 40 commands right. Because the dog couldn't see anyone to get visual clues about what to bring back, the scientists concluded that he must understand the meanings of certain words.
In another experiment, the scientists took one toy that Rico had never seen before and put it in a room with seven toys whose names he already knew. The dog's owner then told him to fetch the object, using a word Rico had never heard.
In 7 out of 10 trials, Rico picked the right object, suggesting that he figured out the answer by process of elimination. A month later, he remembered half of the new names, which further impressed the researchers.
Rico is probably smarter than the average dog, the scientists say. For one thing, he's a border collie, a breed known for its mental abilities. In addition, the 9-year-old dog has been trained to retrieve toys by their names since he was 9 months old.
It's hard to know if all dogs understand at least some of the words we say. Even if they do, they can't talk back. Still, it wouldn't hurt to sweet-talk your pup every now and then. You might just get a big, wet kiss in return!
48．The passage is probably taken from a book on _____
A．pets B．environment    C．culture     D．nutrition
49．It is implied that ____
A．Rico is probably cleverer than the average dog
B．Only a few dogs can talk back to its owner
C．if a chimpanzee is trained ,it can also recognize the names of objects
D．All dogs can understand words
50．How long is it since Rico’s owner began to train him?
A．nine months  B．3years    C．over nine years      D．more than eight years
51．Rico can do all the following except _____
A．understanding the meanings of certain words.
B．picking the right object by process of elimination
C．remembering all of the new names he learned    D．retrieving toys by their names

I will never forget what happened to me that day. That afternoon，I was sitting at my favorite table in a restaurant, waiting for the food I had ordered to arrive. Suddenly I  16  that a man sitting at a table near the window kept glancing in my direction,  17  he knew me. The man had a newspaper  18  in front of him, which he was  19  to read, but I could  20  that he was keeping an eye on me. When the waiter brought my  21  the man was clearly puzzled (困惑) by the  22  way in which the waiter and I  23  each other. He seemed even more puzzled as  24  went on and it became  25  that all the waiters in the restaurant knew me. Finally he got up and went into the  26  . When he came out, he paid his bill and  27  without another glance in my direction.

　　  I called the owner of the restaurant and asked what the man had  28  . “Well,” he said, “that man was a detective (侦探). He  29  you here because he thought you were the man he 30 . ” “What?” I said, showing my  31  . The owner continued, “He came into the kitchen and showed me a photo of the wanted man. I  32  say he looked very much like you! Of course, since we know you, we told him that he had made a  33  ”. “Well, it’s really  34  I came to a restaurant where I’m known,” I said. “  35  , I might have been in trouble. ”

When I was seven, my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices (装置) tell the time — which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists (手腕); sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007. 

But while these wise people have realized that they don’t need them, others — including some distinguished ones of our time — are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to £ 250.000 for a piece.

This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days, all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Yes, you may say expensive watches will come with some extra functions — but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea to test its function of waterproof, or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole by using its compass? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?

If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead, the Swiss re-invented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man —— usually a famous star, wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world. 

Watches are classified as “investment items” (投资项目) now. A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly £ 350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from 15, 000 to 30, 000 plus in a year. But, to some wealthy people, a watch is more than an investment. It’s a valuable toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up — they’ve been rising for fifteen years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that £ 350, 000 treasured object will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Times. 

1.The sales of watches to young people have fallen because ______. 

2.It seems ridiculous to the writer that ______. 

3.What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?

4.Which would be the best title for the passage?