Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their wandering hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started that farming process.

The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation (发酵) process by chance. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment.

The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, meaning “to drink”, and the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.

A vitamin-rich porridge, used daily, beer is reported to have increased health and longevity and reduced disease and malnutrition (营养不良). The self-medicating properties of alcohol-rich beer also eased the tensions and stresses of daily living in a hostile world. The use of yeast (酵母) was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air.

Considerable scientific research took place in breweries (酿酒厂) in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was Studies Concerning Beer where he revealed his knowledge of micro-organisms. By establishing that yeast is a living microorganism, Pasteur opened the gates for accurately controlling the conversion (转换) of sugar to alcohol.

Another discovery in beer brewing was the work of Christian Hansen, a Danish scientist, who successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the resulting yeast multiplication (繁殖) methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved.

1.According to the passage, who was the first to brew beer?

2.The last two paragraphs mainly talk about 　　   　 .

3.According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?

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

In the survey they listed twelve kinds of food _______would affect the work of the brain．

       A．which the experts believed                 B．that were believed

       C．the experts believed that                          D．the experts believed

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Save the Children works to bring about a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.
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Save the Children actively works with the communities, the State governments and the national government to bring lasting changes for children by:
Providing them with immunisation (免疫) and nutrition.
Ensuring that they have a chance to join formal school.
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【小题1】What is the main purpose of writing the passage?

Born in Italy, Galileo Galilei, was a Tuscan astronomer, philosopher, and physicist. He is closely associated with the 36     (science) revolution. For his great achievements, he has been referred to as the “father of modern astronomy”, as the “father of modern physics”, and as “father of science”. The work of Galileo 37         (consider) to be a significant break from that of Aristotle. In addition, his conflict with the Roman Catholic Church is taken as 38     major early example of the conflict of authority and freedom of thought, particularly with science, 39      Western society. He was a man 40      experimented—never did he take anything for granted. Instead, he despised（蔑视） the prejudices and book learning of the Aristotelians and drew his 41      (conclude) fearlessly. He had been the first 42     (turn) a telescope to the sky, and he had seen there evidence enough to overthrow（推翻） Aristotle and Ptolemy together. Although Galileo found 43       difficult for him to make people 44      (convince) of his theories, he still stuck to his views. His observations showed the theory that the earth moves around the sun was right. It was only many years later 45     the world recognized his greatness.

Plastics are considered one of the most serious pollutants causing environmental problems. The garbage containing plastics end up in the waterways that eventually flow into the oceans. Accumulation (聚集)of plastic in the ocean endangers marine life and pollutes the water.

Does a plastic continent exist? Yes, a plastic continent does exist and was discovered by Captain Charles Moore a decade ago. The plastic continent is twice the size of Britain and it is the region between the Hawaii Islands and California in the central Pacific Ocean.

One of the causes of the lack of marine life in this region is due to pollution and pollutants are none other than plastics. Captain Charles Moore believes plastic waste started accumulating in the 1950s.

The plastic continent is the man-made continent of floating plastic waste. The fisher men and the sailors have avoided this region for years. The reasons are:

1. There are no fish here because of the lack of nutrients.

2. The zone also lacks the wind that is essential for sailing.

To do research on the ocean pollution, Captain Moore founded Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Other organizations such as Greenpeace supported his cause. The reports of The United Nations Environment Program show that millions of seabirds and marine animals are dying due to the invasion(入侵)of plastics. The waste plastics can be recycled, but in fact they are being thrown into the oceans. The marine animals mistake these for food and eat them. This leads to their death that affects the marine food chain.

To save the oceans from the plastic continent you need to reduce the use of plastics, reuse plastic bags and recycle plastics.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

2. What is the direct influence of the plastic continent?

3. It is implied that the work of plastic recycling proves to be ______.

4.What can we learn from the passage?