Humans may have been enjoying cacao, which has been used to make chocolate, for much longer than experts had thought.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada have found that humans grew cacao trees and consumed (食用) cacao starting around 5,300 years ago.
The researchers found evidence of cacao’s use at an ancient village in the highlands of southeastern Ecuador. They examined the remains of very old objects. The village was part of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture of the Andes.
Scientists had already mostly agreed that cacao was first domesticated in South America instead of Central America, as they once believed. But the new discovery shows cacao was grown about 1,500 years earlier than was known before.
The University of British Columbia researchers also identified (证实) a substance found in the cacao tree but not in its wild relatives. This suggests that humans grew the tree for food purposes.
Today, the seeds are cooked and turned into many chocolate products. But thousands of years ago, cacao was used to make drinks.
Michael Blake is a professor of University of British Columbia who helped lead the study. He said that the objects on which cacao was found suggest a lot about how people used the substance at the time.
“They clearly drank it,” Blake told the Reuters news service.
There is no clear history of native populations in South or Central America using cacao to make chocolate the way people do now, the researchers reported. Native populations in the upper Amazon area today still use cacao to make special drinks, they added.
Evidence suggests cacao growing moved into Central America and Mexico about 4,000 years ago. It is not clear how cacao’s use spread between South and Central America.
But by the time Spanish explorers arrived in Central America in the late 1400s, people were using it to make hot and cold chocolate drinks with spices.
By the 1580s, Spain began importing cacao and spreading it to other European countries. By the 1800s, technology developed in the Netherlands made it possible to turn cacao into a solid chocolate product.
1.Where was cacao grown earliest?
A.Mexico. B.Canada
C.Central America. D.South America.
2.When it comes to the introduction of cacao to Europe, which country contributed most?
A.America. B.Canada.
C.Spain. D.Netherland.
3.Which of the following can serve as a best possible title for this passage?
A.The history of cacao. B.The home of cacao.
C.The use of cacao. D.The spreading or cacao.
Dining halls of the Hilton Wuhan Riverside have been busting with military personnel ever since the first delegations 24 and staff of the International Sports Military Council (CISM ) started checking into the hotel over a week ago.
This marks the first time China is staging a CISM event, with nearly 10,000 participants attending the 7th Military World Games in Wuhan. Many of them, along with some of the staff from CISM and the organizing committee, are staying at the Hilton Wuhan Riverside.
Dharmendra Singh from India doesn’t belong to either category of guests, even though his military-style haircut and two pins - a CISM pin and a Wuhan 2019 Games pin - on the lapel of his black suit might suggest otherwise. His ability to talk in Mandarin complicates things even further.
Singh is in charge of tending to the guests at the hotel, in particular those who take their meals in the dining halls. Yet, by his own admission, the 31-year-old, who has been a chef at the Hilton for nearly two years, feels as though he is also part of the “army family” at the hotel, and being part of Wuhan Games is fulfilling his “army dream”.
As a teen, he dreamed about serving his country as a soldier. However, the pressure of being the older of the two siblings in a financially challenged family meant Singh had to put his military dream on hold. To provide for his parents and younger brother, at 17 he set out to earn an income by making use of his culinary (烹饪的) skills.
“And, as fate would have it, a friend helped me get a job at the hotel.”
Pointing to the Wuhan Games and CISM pins that two diners gave him, Singh added: “Military people command respect due to their selflessness and honesty towards their work. I am glad that I am able to serve them and to honor their commitment to serve their nations.”
By the time the Games end on Oct 27, some of the guests might have handed Singh a few more pins to add to his collection; others might say goodbye with just a “thank you”. Either way, he will remain grateful to them for providing memories for a lifetime.
1.What can we learn from paragraph three?
A.Singh used to serve in Indian army.
B.Singh’s identity seems to be confusing.
C.Singh tends to wear a black suit every day.
D.Singh pretends to be one of the staff of CISM.
2.Why will Singh be grateful to his guests?
A.Because they may show respect to him.
B.Because they will give him precious memories.
C.Because they will present him with some decorations.
D.Because they may help fulfill his dream to be a soldier.
3.Which may be the best title of the passage?
A.Cooking up some special memories. B.Gathering of peace.
C.The thrill of World Military Game. D.Closing with a cultural flourish.
假定你是李津，你的英国朋友Alex经常在网络平台上帮助你学习英语，你的英语口语得到很大提升。请给他写一封邮件.
内容包括:(1)表示感谢；(2)回顾Alex对你的帮助；(3)邀请他来天津游玩。
注意:(1)词数100左右；(2)可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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阅读表达
When people think of New York City, most of them probably picture the attractive lifestyles of the rich and famous or think of Broadway, Times Square and other tourists attractions. However, there is another side of New York City. The summer after tenth grade, I went with my group on a mission trip to New York City for a week.
I had always known that poverty existed in major cities, but I had never seen it to a degree as high as we did there. We worked at several different locations with our small groups. One day, we served at a soup kitchen and what I saw astounded me. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We saw people from all walks of life. We met people who came there because they had no job, no home and no money.
Another day, we volunteered at a homeless shelter. We helped people there do some cleaning and spent time talking to them and listening to their stories. It was incredible to see how thankful they were to us for just spending a couple of hours talking to them.
Every person we met on that trip had a unique story. Whatever their stories were, there was a common thread we saw in them—hope and thanks. These were people who had nothing and yet they were so hopeful about her future and they were thanking us.
My experience during the summer changed my life. I used to picture my future as containing a big house and a lot of money, but now I see my future as helping others. After college, I would really like to work for some sort of global aid organization that deals with social issues, such as poverty and homelessness.
1.What do most people have in mind when thinking of New York City? (no more than 10 words)
_________________________________________________________________
2.What does the underlined word “astounded” in Paragraph 2 mean?(1 word)
_________________________________________________________________
3.What did the author discover in the people at the homeless shelter? (no more than 15 Words)
_________________________________________________________________
4.What kind of organization does the author want to work for after college? (no more than 10 words)
_________________________________________________________________
5.How does the author’s experience inspire you? (no more than 25 words)
_________________________________________________________________
Recently, American President Trump announced his budget. One of the budgets would cut all money to The Institute of Museum and Library services and libraries across the United States. However, as far as I’m concerned, we need to save our libraries.
Libraries provide books and after-school programs for children. They help inspire a life-time love of learning and reading in children of all ages. The knowledge of the books in libraries is not available to the children at school. Without them where will kids with no Internet at home do their homework? Where will kids have a place to study or borrow books after school? Therefore, we need libraries for our kids. We need them so kids can grow up with a place, other than school, where learning and exploration is encouraged. Reading books can benefit children’s minds. Books allow them to imagine.
For adults, libraries serve as a place where they can use the Internet to apply for jobs, get job training, early voting centers as well as book clubs to help make new friends. It can also serve as a place to pick up a book and learn something new. Meanwhile, they can also rent a book and get away from it all.
Libraries save our information for the next generation. When we live in an age of alternative facts, where science is ignored in favor of personal feelings, we need libraries now more than ever. We need them to educate ourselves on the facts. We need them to have strong civic participation.
If you assent to me, you shouldn’t be silent on this issue. You can write or call directly to tell the president to save our libraries. You can also write to both your state Senators (参议员) and your district representative. Let them know this is good issue because all people use public libraries in their daily life.
1.Which of the following statements is true according to the passage？
A.There is no need for children to learn in libraries.
B.Children can learn knowledge that can’t be taught at school in libraries.
C.Libraries can provide a quiet space for children to have a rest.
D.The reference book in the libraries can help children imagine a new world.
2.Unlike kids, besides reading, adults use libraries to _______.
A.do something about jobs and social activities
B.explore the world
C.have a good rest
D.earn some money
3.Which statement about libraries does the author agree with?
A.Science should be learned in our libraries.
B.Information can be stored in libraries forever
C.The government needs libraries more than before.
D.Libraries play a more important role nowadays.
4.What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “assent to”?
A.Fight against. B.Agree with.
C.Think about. D.Drop by.
5.Which is the best title for this passage?
A.Learn in our libraries B.The function of libraries
C.Save our libraries D.Grow up with our libraries
In an effort to fight plastic pollution, Indian company EnviGreen has produced a new material that looks like plastic, but is 100% organic and eco-friendly. You can even dispose (处理) of such a “plastic” bag by eating it.
EnviGreen founder Ashwath Hedge came up with this idea after seeing people struggling to find alternatives to plastic bags, following bans released by several Indian cities. So he decided to work on something that would solve this problem while being environment-friendly.
Hedge spent four years experimenting with various materials, but one day he discovered a combination of 12 ingredients, including potatoes, corn, vegetable oil, bananas etc, which looked and felt like plastic, but caused none of the environmental problems. The process is obviously a closely-guarded secret, but Hedge did reveal that the raw materials are first changed into liquid form, and then taken through a six-stage process to create the bags.
The cost of an EnviGreen bag is about 35% higher than that of a plastic bag, but the benefits of using the former are more than worth the extra cost. EnviGreen bags dissolve naturally in less than 180 days, and if placed in water at room temperature, they dissolve in less than a day. Placed in boiling water, they dissolve in about 15 seconds.
EnviGreen has begun to produce EnviGreen bags for commercial use. The company has set up a factory in Bangalore, where it produces around 1,000 tons of eco-friendly “plastic” bags a month. That’s not very much, considering that the city of Bangalore alone consumes over 30,000 tons of plastic bags every month, but Hedge says that he wants to set up enough factories before they start distributing to individual customers. They have started supplying the bags to big supermarkets like Metro and Reliance. Apart from protecting the environment, Hedge also plans to use EnviGreen bags to support local farmers.
Nowadays, over 15,000 tons of plastic waste is produced in India every day, only 9,000 of which are collected and processed. Inventions of EnviGreen can help solve this problem, so let's hope it lives up to its potential.
1.What can we know about EnviGreen bags?
A.They give out wonderful smells.
B.They cost much less than plastic bags.
C.They are beneficial to the environment.
D.They are developed by the Indian goverment.
2.We can learn from the passage that ________.
A.it is very easy to produce EnviGreen bags
B.EnviGreen bags are made from various fruits
C.the details of how to make EnviGreen bags aren’t made public
D.the Indian government has banned plastic bags across the country
3.EnviGreen bags dissolve most quickly when they are ________.
A.thrown in the wild B.washed in cold water
C.buried in the soil D.put in boiling water
4.What can we infer about EnviGreen bags from the passage?
A.Individual customers cannot buy them so far.
B.They will replace all plastic bags in India soon.
C.They are not well-accepted by big supermarkets.
D.Local farmers are in great need of EnviGreen bags.
5.What does the author think of EnviGreen bags?
A.Wasteful. B.Practical.
C.Ridiculous. D.Crazy.
