Question

    西红柿——水果还是蔬菜？

Tomatoes are one of the world's oldest foods. They were discovered by the Indians of South America thousands of years ago. The first tomatoes were very small. By the time the Europeans brought them to Europe in the 1500s, they were larger. They looked more like the tomatoes we eat today.

When tomatoes first arrived in Italy, they were known as “love apples”. Italians believed that if you ate a tomato, you would easily fall in love.

In the United States, people believed that tomatoes were poisonous(有毒的), and that you would die immediately upon eating one. It wasn't easy to persuade(劝说) people otherwise.

That is, until 1820, when Robert Johnson decided to prove people wrong. He announced that he would publicly eat one bushel(蒲式耳) of tomatoes—about 50. A huge crowd showed up to watch. They were sure that Mr. Johnson was going to die. Of course, he survived. And the tomato went on to gain a big place in the American diet.

In the beginning, people argued whether tomatoes were a fruit or a vegetable. From a purely scientific point of view they are a fruit. A fruit is the ripened ovary(子房) of any plant that makes seeds. However, this didn't stop most people from calling tomatoes a vegetable. They reasoned that tomatoes are eaten with the main meal—just like vegetables. They are not eaten as dessert, like other fruits such as apples or bananas. Therefore,__they__thought__the__tomato__must__surely__be__a__vegetable.

Fruit or vegetable, tomatoes have survived a long time. They are not likely to disappear any time soon. They are just too good to eat.

1~2题完成句子；3题简略回答问题；4题找出并写下第五段的主题句；5题将文中画线句子译成汉语。

1.By the time the Europeans brought tomatoes to Europe ____________， they were larger.

2.Italians believed that you would easily ____________ if you ate a tomato.

3.What happened to Robert Johnson after eating one bushel of tomatoes?

________________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________________

5.________________________________________________________________________

Answer

1.in the 1500s

2.fall in love

3.He survived.

4.In the beginning, people argued whether tomatoes were a fruit or a vegetable.

5.因此，他们觉得番茄肯定是一种蔬菜。

【解析】

主旨大意:本文是一篇议论文。主要介绍了西红柿的历史以及对它是蔬菜还是水果展开讨论。