Question

Can you imagine that several hundred years ago, tomatoes were seen as toxic food in Europe?

What made Europeans believe this was John Gerard’s publication of Herbal in 1597. Gerard wrote: “The leaves and stalks of the tomato plant are toxic.” Undoubtedly, Gerard’s opinion was based on a misunderstanding of tomatoes. But his opinion was widely spread in Britain and North America for over two hundred years.

In the late 1700s, a lot of Europeans held more fears for tomatoes. A nick name for the fruit was “poison apple” because it was believed that aristocrats(贵族) got sick and died after eating them. But the actual reason was the pewter plates they used. Since tomatoes are high in acidity, when placed on the plates, the lead(铅) in the plates would dissolve(溶解). This caused many deaths. Unluckily, no one knew this at that time. So the innocent tomatoes were picked as the killer.

Today, more than one and a half billion tons of tomatoes are produced every year around the world. Tomatoes are cooked in various ways. This healthy and tasty food finally wins its innocence(清白) back.

1.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A. Europeans’ fears for tomatoes

B. History of tomato planting

C. Why do people eat so many tomatoes

D. How did the tomato prove its value

2.What does the underlined word “toxic” in paragraph 1 mean?

A. delicious       B. nutritious(有营养的)

C. poisonous       D. safe

3.When did people begin to eat tomatoes according to the text?

A. About 100 years ago.     B. About 200 years ago.

C. About 300 years ago.     D. About 400 years ago.

4.What’s the key point for the death of the aristocrats mentioned in the passage?

A. Tomatoes.       B. The pewter plate.

C. Serious illness. D. Chemical reaction.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：番茄是现在非常受欢迎的蔬菜，但是几百年前，欧洲人对番茄充满恐惧，认为其是有毒食品，本文就介绍了番茄被欧洲人恐惧的黑暗历史。

1.1】概述全文。文章开篇明义，番茄在几百年前的欧洲被认为是有毒食品，接着介绍了认为番茄有毒的学术观点和欧洲贵族不当的食用方式导致食物中毒的例子，从理论和实例两方面说明欧洲人对番茄的恐惧，故选A。

2.2】词义解析题。第三段提到，A nick name for the fruit was “poison apple” because it was believed that aristocrats(贵族) got sick and died after eating them.欧洲贵族认为食用番茄导致病毒甚至死亡，故称其为“毒苹果”，可知选C。

3.3】推理判断题。“What made Europeans believe this was John Gerard’s publication of Herbal in 1597. Gerard wrote: “The leaves and stalks of the tomato plant are toxic.” “But his opinion was widely spread in Britain and North America for over two hundred years.”约翰·吉拉德在1597年出版的Herbal》中写到，番茄的叶和茎是有毒的的，这一观点被欧洲接受，并于200年间在英国和北美广泛传播。可以推断，番茄有毒的观点在1597年到1797年间都是为人接受的，人们不会食用有毒食品。此后，人们才开始食用番茄，距离现在应为200年，故选B。

4.4】推理判断题。But the actual reason was the pewter plates they used. Since tomatoes are high in acidity, when placed on the plates, the lead(铅) in the plates would dissolve(溶解). This caused many deaths.真正的原因是他们使用的锡盘。因为西红柿含酸量高，当被放置在锡盘里，锡盘中含有的铅会溶解，导致死亡。所以，西红柿和锡盘都不能直接导致死亡，而是两者放置一起后，发生化学反应导致死亡。故选D。

考点：考查科普文阅读