Question

Potatoes are very popular today. But in the past this was not true. Potatoes grew in South America 5,000 years ago. But they only became popular in other places 200 years ago.

In the 16th century, the Spanish took the potato from South America to Europe. But the people didn’t like this strange vegetable. Some people thought that their skins would look like the skin of the plant if they ate the potato. So they only ate the leaves. This made them sick because there is poison (毒药) in the leaves.

In the 1800s, people started to eat potatoes. Potatoes became the main food in Ireland. Then something unlucky happened. In 1845, a disease killed all the potatoes in Ireland. Two million people died of hunger.

Today each country has its potato dish. Germans eat potato salad, and the USA has the baked potato. Of course, the French invented French fries.

Fill in the blanks according to the passage. Only one word for each blank.

Potatoes were1.____in South America 5,000 years ago. But they weren’t popular in other places2.___200 years ago. In the 16th century, the Spanish took them to Europe. They ate leaves 3. of having potatoes. As a result, people were badly ill because of the poison in the leaves. In the 1800s, people started to eat potatoes. 4.___, there was something wrong with the potatoes. Two million people died because of the shortage (缺少) of potatoes in 1845. But now there are many 5.___of potato dishes in the world.

 

Answer 1

1.grown

2.until

3.instead

4.However

5.kinds

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文主要讲述人们对马铃薯的认识过程。文章介绍，16世纪，西班牙人把马铃薯从南美洲带到欧洲。当时欧洲人并不喜欢这个奇特的蔬菜。19世纪，人们开始吃马铃薯。在爱尔兰，马铃薯成了主食。今天，各个国家都有各自的马铃薯佳肴。

1.第一段Potatoes grew in South America 5,000 years ago.的描述可知，5000年前马铃薯被种植于南美。结合语境可知应用被动语态，故填：grown。

2. they only became popular in other places 200 years ago.的描述可知，马铃薯直到两百年前才开始在各地受到欢迎。结合语境可知应填：until。

3.下文people were badly ill because of the poison in the leaves.的描述可知，当时人们只吃它的叶子，而不是吃马铃薯。结合语境可知应填：instead，instead of而不是。

4.联系上下文的描述可知，19世纪，人们开始吃马铃薯。然而，由于全爱尔兰的马铃薯受到了侵害，有两百万人因此饿死。结合语境可知，这里存在转折关系，故填：However。

5. each country has its potato dish.的描述可知，现在世界上有各种各样的马铃薯佳肴。结合用酒精可知应填：kinds。

考点：经济文化类短文阅读。