What’s delicious, healthy to eat and comes in various colors? Eggplant! And no, it has nothing to do with chickens! This strangely named vegetable is, however, as versatile as an egg. It can be steamed, fried or baked. It can be eaten by itself or combined with meats and other vegetables.

 Eggplant was first grown in India during the 5th century B.C. Its popularity soon spread to China and then throughout Asia. Finally, during the Middle Ages the vegetable made its way to Europe. At that time, eggplant was not the shiny purple vegetable most people know today. Instead, it was like a white egg. Due to this egg-like appearance, eggplant got its name. In its early days, the vegetable was so bitter that people often called it a “mad apple”. This nickname started because people believed its bitterness was bad for one’s health. People actually thought eggplant could cause insanity(精神错乱) and cancer.

 Fortunately, today people know that eggplant doesn’t cause insanity or cancer. In fact, eggplant is so healthy that it may prevent cancer. In addition, the brain and the heart benefit from this supper vegetable. Since it is high in fiber, eggplant can also improve digestion.

 Italy, Turkey, Egypt, China and Japan are the leading growers of eggplant in the world today. Depending on its location, eggplant may be purple, green, orange or yellow-white. And it can be as small as a tomato or as large as a cucumber. Dish diversities(多样性) range from simple to complex, with all of them being delicious!

Today, thousands of people are gathering in Loomis, Calif, for the 23rd annual Loomis Eggplant Festival. The main activity at the festival is eating delicious eggplant dishes. There is plenty more to do and see, though. Recipe contests, arts and crafts, performers, races and children’s activities all “egg-cite” festival-goers. Most people at the festival would agree — eggplant is an “egg-cellent” vegetable!

1.What does the underlined word “versatile” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A. simple in shape                B. various in cooking  

C. diverse in size                 D. flexible in price

2.Which of the following statements about eggplants is TRUE?

A. Eggplant was once misunderstood by the people for its bitterness.

B. Eggplant was introduced into Europe during the 5th century B.C.

C. Eggplant got its name for its nutrition which is as rich as an egg.

D. Eggplant looks like what it used to be in color and shape.

3.Eggplant is so healthy that it can _____________.

A. cure the cancer with certainty          B. do good to digestion

C. replace other vegetables              D. help relieve insanity

4.The diversities of eggplant reflect in many aspects EXCEPT _____________.

A. colors   B. sizes    C. dishes    D. nutrition

5.The passage mainly tells us about __________________.

A. the 23rd annual Loomis Eggplant Festival

B. the general introduction of eggplant

C. the origin of eggplant

D. the benefits of eggplant

 

     Bill Robinson is on trial for murder (因谋杀而受审). He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year. When he was nineteen years old, he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam. He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people. Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off, but things were never quite the same again for the young black man. For one thing, he always had terrible dreams about the war. He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school.Then he was fired from one job after another. He wanted to meet someone nice and get married, but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone. He was always lonely. Finally one day, while eating at a restaurant, Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all. Bill's lawyer hopes that the judge and the jury (陪审团)  will understand that Bill was “temporarily insane" (一时精神错乱) and did not really choose to kill anyone.

71. What did Bill Robinson do after he returned from abroad?

A.  He gave up the chance to go back to college.

B.  He tried to go back to his normal life.          C.  He picked up his things and left again.

D.  He found when he had dreamed of.

72. He failed to complete his college education because he _______.

A. hated school               B. joined the army            C. didn't study hard   

D. found it difficult to keep his mind on his studies

73. He never married because _______.

A. there were no nice girls around                            B. he didn't care to meet any girls

C. he hadn't met girls that he liked                            D. he found it hard to make friends with girls

74. What happened one day?

A. He went insane.                                                 B. He shot a young black man.

C. He killed someone with a gun.                             D. He shot someone for a large sum of money.

75. The best title for this article is _______.

A.Robinson on Trial                                               B.Murder at a Restaurant

C.A Young Black Man                                             D.A Victim of the Vietnam War

Bill Robinson is on trial for murder（因谋杀而受审）．He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year．When he was nineteen years old，he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam．He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people．Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off，but things were never quite the same again for the young black man．For one thing，he always had terrible dreams about the war．He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school．Then he was fired from one job after another．He wanted to meet someone nice and get married，but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone．He became angry easily and people avoided him．He was always lonely．Finally one day，while eating at a restaurant，Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all．Bill's lawyer hopes that he will not be held responsible for the shooting．He hopes that the judge and the jury（陪审团）will understand that Bill was“temporarily insane（一时精神错乱）”and did not really choose to kill anyone．
【小题1】What did Bill Robinson do after he returned from abroad？

A．He gave up the chance to go back to college．	B．He tried to go back to his normal life．
C．He picked up his things and left again．	D．He found what he had dreamed of．

【小题2】He failed to complete his college education because he ____ ．

A．hated school	B．joined the army
C．didn't study hard	D．found it difficult to keep his mind on his studies

【小题3】He never married because ____ ．

A．there were no nice girls around	B．he didn't care to meet any girls
C．he hadn't met girls that he liked	D．he found it hard to make friends with girls

【小题4】The best title for this article is ____ ．

A．Robinson on Trial	B．Murder at a Restaurant
C．A Young Black Man	D．A Victim of the Vietnam War

Bill Robinson is on trial for murder（因谋杀而受审）．He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year．When he was nineteen years old，he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam．He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people．Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off，but things were never quite the same again for the young black man．For one thing，he always had terrible dreams about the war．He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school．Then he was fired from one job after another．He wanted to meet someone nice and get married，but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone．He became angry easily and people avoided him．He was always lonely．Finally one day，while eating at a restaurant，Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all．Bill's lawyer hopes that he will not be held responsible for the shooting．He hopes that the judge and the jury（陪审团）will understand that Bill was“temporarily insane（一时精神错乱）”and did not really choose to kill anyone．

1.What did Bill Robinson do after he returned from abroad？

A．He gave up the chance to go back to college．	B．He tried to go back to his normal life．
C．He picked up his things and left again．	D．He found what he had dreamed of．

2.He failed to complete his college education because he ____ ．

A．hated school	B．joined the army
C．didn't study hard	D．found it difficult to keep his mind on his studies

3.He never married because ____ ．

A．there were no nice girls around	B．he didn't care to meet any girls
C．he hadn't met girls that he liked	D．he found it hard to make friends with girls

4.The best title for this article is ____ ．

A．Robinson on Trial	B．Murder at a Restaurant
C．A Young Black Man	D．A Victim of the Vietnam War

 

IV. 阅读理解：                   

   Bill Robinson is on trial for murder（因谋杀而受审）．He grew up in a small town in Ohio and then went to Kent State University for one year．When he was nineteen years old，he was asked to join the army and was soon sent to fight in Vietnam．He was very unhappy there as he hated the war and he hated killing people．Two years later he returned home and tried to pick up where he had left off，but things were never quite the same again for the young black man．For one thing，he always had terrible dreams about the war．He could not concentrate on his studies and soon he had to leave school．Then he was fired from one job after another．He wanted to meet someone nice and get married，but he just couldn't seem to get close to anyone．He became angry easily and people avoided him．He was always lonely．Finally one day，while eating at a restaurant，Bill lost control of himself and shot someone for no reason at all．Bill's lawyer hopes that he will not be held responsible for the shooting．He hopes that the judge and the jury（陪审团）will understand that Bill was“temporarily insane（一时精神错乱）”and did not really choose to kill anyone．

1．What did Bill Robinson do after he returned from abroad？

   A．He gave up the chance to go back to college．  B．He tried to go back to his normal life．

   C．He picked up his things and left again．       D．He found what he had dreamed of．

2．He failed to complete his college education because he ____ ．

     A．hated school           B．joined the army  

    C．didn't study hard        D．found it difficult to keep his mind on his studies

3．He never married because ____ ．

    A．there were no nice girls around      B．he didn't care to meet any girls

    C．he hadn't met girls that he liked      D．he found it hard to make friends with girls

4．The best title for this article is ____ ．

    A．Robinson on Trial            B．Murder at a Restaurant

    C．A Young Black Man          D．A Victim(受害者) of the Vietnam War