Question

On a hot summer day, ice-cold watermelons serve up a delicious treat. Sure, the rosy flesh (果肉) quenches your thirst (解渴). But now there are more reasons than ever for people to reach for a slice of watermelon.

Meet Dr Alison Edwards. She is a scientist at the Agricultural Research Service. Scientists are people who come up with new ideas called theories (理论). They usually do scientific research to test their new theories. That’s how they find out if a new idea is a good one, or if the new idea will bring an even better idea.

At her lab, Dr Edwards recently learned more about the secrets of why watermelons are good for you!

Dr Edwards has known for a long time that watermelons have vitamin C. But recently she learned that watermelons also have lycopene (番茄红素). It is something that gives tomatoes and watermelons their rosy red colour.

What’s so special about the lycopene in watermelons?

Dr Edwards says that watermelons and tomatoes both have lots of lycopene. It seems that your body can use the lycopene from watermelons more easily than the lycopene from raw (生的) tomatoes. In fact, the lycopene from tomatoes is more easily absorbed (吸收) inside your body once they have been cooked.

1.The watermelon is a kind of ________.

A. drink B. fruit C. medicine D. vitamin

2.How does a scientist usually test a theory?

A. By practising it in daily life.

B. By doing scientific research.

C. By discussing it with other scientists.

D. By looking into many scientific reports.

3.Lycopene is something that gives tomatoes and watermelons their ________ colour.

A. red B. green C. black D. yellow

4.To make full use of tomatoes, we’d better________.

A. eat them raw B. not peel the

C. cook them first D. make them into juice

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Our bodies cannot absorb lycopene.

B. Watermelons are good for us in hot summer.

C. Tomatoes have more lycopene than watermelons do.

D. Lycopene in watermelons is hard for our bodies to absorb.

Answer 1