Question

15．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．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．
51．Which of the following can be the best title for this passage？A
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
52．What does the underlined word"toxic"in paragraph 1 mean？C
A．delicious          B．nutritious（营养）     C．poisonous        D．safe
53．What do we know about the book Herbal？B
A．It was written by an American writer
B．It was published about 400 years ago．
C．Tomatoes were described as good food
D．Chinese herbal medicine was included．
54．When did people begin to eat tomatoes according to the text？B
A．About 100 years ago
B．About 200 years ago．
C．About 300 years ago
D．About 400 years ago．
55．What's the key point for the death of the aristocrats mentioned in the passage？D
A．Tomatoes．B．The pewter plate．C．Serious illness．D．Chemical reaction．

Answer 1

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．

解答 51．A  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．
52．C 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．
53．B  细节理解题．根据题意定位文章第一段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．"可判断此书写于400多年前．
54 B 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，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．
55．D 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．

点评 做阅读时经常犯错的主要原因是，仅凭读过文章后残留在脑海中的一丝印象来勾选答案，这样便很容易掉入出题人故意设布下的题目陷阱．所谓阅读理解，对于题目的理解一定要忠实于原文，因此，每一道题都应该与原文作全面的对比与核查，再得出答案．也就是说，阅读理解的每一道题目，在原文都应该有明确的出处，我们把这一出处叫做原文相关句，（1）排除与原文相关句主题不一致的选项（2）排除与原文相关句态度相反的选项  （3）排除用于过于极端或负面的选项（4）注意结合文章主旨和主题去排除．