4．Coffee grows only in the tropics（热带）．The temperature must be between 65and 70degrees Fahrenheit（华氏度）．Coffee must have shade from nearby trees，but it also requires at least two hours of sunlight each day．It was in the 18th and 19th centuries that coffee seeds from the Middle East were taken to Latin America，the Caribbean，and Africa．It spread fast，with demand for the coffee growing in the northern part of the world．Millions of acres of rainforest and jungle were planted with coffee trees．Because of coffee's need for shade and its ability to be grown alongside other crops，the small coffee trees didn't require any forests to be cleared．
But this took a bad turn in 1970when US agricultural scientists decided to develop a new coffee plant that grew only in the full sun．Farmers agreed to grow this new coffee because they could produce five times more coffee than before．With the support of local governments，it isn't difficult to understand why many traditional coffee fields quickly became modern ones．As a result，over the past 40years，Central America has lost two-thirds of its rainforests at a rate of 40million acres per year．That figure is similar to Mexico．
These modern coffee plantations（大农场） are very harmful as nothing can grow in the fields besides the coffee bushes．As the rainforests disappear，so do the animals．Sun plantations also contribute to soil erosion（侵蚀）．The coffee trees must face not only the heat with no protection，they must also face heavy rains，which slowly wash much of the soil away．Sun coffee fields are actually risky for farmers in the long term because they can be damaged by bad weather and because they limit famers to one-crop faming．
8．From the first paragraph we know that coffee plantsA．
A．require special growing conditions
B．were first grown in Latin America
C．can grow well in most of the world
D．can grow well without any sunshine
9．We can know that the new coffee plantC．
A．requires little sunshine
B．can not survive heavy rains
C．has a much higher production
D．produces coffee of a different taste
10．In order to plant the new coffee，farmersC．
A．need special equipment
B．need a new kind of tool
C．have to move to Central America
D．have to destroy many forests
11．What is the last paragraph mainly about？A
A．Coffee plantations make farmers rich
B．The bad effect of planting the new coffee
C．What farmers can get from the new coffee
D．A brief introduction to modern coffee plantations．
分析 香飘于世的咖啡不仅赢得消费者的喜爱，也给种植园主带来巨大的利润．但是对于产量的追求却给环境带来了巨大的威胁．
解答 8．A推理判断题．根据第一段第二、三句"The temperature must be between 65and 70degrees Fahrenheit（华氏度）．Coffee must have shade from nearby trees，but it also requires at least two hours of sunlight each day．"可知咖啡的生长需要特殊的条件．故选A．
9．C细节理解题．根据第三段的"Farmers agreed to grow this new coffee because they could produce five times more coffee than before"可知新型咖啡的产量与以前的相比高了很多．故选C．
10．C细节理解题．根据第三段的"As a result，over the past 40 years，Central America has lost twothirds of its rainforests at a rate of 40 million acres per year．That figure is similar to Mexico"可知要种植这种新型咖啡，就必须先砍伐森林．故选C．
11．A主旨大意题．通读末段，可知主要是讲种植这种新型咖啡给环境带来的破坏．故选A．
点评 在阅读时要抓住文章的主题和细节，分析文章结构，根据上下文内在联系，挖掘文章的深层含义，对于暗含在文章中的人物的行为动机，事件中的因果关系及作者未言明的倾向、意图、态度、观点等要进行合乎逻辑的判断、推理、分析，进一步增强理解能力，抓住材料实质性的东西．
