Ten years ago I used to be very fit (健康的). I rode a bike to work and I got a lot of exercise at weekends. I used to play tennis a lot and go for long walks. In those days I didn’t earn very much. I had a job in an office. It wasn’t a very good job but I had a lot of time to do the things I enjoyed doing.
Then, about eight years ago, I got a much better job. The pay was better, but the hours were a lot longer. I bought a car and drove to work every day. I began to take people out to lunch. And I began to put on weight, too. I stopped playing tennis and going for long walks at weekends because I just didn’t have any time for things like that any more.
There’s a lot of stress in my job. Perhaps that’s why I started drinking more than I used to. For example, I used to have only half a glass of whisky when I got home, but then I started filling my glass to the top, and instead of having one glass, I would have several. I started smoking a lot, too. I never used to smoke at all.
Two months ago I had a heart attack. At first I just couldn’t believe it. Luckily it wasn’t very serious. The doctor advised me to stop smoking and to eat less. He also advised me to work less and get more exercise. But I just haven’t any time! My job takes everything out of me!
Sometimes I wonder if I should get another job. Perhaps I could do something like I used to do. But if I do that, I won’t earn as much. I have a family to support. I have to think of them, too. I just don’t know what I should do. What do you think?
【小题1】The author used to go to work ________

  （7）------中偏难题

People generally use spices （香料） every day when preparing meals．Most of these spices are readily available in local supermarkets．However, in the 15th and 16th centuries, spices were as valuable as gold or diamonds．Spices are small plants or parts of plants, such as ginger, pepper, vanilla, and cinnamon, which are used to add flavor to our food． 1   Such a use for spices actually goes all the way back to Roman times．The Romans used spices such as cumin and coriander to help preserve food．

    The spices came to Europe from countries to the east, such as the islands in the East Indies, Sri Lanka, and India． 2   Because of the long journeys involved, they were very expensive．

    European sailors began to look for routes to these countries themselves in order to bring back the spices by sea．In 1498, a Portuguese explorer named Vasco Da Gama reached an East Indies island called Calicut． 3   In 1519, another Spanish explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, found a new trade route by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean, around the southern tips of both South America and Africa, and back to Europe．

    4   Portugal was the leader until the end of the 16th century．Spain was in control during much of the next 100 years．Then, Holland took over．The Dutch controlled the East Indies, but, in 1780, England defeated them in a famous war． 5   They treated the people there badly and made them submit to the British government.

India finally became independent from Britain in the 1940s．Today, it is still called “the land of spices”．In fact, at present India produces 2.5 million tons of spices each year and produced more types of spices than any other country．

A．For centuries, Arab traders had carried the spices over land and sold them to European countries．

B．For the next four centuries, Western countries raced each other for control of the spice trade in these new countries, which they called the “New World.”

C．Though they might not be as valuable today as gold or diamonds, spices are still big business around the globe.

D．Six years earlier, Spanish explorer Christopher Columbus had been looking for spices when he discovered America.

E．The English then moved from the islands into India.

F．The history of spice is almost as old as human civilization.

G．In those times, spices also helped keep meat from spoiling.