The olive is one of the oldest planted crops known to man and is still widely grown in the Mediterranean.An olive tree can have a life of 500 years and is strong enough to continue to grow if ever chopped to the ground.It takes up four years before the olive tree is ripe enough to bear fruit.
Olive trees originated in the Mediterranean region where there is the perfect climate for the olive tree planting.It is characterized by abundant sunshine year-round and hot,dry summers with an average temperature of 80°F.In winter,it rarely drops below 50°F.Olive trees were first planted by humans around 4000 BC in an area known as the Fertile Crescent.Before the areas became desert,countries such as modern-day Turkey and Iraq had a lush environment with soil that plants grow well.Archaeological findings suggest that farming began in the Fertile Crescent before 7000BC.Instead of living as hunter-gatherers,these early humans settled down and harvested native plants.They selected olive trees that produced larger and oilier olives than the wild trees.
Olives and olive oil became valuable trade items between societies and civilizations.People who moved from one place to another and traders from the Fertile Crescent introduced olive oil to Syria and Crete,which spread to Egypt,Greece,and Rome.It continued to migrate westward until olive trees were first introduced to Califomia between 1769 and 1785.
The olive tree and olive oil have important symbolism in each religion.In Christianity,a dove(鸽子)brought an olive branch to Noah as a symbol of peace and new life after God flooded the Earth.The Prophet Muhammad suggested the use of olive oil for medicinal(药用的) purposes and massage(按摩).
Olive oil has medicinal benefits.Olive oil has been used for health benefits.Regular eating olive oil can reduce the risk of cancers.It was used during the Spanish Civil War from 1808 to 1813 to treat cases of fever.In 1960,oleuropein(橄榄多酚)was removed from olive leaves,which helps with food poisoning.
【小题1】If an olive tree is chopped to the ground,______.

A．it can’t grow any more

B．it can produce more new ones

C．there is no doubt that it will die

D．it is able to grow back strongly

【小题2】What does the underlined word “lush”in para.2 probably mean?

A．Of bad climate.	B．Changeable or unstable.
C．Extremely disadvantaged.	D．Growing thickly and strongly.

【小题3】We can learn from the first two paragraphs that_____.

A．the olive tree can stand extreme cold

B．the olive tree enjoys the long sunshine

C．the olive is the oldest tree in the world

D．the climate of deserts suits the olive tree

【小题4】Which of the following is true according to the passage?
①Olive trees bear fruits every four years.
②Olive oil was a food production before 7000BC.
③In Muhammad,olive oil was used as medicine.
④Olive trees were introduced to California in the 18^th century.
A.②③④          B. ①②③           C. ①③④           D. ①②④
【小题5】What is this passage mainly about?

A．The history of the olive tree.

B．The characteristic of the olive tree.

C．The origin and medicinal benefits of the olive tree.

D．The different symbols of the olive tree in each region.

 Captain James Cook took _____________ of the islands in 1769 and from that time British people started to settle in New Zealand.

A．notice

B．hold

C．possession

D．care

 

A flu ________ this area in 1769 and ________ thousands of people to die.

A．hit; made

B．stuck; made

C．beat; caused

D．struck; caused

 

课文背默填空

1. New Zealand is __________ by the Pacific Ocean to the north and east, and Tasman Sea to the south and west.

2. More than 120 years later, Captain James Cook took ____________ of the islands in 1769 and from that time British people started to settle in New Zealand.

3. By 1840 about 2,000 Europeans, mainly British, had come to settle in New Zealand and the Maori signed an ___________ with these settlers.

4.Over time, many farming techniques have been modernized: ___________ fertilizers are now used and electric pumps are used in ____________.

5.It was _________ the early 1990s that scientists started to develop new techniques to increase agricultural production without harming the _____________.

6. Today, many vegetables are not grown in gardens but in _________ where they are ________ from the wind ,rain and insects.

7. A _________ of GM watermelons will be seedless and there is GM rice ,sometimes called “golden rice”, __________ will have more vitamins and can grow in poor soil.

8.Funny plays often have characters that are stereotypes of _________ or people doing certain job.

9. _________ back to the Qin Dynasty, the traditional crosstalk shows, or xiangsheng shows have made people all over China roar with ___________ for centuries.

10.Just like spoken language, body language __________ from culture to culture.

ABORIGINAL is a term used to describe the people and animals that lived in a place from the earliest known times or before Europeans arrived. Examples are the Maori in New Zealand, the Aborigines in Australia and the Indians in America. They all share the fact that they were pushed off their land by European settlers.

Maori

The Maori were the first people to go to New Zealand, about 1,000 years ago. They came from the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific. They brought dogs, rats and plants with them and settled mainly on the Northern Island. In 1769, Captain James Cook from Britain took possession of the Island and from that time British people started to settle. The Maori signed an agreement on land rights with these settlers, but in later years there were arguments and battles between them.

Aborigines

The native people of Australia came from somewhere in Asia more than 40,000 years ago. They lived by hunting and gathering. Their contact with British settlers began in 1788. By the 1940s almost all of them were mixed into Australian society as low-paid workers. Their rights were limited. In 1976 and 1993 the Australian Government passed laws that returned some land to the Aborigines and recognized their property rights.

American Indians

Long before the Europeans came to America in the 16th and 17th century, the American Indians, or Native Americans, lived there. It is believed that they came from Asia. Christopher Columbus mistook the land for India and so called the people there Indians. The white settlers and American Indians lived in peace at the beginning, but conflicts finally arose and led to the Indian Wars (1866-1890). After the wars, the Indians were driven to the west of the country. Not until 1924 did they gain the right to vote.

1.The similarity among Maoris, Aborigines and American Indians is that _________.

A．they lost their vote right after European settlers’ arrival

B．they lost their land after European settlers’ arrival

C．they were driven out of their country after European settlers’ arrival

D．they were not treated as citizens until recently

2.Before European settlers arrived, we can infer that the Aboriginals had lived _________ life.

A．a miserable        B．a bitter           C．a peaceful         D．a troublesome

3.Which of the following was first interrupted by the Europeans?

A．Maoris.           B．Aborigines.        C．American Indians.   D．Not mentioned.

4.The passage mainly tells us _______.

A．the war between aboriginal people and white settlers

B．the history of Maoris, Aborigines and American Indians

C．the present unfair treatment to aboriginal people of the world

D．European settlers were the enemy of all aboriginal people