阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项
We have no idea about       men first began to use salt. But we do know that it had been used in many different ways _____ the history.
For example, in many history books it is ____ that people who lived three thousand years ago ____salted fish. Thousands of years ago in Egypt（埃及）, salt ____ keep the dead. It can keep the dead bodies ____ decay.（腐烂）
In the eighteenth century, a person who stole salt was ____ to have broken the ____. if a person was caught stealing salt, he would be thrown into ____. Books also record that in England about ten thousand people were put into prison during that century ____ stealing salt! In the year 1553, if a man took ____ than his share of salt, he would be thought to have broken the law and would be ____ punished(惩罚).
Salt was very ____ on the dinner table of a king. It was always put ____ the king when he sat down to eat. Then important visitors sat near the salt _____ less important visitors were given seats farther away from it.

Rita stepped into the cool, moving water. She pushed a black inner tube(内胎) in front of her. She had a worried look on her face because she had never floated down a river before.
“Let me hold your tube while you climb on,” said her father. He smiled at her. “There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day to be in the river, isn’t it?”
Rita looked out across the water. People were floating by on tubes. Some talked and laughed as they floated easily down the river. Others leaned(倚靠) back with hats pulled over their faces. None of them looked terrified.
“We’ll stay together,” said Rita’s father. “I’ll hold on to your rope(绳子).”
“Will we go very fast?” Rita asked.
“No,” said Dad. “We’ll move slowly for a while, and then it will get a little faster near the river’s bend(拐弯). Don’t worry, Rita. You’ll be fine.”
Rita looked at her tube. It gently(轻轻地) moved up and down in the water. She saw a girl of her own age float by. The girl seemed to be having fun. Suddenly Rita’s worries disappeared（消失）.
“I’m ready to climb on and ride, Dad,” she said.
【小题1】The underlined word “floated” in the reading means “________”.