We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it’s an ingredient(配料) in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices like chili peppers.
Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say “Ugh!” and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.
The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.
When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too. Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.
In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.
Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.
【小题1】It was ________that discovered sugar could remove the bitter taste of cacao.

The sea has always interested man. From it he can get food, minerals, and treasure.   1.   But he could not go far beneath its surface.

    2.    However, he is not a fish. He must breathe air, so he can’t stay under the water’s surface for any length of time. To explore deep water, man faces even more dangers and problems.

　　A diver who wants to stay under water for more than a few minutes must breathe air or a special mixture of gases.  3.    He can carry a tank of air on his back and breathe through a nose and a mouthpiece. Water weighs 800 times as much as air. Tons of water pushes against a diver deep in the sea.  4.  

When a diver is under great pressure, his blood takes in some of the gases he breathes. As he rises to surface, the water pressure becomes less. If the diver rises too quickly, the gases in his blood form bubbles(气泡). The diver is then suffering from the bends(潜水夫病). The bends can cause a diver to double up in pain.   5.  

A. His body is under great pressure.

B. Scientists are trying to find more about the sea.

C. For thousands of years, he could sail on it.

D. They can even kill him.

E. He can wear a diving suit and have air pumped to him from above.

F. The water pressure can cause a diver to breathe with difficulty.

G. Man wants to explore deep into the sea.

(10·四川E篇)

Fear plays no part in this latest problem．“I’m not afraid I'll lose my children．I won't lose my children. We live together, and nothing, nothing,” she repeats, her voice rising when speaking to John's lawyer, “will stop me from being with my children. A law? Year, right. Don't disturb me when it comes to my children. You are never going to win. If John wants to see them, I cannot stop him. He's their father??—I want them to see him! However, his visit in his present condition will disturb the children's stable (稳定的) life．”　 John, who has spent much of his time in California recently, has only hired a house for himself in Pennsylvania, according to his lawyer. "If he'd like to stick to a regular life, I'd be more than happy to do that，" Jane says. "The best thing for any child of a divorced (离婚的) parent is a stable life. I want nothing more than for him to set up a stable life for himself, so that he can be part of making our children's lives more stable. "

　 While matters of money and care won't be settled for weeks, Jane hardly puts her life on hold. Last week the ABC network announced that Jane would return with her own show, Twist of Jane, in which she gives advice to other moms．Jane and her eight children will also return to ABC in a series of Jane Plus 8 specials showing them on various adventures．It’s a rest for Jane．who insists that she needs her new，busy life to provide for her family．“I have to lead such a life．and I’m thankful that I’ve built it to the top where now I can support my children．”she says．

And whether a bellicose(好斗的)dance judge or a bellicose former wife，Jane plans to keep 0n facing attacks on her． “Some people try to knock me down—only to make me more fierce，more protective，more determined to do better，”she says．“Go ahead，take me on．This will just make me stronger．”

57. According to Jane in the first paragraph，the low　　　　　　 　

A. can’t take her children away from her

B. can’t do anything with the case

C. will best settle the problem

D. will disturb her children

58. What does “to do that” refer to in the second paragraph?

A. To live with John．

B．To hire a house for John．

C．To allow John to see the children

D．To ask John to set up a regular life.

59. What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean?

A．Jane’s life is very difficult．

B．Jane continues to live as usual．

C．Jane almost can’t control her lire

D．Jane works very hard to live a happy life．

60. Which word can best describe Jane?

A. Proud．

B．Fierce．

C．Determined．

D．Independent

　　Why doesn’t the unemployment rate ever reach zero? Economists, who generally believe that supply tends to meet demand, have long thought about this question. Even in good times, i.e. not now, there are people who can’t find work. And even in bad times, i.e. now, there are job openings. With over 14 million people out of work and looking for a job, you would think every available job would be filled. But that’s not the case. Not now and not ever.
　　On Monday, the Nobel Prize committee awarded the prize for economics to the three scholars who have done the most to explain this phenomenon. Two of the winners are Americans, Peter Diamond of MIT and Dale Mortensen of Northwestern. The third winner is Christopher Pissarides, who teaches at the London School of Economics and was born on Cyprus.
　　Like most of economics, what they have found about why the jobless and ready-employers don’t find each other seems obvious. You have to find out there is job opening you are interested in. Employers need to get resumes （简历）. It takes a while for both employers and employees to make the decision that this is what they want. And these guys came up with a frame-work to study the problem of why people stay unemployed longer than they should and what can be done about it.
　　So what would today’s Nobel Prize winners do to solve the current problem of the unemployed? And does the awarding of the prize contribute to the politicians’ lowering joblessness?
　　Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as “a complete surprise” though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.
　　For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government policy aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long periods of unemployment, “is very much based on our work,” he said.
　　“One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don’t lose their feel for the labor force,” Pissarides told reporters in London. “The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training – it could be as simple as providing work experience.”
【小题1】According to the writer, which is true about finding jobs?