Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their wandering hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started that farming process.
The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation (发酵) process by chance. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment.
The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, meaning “to drink”, and the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.
A vitamin-rich porridge, used daily, beer is reported to have increased health and longevity and reduced disease and malnutrition (营养不良). The self-medicating properties of alcohol-rich beer also eased the tensions and stresses of daily living in a hostile world. The use of yeast (酵母) was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air.
Considerable scientific research took place in breweries (酿酒厂) in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was Studies Concerning Beer where he revealed his knowledge of micro-organisms. By establishing that yeast is a living microorganism, Pasteur opened the gates for accurately controlling the conversion (转换) of sugar to alcohol.
Another discovery in beer brewing was the work of Christian Hansen, a Danish scientist, who successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the resulting yeast multiplication (繁殖) methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved.
【小题1】According to the passage, who was the first to brew beer?

A．The Greeks.	B．Christian Hansen.
C．Louis Pasteur.	D．The Sumerians.

【小题2】The last two paragraphs mainly talk about 　　   　 .

A．the function of micro-organisms

B．the success of the fermentation process

C．two scientific discoveries about brewing

D．the results of yeast multiplication methods

【小题3】According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?

A．Grain was the first crop used to brew beer.

B．There are some yeast particles in the air.

C．The word “beer” originates from Latin.

D．Modern beer contains more alcoholic.

【小题4】Which would be the best title for the text?

A．The beer culture.	B．The history of beer.
C．The earliest brewery.	D．Methods of brewing beer.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their wandering hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started that farming process.

The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation (发酵) process by chance. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment.

The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, meaning “to drink”, and the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.

A vitamin-rich porridge, used daily, beer is reported to have increased health and longevity and reduced disease and malnutrition (营养不良). The self-medicating properties of alcohol-rich beer also eased the tensions and stresses of daily living in a hostile world. The use of yeast (酵母) was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air.

Considerable scientific research took place in breweries (酿酒厂) in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was Studies Concerning Beer where he revealed his knowledge of micro-organisms. By establishing that yeast is a living microorganism, Pasteur opened the gates for accurately controlling the conversion (转换) of sugar to alcohol.

Another discovery in beer brewing was the work of Christian Hansen, a Danish scientist, who successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the resulting yeast multiplication (繁殖) methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved.

1.According to the passage, who was the first to brew beer?

A．The Greeks.	B．Christian Hansen.
C．Louis Pasteur.	D．The Sumerians.

2.The last two paragraphs mainly talk about 　　   　 .

A．the function of micro-organisms

B．the success of the fermentation process

C．two scientific discoveries about brewing

D．the results of yeast multiplication methods

3.According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?

A．Grain was the first crop used to brew beer.

B．There are some yeast particles in the air.

C．The word “beer” originates from Latin.

D．Modern beer contains more alcoholic.

4.Which would be the best title for the text?

A．The beer culture.	B．The history of beer.
C．The earliest brewery.	D．Methods of brewing beer.

 

The world’s astronomers came to their senses yesterday and approved a new definition of the word “planet” that would drop tiny Pluto from the club and relegate it instead to a lesser realm of “dwarf planets.” It was a welcome step away from a proposal that would have kept Pluto as a planet but meantime opened the door for dozens of small, icy bodies on the fringes of the solar system.

The important vote came after fierce debate at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union, which had been considering a proposal to define a planet as any object that orbits a star and is large enough for its own gravity to pull it into a spherical (球形的) shape. That definition was scientifically precise but led to results that offended common sense. An asteroid, a small moon, and another icy ball like Pluto would suddenly have risen to planet-hood, swelling the number of planets to 12, with many more icy rocks likely to qualify as more was learned about them.

Fortunately, the astronomers have now added another requirement to the definition. Planets must not only be large enough to be round, they must also have cleared out the neighborhood around their orbits. Pluto would not qualify — it orbits in a belt of icy debris on the edge of the solar system. Neither would an icy rock nicknamed Xena, which orbits in that same zone, nor Ceres, a big asteroid that marches in the company of other asteroids. Pluto’s moon, Charon, which had qualified under the first proposal, is also out of the running.

Pluto, with its small size and oddball orbit, should never have been deemed a planet in the first place. Henceforth there will be eight planets, at least three dwarf planets, and tens of thousands of “smaller solar system bodies,” like comets and asteroids. Our only regret is that the astronomers chose the name “dwarf planets” for Pluto’s new category instead of abandoning the word entirely when discussing these less-than-planetary bodies.

46. We can know from the passage that the new definition of planet __________.

A. has been welcomed by all walks of life

B. will kick the Pluto out of the planet group in the solar system

C. still makes the Pluto as a planet

D. will enlarge the number of planets in our solar system into permanently 12

47. After the new definition of “planet” was put forward, all of the following are regarded as planet except________.

A. Venus        B. Ceres                C. Mars          D. Jupiter

48. The writer’s attitudes towards the new definition of “planet” is________.

   A. welcome             B. indifferent                C. hostile               D. neutral

49 If the original definition of “planet” had not been changed, there would be the following consequences except that ________.

   A. thousands of icy rocks in space will be classified as planets

   B. some asteroids big enough to pull itself into a spherical shape will be regarded as planets.

   C. the Pluto will be relegated to “dwarf planet”

   D. there will be at least twelve or even more planets in the solar system.

50. We can infer from the article that the decision to apply new definition to “planet”________.

   A. has won universal support from scientists.

   B. has been severely criticized by many astronomers

   C. has not been made inconsiderately.

   D. has been banned by the International Astronomical Union

The world’s astronomers came to their senses yesterday and approved a new definition of the word “planet” that would drop tiny Pluto from the club and relegate it instead to a lesser realm of “dwarf planets.” It was a welcome step away from a proposal that would have kept Pluto as a planet but meantime opened the door for dozens of small, icy bodies on the fringes of the solar system.

The important vote came after fierce debate at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union, which had been considering a proposal to define a planet as any object that orbits a star and is large enough for its own gravity to pull it into a spherical (球形的) shape. That definition was scientifically precise but led to results that offended common sense. An asteroid, a small moon, and another icy ball like Pluto would suddenly have risen to planet-hood, swelling the number of planets to 12, with many more icy rocks likely to qualify as more was learned about them.

Fortunately, the astronomers have now added another requirement to the definition. Planets must not only be large enough to be round, they must also have cleared out the neighborhood around their orbits. Pluto would not qualify — it orbits in a belt of icy debris on the edge of the solar system. Neither would an icy rock nicknamed Xena, which orbits in that same zone, nor Ceres, a big asteroid that marches in the company of other asteroids. Pluto’s moon, Charon, which had qualified under the first proposal, is also out of the running.

Pluto, with its small size and oddball orbit, should never have been deemed a planet in the first place. Henceforth there will be eight planets, at least three dwarf planets, and tens of thousands of “smaller solar system bodies,” like comets and asteroids. Our only regret is that the astronomers chose the name “dwarf planets” for Pluto’s new category instead of abandoning the word entirely when discussing these less-than-planetary bodies.

46. We can know from the passage that the new definition of planet __________.

A. has been welcomed by all walks of life

B. will kick the Pluto out of the planet group in the solar system

C. still makes the Pluto as a planet

D. will enlarge the number of planets in our solar system into permanently 12

47. After the new definition of “planet” was put forward, all of the following are regarded as planet except________.

A. Venus               B. Ceres                       C. Mars                 D. Jupiter

48. The writer’s attitudes towards the new definition of “planet” is________.

   A. welcome             B. indifferent         C. hostile               D. neutral

49 If the original definition of “planet” had not been changed, there would be the following consequences except that ________.

   A. thousands of icy rocks in space will be classified as planets

   B. some asteroids big enough to pull itself into a spherical shape will be regarded as planets.

   C. the Pluto will be relegated to “dwarf planet”

   D. there will be at least twelve or even more planets in the solar system.

50. We can infer from the article that the decision to apply new definition to “planet”________.

   A. has won universal support from scientists.

   B. has been severely criticized by many astronomers

   C. has not been made inconsiderately.

   D. has been banned by the International Astronomical Union