四级阅读理巅峰自测.doc

阅读理解巅峰自测Test 1 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Chocolate History　　There are few foods that people feel as passionate about — a passion that goes beyond a love for the “sweetness” of most candies or desserts: after all, few people crave caramel, whipped cream, or bubble gum. Chocolate is, well, different. For the true chocoholic, just thinking about chocolate can evoke a pleasurable response. You may want to grab a bar or make a nice cup of hot cocoa before you begin exploring here. Americanmade chocolate and cocoa products number in the hundreds. There is a fascinating story behind these wonderful products. To tell that story and to provide a better understanding of the chocolate history development is the purpose of this passage, which will provide readers an opportunity to view the industry as a whole. Last but not the least, it gives us an open ending towards the unresolved debates concerning about its effects of people. Chocolate through the Years　　The story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of America. Until 1492, the Old World knew nothing at all about chocolate with the delicious and stimulating flavor that was to become the favorite of millions. 　　The Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the principal ingredient of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph from America and laid before the Spanish began to explore the other strange and wonderful things. Among these were a few dark brown beans that looked like almonds (杏仁) and seemed most unpromising. They were cocoa beans, todays source of all our chocolate and cocoa. 　　The King and Queen never dreamed how important cocoa beans could be, and it remained for Hernando Cortez, the great Spanish explorer, to grasp the commercial possibilities of the New World offerings. Food of the Gods 　　During his conquest of Mexico, Cortez found the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans in the preparation of the royal drink of the re