-
Passage One
Questions 46 to 50
are based on the following passage.
You
may
have
heard
that
Coca-
Cola
once
contained
an
ingredient
capable
of
sparking particular devotion in
consumers: cocaine. The“coca” in the name referred
to
the
extracts
of
coca
leaf
that
the
drinks
originator,
chemist
John
Pemberton,
mixed
with
his
sugary
syrup(
姜汁
).
At
the
time,
coca
leaf
extract
mixed
with
wine
was
a
common
tonic(
滋补品
), and Pemberton’s
sweet brew was a way to get around local
laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol.
But the other half of the name represents another
ingredient
，
less
infamous(
名声不好的
), perhaps,
but also strangely potent: the kola
nut.
In West
Africa, people have long chewed kola
nuts
as stimulants, because
they
contain
caffeine
that
also
occurs
naturally
in
tea,
coffee,
and
chocolate.
They
also
have heart stimulants.
Historian Paul Lovejoy relates that the
cultivation of kola nuts in West Africa is
hundreds of years old. The leafy,
spreading trees were planted on graves and as part
of
traditional rituals. Even though the
nuts, which need to stay moist, can be somewhat
delicate to transport, traders carried
them hundreds of miles throughout the forests and
grasslands.
Europeans did
not know of them until the 1500s, when Portuguese
ships arrived
on the coast of what is
now Sierra Leone. And while the Portuguese took
part in the
trade, ferrying nuts
down the coast
along with
other goods, by 1620,
when
English
explorer Richard Jobson made
his way up the Gambia, the nuts were still
peculiar to
his eyes.
By the
late 19th century, kola nuts were being shipped by
the tonne to Europe and
the US. Many
made their way into medicines, intended as a kind
of energy boost. One
such popular
medicinal drink was Vin Mariani, a French product
consisting of coca
extract mixed with
red wine. It was created by a French chemist,
Angelo Mariani, in
1863.
So
when
Pemberton
created
his
drink,it
represented
an
ongoing
trend.
When
cocaine eventually fell
from grace as a beverage ingredient, kola-extract
colas became
popular.
The
first year it was available, Coca-Cola averaged
nine servings a day across all
the
Atlanta soda fountains where it was sold. As it
grew more popular, the company
sold
rights to bottle the soda, so it could travel
easily. Today about 1.9 billion Cokes
are purchased daily. It
’s
become so iconic that attempts to change its taste
in 1985 —
sweetening
it
in
a
move
projected
to
boost
sales
—
proved
disastrous,
with
widespread anger from consumers.
“Coca
-
Cola
Classic”
，
returned to store shelves
just three months after the “New Coke”
was released.
These days,
the Coca-Cola recipe is a closely guarded secret.
But it
’s said to no
longer
contain kola nut extract, relying instead on
artificial imitations to achieve the
flavour.
你可能听说可口可乐曾经含有一种能够使消费者“死忠”的成分：可卡因。
名
中的“coca”指的是古柯叶的提取物，
该饮料的创始人化学家约翰·彭伯顿用
它与含糖的姜汁混合在一起。
当时，
古柯叶提
取物与葡萄酒混合是常见的滋补品，
而当地法律禁止出售含酒精饮料，
< br>彭伯顿的甜饮则避开了该法律。
“
c
ola”代表
另一种成分——可乐果：尽管名声不太好，但非常给力。
在西非，人们长期以来一直嚼着可乐果作为兴奋剂，因为它们含有咖啡因。
咖啡因在茶、咖啡和巧克力中也天然存在。它们也有心脏兴奋剂。
历史学家保罗·洛夫乔伊指出，西非的可乐果种植已有数百年的历史。枝繁
叶茂的可乐果树被种植在坟墓上，
作为传统仪式的一部分。
尽管可乐果需要保持
湿润，
在运输上需要谨慎处理，
但是贸易商却带着它们穿越森林和草原，
运送了
数百英里。
直到十六世纪，
葡萄牙船只抵达现在的塞拉利昂海岸时，
欧洲人才知道它们。
尽
管葡萄牙人也加入了可乐果贸易，
将可乐果和其他货物一起装船运输，
< br>但
1620
年英国探险家理查德·乔布森前往冈比亚看到
可乐果时，仍觉得它奇怪。
到十九世纪后期，可乐果才被大量
运往欧洲和美国。很多可乐果入了药，把
它做能量增强剂。
当时
有一种受欢迎的药用饮料叫马里亚尼葡萄酒，
是一种法国
产的古
柯提取物与红葡萄酒的混合。该产品由法国化学家安杰洛·马里亚尼于
1863
年创建。所以当彭伯顿创造了他的饮料，代表着不断发展的趋势。可卡因
作为饮料配料最终“失宠”时，可乐果提取物变得受欢迎起来。
第一年，可口可乐在所有亚特兰大的冷饮小卖部的销量只有平均九份每天。
随着它越来
越受欢迎，
该公司开始销售瓶装苏打水，
所以它更便于随身携带
。
现
在每天的销量高达约十九亿瓶。可口可乐俨然已成为一种标
志，以至于
1985
年
改变其的口味的
尝试被证明是灾难性的
：
原以为使其变得更甜可以促进销售
，
不料引起了消费者普遍愤慨。
“经典可口可乐”在“新可乐”发
布后的三个月后
重新回到货架上。
直
到现在，可口可乐的配方仍是一个严格保守的秘密。据说它不再含有古柯
提取物，而是依
靠人造的仿制品来达到相同的口味。
46. What do we learn about chemist John
Pemberton?
A) He used a strangely
potent ingredient in a food supplement.
B) He created a drink containing
alcohol without breaking law.
C) He
became notorious because of the coca drink he
developed.
D) He risked breaking local
law to make a drink with coca leaves.
【答案详解】
答案是
A
。
由第一自然段最后一句
“
B
ut
the
other
half
of
the
name
represents
another
ingredient
，
less
infamous,
perhaps,
but
also
strangely
potent:
the
kola
nut
”我们可以得知“
cola
”代表另一种成分——
可乐果：尽
管名声不太好，
但非常给力。
很多同学首先就把
A
排除，
理由是可
口可乐不属于
食品（
food
）的范畴
。食品定义是“可供人类食用或饮用的物质”，饮料当然也
属于广义的食品。做阅读理解
，几个选项一定要仔细比较、揣摩。
【干扰分析】
B
、
D
选项具有很大的迷
惑性。
C
选项很容易排除。由第一自然段第
三句
“
Pemberton
’
s
sweet
brew
was
a
way
to
get
around
local
laws
prohibiting
the sale of alco
hol
”我们可以得知：当地法律禁止出售含酒精饮料，彭伯顿
的甜饮则避开了该法律。
换言之，
可口可乐是不含酒精的，
他本人也没有冒违反
法律的风险。
故可排除
B
、
D
选项。
C
选项
“变得声名狼藉
（
became
notorious
）
”
很容易排除，因为文章中提到声名狼藉的是可乐果
，而不是彭伯顿。
47.
What does the passage say
about kola nuts?
A) Their commercial
value was first discovered by Portuguese settlers.
B) They contain some kind of energy
boost not found in any other food.
C)
Many were shipped to Europe in the late 19th
century for medicinal use.
D) They were strange to the Europeans
when first imported from West Africa.
【答案详解】
答案是
C
。
由第
5
自然段的头两句
“
By
the
late
19th
century,
kola
nuts
were
being
shipped
by
the
tonne
to
Europe
and
the
US.
Many
made
their
way into medicines, intended as a kind
of energy boost
”我们可以得知：
到十九世纪
后期，
可乐果才被大量运往欧洲和美国。
很多可乐果入了药，<
/p>
把它做
能量增强剂。
【干扰分析】本题相关的阅读点散布在
2--5
自然段多个地方，信息量大。
B
选
项容易排除，
A
、
D
有较大的迷惑性，需仔细比较。文中第四自然段提到，葡萄
牙人用船只将可乐
果运往欧洲，
并从事可乐果贸易，
但并不能断定葡萄牙定居者<
/p>
首先发现可乐果的商业价值，排除
A
。第
二自然段提到，可乐果含有咖啡因，它
在茶、咖啡和巧克力中也存在，排除
B
。第二、三自然段多次提到西非，但没有
明确提及
欧洲人首次从西非进口可乐果的相关信息。
第四自然段中提到十六世纪
< br>时葡萄牙船只抵达现在的塞拉利昂海岸，
塞拉利昂是西非国家，
< br>但并不能由此断
定首次进口可乐果是葡萄牙人所为，故排除
D
。
48.
How come kola-extract colas became
popular?
A) Cocaine had become
notorious.
B) Alcoholic drinks were prohibited.
C) Fountains
were set up to sell them.
D) Rights
were sold to bottle the soda.
< br>【答案详解】
答案是
A
。
由第五自然段最后一句
“
When
cocaine
eventually
fell
from grace as a
beverage ingredient, kola-extract colas became pop
ular
”
我们可以得知：可卡因作为饮料配料最终“失宠”（
fell from grace
）时，可
乐果提取物变得受欢迎起来。其“失宠”是因为它声名狼藉，此后作为代替品的
可乐
果提取物变得受欢迎。
【干扰分析】
B
、
C
选项与题干相关度低，而
D
有一定的迷惑性。
B
、
C
选项在文
中的确有提到，
但与题干相关度低。
倒数第二自然段第二句话提到，
< br>随着可口可
乐越来越受欢迎，
该公司开始销售瓶装苏打水
，
所以它更便于随身携带。
这里讲
的是
可口可乐受欢迎与瓶装苏打水两者的关系，
而不是讲可乐果提取物是如何变
得受欢迎的，故排除
D
。
49.
What is known about the taste of Coca-
Cola?
A) It was so designed as to
create addiction in consumers.
B) It
still relies on traditional kola nut extract.
C) It has become more popular among the
old.
D) It has remained virtually
unchanged since its creation.
< br>【答案详解】
答案是
D
。
由倒数第二自然段的最后两句我们可以得知，
1985
年改
变其的口味的尝试被证明是灾难性的，
“经典可口
可乐”在“新可乐”发布后的
三个月后重新回到货架上。
另外，
由文章的最后一句我们可以得知，
它不再含有
< br>可乐果提取物，
而是依靠人造的仿制品来达到相同的口味。
综上所述，
可口可乐
自创立以来，其味道几乎没有变化。
【干扰分析】
B
选项很容易排除，
A
、
C
在文中没有提及。有的同学错选
A
，认为
A
选项中的上瘾与文中提到的可卡因有关，早期的可口可乐含可卡因，而可
卡因
可能让人上瘾，由此臆断这是该产品设计的目的。其实文中并未明确提及
addition,
而它也绝非创始人设计产品的初衷。做阅读理解切忌先
入为主，想当
然。
可口可乐自创立以来，
其味道几乎没有变化，
确定
D
为正确
选项的同时又可
以排除
B
。
文中没有明确的提及该饮料是否会让消费者上瘾或它是否在老年人群
中越来
越受欢迎，属“无中生有”，故排除
A
、
C
。
50.
What is the
passage mainly about?
A) The evolution
of Coca-Cola.
C) The medicinal value of
Coca-Cola.
B) The success story of
Coca-Cola.
D) The business
strategy of Coca-Cola.
【答案详
解】答案是
A
。本文从可口可乐的名字谈起，然后说到该产品的
创立与
发展。
全文贯穿了其发展史中较为有趣的几件代表性事件
，
究其主旨，
可口可乐
的发展演变最为
贴切。
【干扰分析】
B
、
C
、
D
< br>等干扰项在文中都有提及，但均以偏概全，不能作为全文
的主旨大意，故排除。<
/p>
Passage Two
Questions 51 to
55 are based on the following passage.
Twenty years ago, the Urban Land
Institute defined the two types of cities that
dominated the US landscape: smaller
cities that operated around standard 9-5 business
hours
and
large
metropolitan
areas
that
ran
all
24
hours
of
the
day.
Analyzing
and
comparing cities using the lens of this
basic divide gives interesting context to how
investment capital flows and housing
prices have shifted.
In recent years,
many mid-sized cities have begun to adopt a
middle-of-the-road
approach
incorporating
the
excitement
and
opportunity
of
large
cities
with
small
cities’ quiet after
midnight. These 18
-hour cities are
beginning to make waves in real
estate
rankings and attract more real estate investment.
What is underlying this new
movement in
real estate, and why do these cities have so much
appeal?
18-hour cities combine the best
of 24-hour and 9-5 cities, which contributes to
downtown
revitalization.
For
decades,
many
downtown
cores
in
small
to
mid-
sized
cities
were
abandoned
after
work
hours
by
workers
who
lived
in
the
suburbs.
Movement
out
of
city
centers
was
widespread,
and
downtown
tenants
were
predominantly
made
up
of
the
working
poor.
This
generated
little
commerce
for
downtown
businesses
in
the
evenings,
which
made
business
and
generating
tax
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