Question

Next Halloween，a small vegetable that looks like a pumpkin may appear in a garden near you. The vegetable is a type of pepper that is called "Lil，Pumpkin" .It's very special because it has orange， pumpkin-like fruit.

You might think that all vegetables are grown to provide food to eat. But some vegetables are grown mainly for the lively color and holiday spirit that they bring to gardens. These are called "ornaments(觀賞性植物)”.Just like lights decorate a Christmas tree,they decorate a garden.

The peppers were developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists John Stommel and Robert Griesbach. Another pepper the scientists developed is called "Pepper Jack". Because Pepper Jack has orange and black cone-shaped fruit,it might remind you of the popular Halloween treat "candy corn".

Stommel says that vegetable crops such as peppers were first widely grown in Europe in the 15th century. At that time,people liked these crops more because they looked pretty than because they provided food. 

Back then,when a gardener grew plants for decoration and plants for food,the garden was called a "potager". An example of this is the large gardens on the lawns of castles and very large homes where kings and queens lived. One of those large royal homes was the French king's palace at Versailles during the 1600s. The palace is still there today，and people from all over the world still go there to visit and see the gardens.

Today, Stommel says using vegetables as decorations in gardens has become popular again. So you might be wondering, if these peppers are for decoration, can people eat them? Yes,but the fruit from both of these peppers has a sharp taste (kind of like onions).

These peppers are scheduled to become available in mid-2011. These pretty peppers can be grown in containers and also in garden beds. They grow best with plenty of light and warm temperatures， Stommel says.

(   ) 1. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. Different kinds of peppers. B. The history of peppers.

C. Peppers with the Halloween spirit. D. Food for the Halloween festival. 

(   ) 2. What do we know about "Lil，Pumpkin" and "Pepper Jack"？

A. Their fruits are the same color. B. They are used to decorate Christmas trees.

C. Their fruits have different shapes. D. They are grown mainly to provide food to eat.

(   ) 3. According to the passage，a potager was-

A.  the place where kings？nd queens lived

B.  the garden in the French king, s palace

C.  a place providing vegetables for the royal homes

D.  a garden with plants for decoration and for food

Answer 1

1. C主旨大意題。通讀全文，可知文章介紹了一些有萬(wàn)圣節(jié)特色的辣椒，如南瓜形狀的，玉米糖果形狀的。

2. C細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第一段可知Lil'Pumpkin是"orange,pumpkin-like"^ 第三段中提到Pepper Jack是"orange and black cone-shaped " 

3. D邏輯推理題從第五段"Back then,when a gardener grew plants for decoration and plants for food,the garden was called a 'potager'."可知。