Question

　　　In the early days of sea travel, seamen on long voyages lived exclusively on salted meat and biscuits. Many of them died of scurvy (壞血病), a disease of the blood which causes swollen gums (牙齦), livid white spots on the flesh and general exhaustion. On one occasion, in 1535, an English ship arrived in Newfoundland with its crew desperately ill. The men’s lives were saved by Iroquois Indians who gave them vegetable leaves to eat. Gradually it came to be realized that scurvy was caused by some lack in the sailors’ diet and Captain Cook, on his long voyages of discovery to Australia and New Zealand, established the fact that scurvy could be prevented by the supply of fresh fruit for the sailors.

　　　Nowadays it is understood that a diet which contains nothing harmful may yet result in serious disease if certain important elements are missing. These elements are called “vitamins”. Quite a number of such substances are known and they are given letters to identify them, A, B, C, D, and so on. Different diseases are associated with shortages of particular vitamins. Even a slight lack of Vitamin C, for example, the vitamin most plentiful in fresh fruit and vegetables, is thought to increase significantly our susceptibility (敏感度) to colds and influenza.

　 The vitamins necessary for a healthy body are normally supplied by a good mixed diet, including a variety of fruit and green vegetables. It is only when people try to live on a very restricted diet, say during extended periods of religious fasting (齋戒), or when trying to lose weight, that it is necessary to make special supply to make up for the missing vitamins.

57. Scurvy is a disease that is caused by ____

　　　 A. salted meat and biscuits　　　　　　　　 　　 B. exhaustion

　　　 C. lack of some essential substances D. need of fresh vegetables and fruits

58. To avoid such disease as scurvy, it’s better for us ____.

　 A. not to eat much salted meat

　 B. to supply our diet with various vitamin pills

　 C. to have more fresh fruit and vegetables

　 D. to develop a good dietary habit

59. Based on the passage we can safely conclude that if our diet is not comprehensive 　 (廣泛) enough, ____.

　 A. vitamin pills are of no use

　 B. nutritious food might be unhealthy

　 C. vegetable leaves can be a good treatment

　 D. religious fasting may help out a lot

60. Which of the following sentences best expresses the main idea of the passage?

　 　 A. Shortages of Vitamin C may cause serious diseases.

　 　 B. Fresh fruit and green vegetables contain enough nutrition that is necessary for　　

　　 a healthy body.

　　　 C. Vitamins play a vitally important role in people’s health.

　　　 D. A good mixed diet normally supplies sufficient vitamins for us.

Answer 1

CDBC