What’s your opinion on spicy food? Some people cannot handle even the smallest amount of chili peppers in their dinner while others can’t get enough of them.

Scientists have long been puzzled by why some people love the chili while others loathe it. Plenty of research has been done on the subject, dating as far back as the 1970s. Previous results showed that a love of chilies is related to childhood experiences, and that cultural influences affect our taste too. But the latest study has found that a person’s love of spicy food may be linked to his or her personality (性格) more than anything else, CBC News reported.

“We have always assumed that liking drives intake — we eat what we like and we like what we eat. But no one has actually directly bothered to connect personality with intake of chili peppers,” said Professor John E. Hayes from Pennsylvania State University, who led the study.

But before you look at the study, you should first know that “spicy” is not a taste, unlike sour, sweet, bitter and salty taste. It is, in fact, a burning feeling that you feel on the surface of your tongue. This got scientists thinking that maybe a love of spicy food is brought about by people’s longing for thrill, something they usually get from watching action movies or riding a roller coaster.

In the study, 97 participants, both male and female, were asked to fill out questionnaires about their personality, for example, whether they like new experiences or tend to avoid risks. They were then given a glass of water with capsaicin (辣椒素), the plant chemical that makes a chili burn, mixed into it.

By comparing the answers to the questionnaire and what participants said they felt about the spicy water, researchers found that those who tended to enjoy action movies or take risks were about six times more likely to enjoy the spicy water.

Interestingly, we used to believe that the reason why some people can withstand (耐受) spicy food is that their tongues have become less sensitive to it. However, this latest study has found otherwise. “It’s not that it doesn’t burn as badly, but that you actually learn to like the burning feeling,” Hayes explained.

【小题1】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “loathe” in the second paragraph?

A．Dislike.	B．Fear.
C．Put up with.	D．Adapt to.

【小题2】What did Professor John

A．Hayes and his team discover from their study?

B．What we eat actually helps to develop our personality.

C．Males are more likely to enjoy spicy food than females.

D．Those trying to avoid risks tend to be less interested in spicy food.

E．People are wrong to treat " spicy" as a kind of taste rather than a feeling.

【小题3】Why do some people like spicy food according to the recent study?

A．Because their taste has become less sensitive.

B．Because they love the burning feeling.

C．Because they want to challenge themselves.

D．Because the more they try spicy food, the less it burns.

【小题4】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．What one likes to eat mainly depends on one’s personality.

B．Whether one enjoys spicy food depends largely on one’s personality.

C．One’s personal experiences have nothing to do with their taste.

D．Different people have different taste.

   Britons are well known for the amount of tea that they drink. The average person in the UK consumes around 1.9 kg of tea yearly. That’s around 876 cups of tea. Tea is drunk by all sections of society. But tea is not native to Britain. Most tea is grown in India and China. So, how did it become an important part of British culture?

Tea arrived in London in the 1600s. At this time, British ships were exploring (探索) the world and came across the drink in China. It was not long before green tea was available to buy. However, this was only available to the richer sections of society.

At the beginning of the 1700s, the amount of tea arriving in Britain increased gradually. Black tea arrived at this time. At first people drank this tea exactly as it was in China. They soon discovered that it mixed really well with a little milk and sugar, giving the drink a special British characteristic (特色).

In the 1800s tea was still a product enjoyed only by people with money. At this time they began to have “afternoon tea”. This involves drinking tea with a snack around 4 pm to avoid feeling hungry between lunch and dinner. It is a tradition that is still going today but has become less popular in recent times.

In the late 1800s, the price of tea decreased sharply as more tea began to arrive on ships from India and China. It was no longer a drink just for rich people. Tearooms — shops where you could buy and drink tea — started to appear across the country. People enjoyed drinking tea and socialising (交际) in these places. At the start of the 20th century, Britons began to make tea in their homes whenever they felt like it. Kettles became necessary in every kitchen.

【小题1】How does the passage mainly develop?

A．By providing examples.	B．By making comparisons.
C．By following the order of time.	D．By following the order of importance.

【小题2】According to the passage, what is the British characteristic of tea?

A．Green tea.	B．Black tea.
C．Tea with a little milk and sugar.	D．Afternoon tea with a snack.

【小题3】The underlined word “decreased” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “________”.

A．went up	B．took off
C．fell off	D．came out

【小题4】When was tea a necessity for ordinary people in Britain?

A．In the 1600s.	B．In the 1800s.
C．In the late 1800s.	D．At the start of the 20th century.

短文改错
Last year, I went to Australia for a short-term study like an international student. One of my classmates suggested we shared our favorite foods from our own countries during New Year’s party. We all agreed to this wonderful idea and cooked my unique dishes for the party. Hariyati from Indonesia shared a kind of cookie what was shaped like elephant ears. Susan from South Africa prepared some sweet dumplings packed in several banana leaf. Chiemi from Japan cooked special rice balls mixing with fish. And I was served sliced noodles, my hometown — Shanxi’s local food. These variously foods were all delicious. Therefore, my favorite was still Chinese food.

What is the most popular food in western countries? If you are not sure, statistics might give you the answer.
Every year，some 20 million people walk into restaurants and buy 2 billion sandwiches. Americans alone eat more than 1 billion sandwiches annually. If you lined up all the sandwiches Westerners eat in a year, they would go around the world 13 times!
When John Montagu made the very first sandwich in England in 1762, he couldn't have imagined that it would still be very popular almost 250 years later. There  is  a  campaign  starting this month in the  US to find the healthiest  and best tasting sandwich  in the country.
Sandwiches are commonly carried to school or work in lunch boxes or brown paper bags to be eaten  for lunch. They are also taken on picnics and hiking  trips. Their long­lasting popularity lies in their convenience and fast preparation time.
You can put everything you want inside a sandwich. They are easy to clean up after, nutritious and come in hundreds of different kinds.
Well­known American chef Dave Lieberman adds  another reason.“I think people like to touch their food, kids especially. It's just a natural instinct. You don't  have to use a knife and fork to eat a sandwich，” he  said.
Sandwiches can be hot or cold with almost any  kind of filling. One of the most popular kinds is the BLT—bacon，lettuce and tomato. Although it is a simple food, it can still be creative. Sandwiches can be   served open­faced, with sushi inside or grilled with delicious fillings.
【小题1】The author intends to________.

A．tell us the history of sandwich­making

B．introduce a popular food in the West

C．show how sandwiches are made

D．explain why westerners like sandwiches

【小题2】What is the main reason for the popularity of sandwiches?

A．They are healthy and delicious.

B．They have a history of about 250 years.

C．They are fast and convenient.

D．They can be served either hot and cold.

【小题3】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

A．Sandwiches are usually eaten with a knife and fork.

B．Children don't like sandwiches so much as the adults.

C．Americans started a campaign against sandwiches.

D．People are trying to make sandwiches more nutritious.

【小题4】What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?

A．There are many kinds of sandwiches.

B．The sandwich is a simple food.

C．The BLT is the most popular.

D．Sandwiches are mostly open­faced.