Have you ever wondered where the first doughnut (炸面圈) was made? Who thought up the idea of a fried cake with a hole in the center?
No one knows for sure who made the first doughnut. Some people think that doughnut probably began in the 1800s as Dutch “olykoeks ” or “oily cakes.” In those days, a cook would not want to waste any scraps of food. Leftover pieces of bread dough (生面团) were put into hot oil and fried. Olykoeks were tasty on the outside, but soft and uncooked in the center.
Some people say that the mother of a New England sea captain invented the first real doughnut. Her name was Elizabeth Gregory. She replaced the soft center with spices and nuts. But, Elizabeth’s son, Captain Gregory, did not like nuts. He punched out the center, and the consequence was the first hole in a doughnut.
Others say the real story is that Captain Gregory had difficulty steering his ship while trying to eat doughnut. He asked the ship’s cook to make his doughnuts with holes so he could hang them on the steering wheel! Others think that Captain Gregory saw holed cakes in Europe and brought the idea back to America with him.
During world war I, homesick American soldiers in Europe were served doughnuts by the Salvation Army. These brave women volunteering for the job were called “Doughnut Girls.” They often worked in dangerous conditions near the soldiers, so the Doughnut Girls wore helmets and uniforms. The women made doughnut cutters out of a large can with a smaller can inside it to cut out the hole. They could set up a kettle of hot oil to fry the dough almost anywhere.
In the 1920s, doughnut machines were invented. Doughnuts were produced faster and easier than ever before. Still, many people preferred to make their favorite doughnuts at home.
1.The passage is mainly about______ .
A.the popularity of doughnuts
B. the history of doughnuts
C. the inventors of doughnuts
D. the types of doughnuts
2.The first Dutch “ olykoek ” came into being probably because______ .
A.people did not like to eat fried food
B.cooks did not like to waste leftover food
C.Dutchmen liked oil cakes very much
D.cooks liked the soft center of cakes
3.What was used to replace the uncooked center to improve doughnuts?
A.Scraps of food
B. Jelly filling
C. Spices and nuts
D. Leftover bread dough
4.In paragraph 3, the word “consequence” probably means______ .
A. action
B. damage
C. problem
D. result
5.What can be inferred about the Doughnut Girls during world war I?
A. They worked aboard a ship .
B. They worked near battlefields
C. They used untested machines
D. They used helmets to cook doughnuts
1.【答案】B。
解析：主旨题。本文开头的问句有两个，涉及where与 who, 因此可以排除最大的干扰项 C，而更有概括性的选项 B 为正确答案。
2. 【答案】B。
解析：细节题。本题 B 选项的 leftover food 就同义替换了原文第二段中的 scraps of food。
3.【答案】C。
解析：细节题。此题不难，定位到第三段“She replaced the soft center with spices and nuts.”一句，很容易得出正确答案 C。
4.【答案】 D。
解析：词汇语义题。定位到第三段最后一句，根据常识，用拳头击打炸面圈的中间，很可能中间会被打出一个洞来。因此，选项 D：“result(后果)”一词 最合题意。
5.【答案】B。
解析：推断题。倒数第二段说到，这些“Doughnut Girls(炸面圈女孩)”都在靠近士兵的危险地方工作，这里的“dangerous conditions near the soldiers(靠近士兵的危险地方)”玩的是文字游戏，显然指的就是靠近前线 战场的地方，因此 B 为正确选项。
It is a blow for the Ugly Bettys and Plain Janes — research shows that good looks lead to better pay. A study of 4,000 young men and women found that beauty boosted pay checks more than intelligence. Those judged to be the more attractive earned up to 10 percent more than their less attractive friends and colleagues. Applied to the average salary of ￡ 25,000 a year, the “ plainness penalty (处罚) ” would make a difference of ￡2,500 a year —or around ￡50 a week.It is unclear what is behind the phenomenon but it may be that beauty creates confidence. The self-confident may appear to be doing better than they are and will not hesitate about asking for a pay rise.Researcher Jason Fletcher, of Yale University in the U.S., rated the attractiveness of the 4,000 men and women. Just over half were judged average, while 7 percent were felt to be very attractive and 8 percent were judged unattractive or very unattractive. The volunteers also sat an IQ test and reported their salary. It became clear that pay scales were far from fair. For instance, a 14-point increase on the IQ score was associated with a 3 to 6 percent increase in wage. But being of above-average looks increased pay by 5 to 10 percent .For a plain person to be paid the same as a very attractive one, they would have to be 40 percent brighter, the journal Economics Letters reports.Dr Fletcher said:“ The results do show that people’s looks have an impact on their wages and it can be very important.”
1. What is the “plainness penalty”?
A.To be paid less for being ordinarily-looking.B.To be laughed at for being ordinarily-looking.C.To be fired for being ordinarily-looking.D.To be questioned for being ordinarily-looking.
2. What’s the average annual salary of a good-looking person?
A. ￡2,500B. ￡25,000C. ￡22,500D. ￡27,500
3. Good-looking people are usually paid more probably because____ .
A.they look smarterB. they have higher degreesC. they are better at pleasing othersD. they are more confident
4. How many people were rated as very attractive in Jason Fletcher’s study?
A.About 280B. About 4,000C. About 2,000D. About 320
5. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage ?
A.IQ is less important than appearance.B.Confidence makes people prettier.C.Good looks earn an extra penny.D.How Plain Janes get a higher salary.
1. 【答案】A。解析：短语语义题。本文的前两句很容易利用对照关系确定 plain 是 gook look 的反义，即长相平凡 之意。而且本文围绕着长相与收入的关系展开,因此，可确定 A 为正确答案。
2.【答案】D。解析：细节题中的数字题。根据第一 段第三、四句可知， “Those judged to be the more attractive earned up to 10 percent more than their less attractive friends and colleagues.(公认长得非常养眼的那些人的收入比长相一般的人多得 10%), 而 “平均工资是￡25,000”， 因此不难计算长相好看的人的年收入为￡25,000 + ￡25,000 *10%，不难计 算出结果是￡27,500, 因此 D 为正确选项。
3.【答案】D。解析：推断题。根据第二段可知长相出众的人往往比较自信，因而 给人感觉他们的工作表现比实际更为出色，而且他们往往会比较大胆地去申请加薪。所以可以推断，他们收入较高的根本原因是较为自信，因此 D 为正确答案。
4.【答案】A。解析：细节题的数字题。这是一道简单的计算题。根据第三段，4000 人中有 7%被认为很有魅力，因此他们的人数是 4000*7%=280，A 为正确答案。
5.【答案】C。解析：主旨题。综观全文不难得知本文主要讲述长相与收入的关系， 因此 C 为正确答案。
