Thousands of years ago, people only ate food that was grown near their homes. Some kinds of food were only grown in one place, so people from other places didn’t know about them. When Europeans first traveled to Central and South America in the 1500s, they discovered strange kinds of food that they had never seen before. Today, these are grown in a lot of different countries and they’re sold in supermarkets all over the world. They don’t seem strange any more!
Potatoes were first grown in the Andes in South America. In 1586， they were taken to Europe by explorers(探险家).In 1719， they were taken to North America. Before 1719， nobody in North America had ever seen or eaten a potato. Today each American eats more than 60 kilos of potatoes a year.
Tomatoes were also first grown by native(本地的)Americans. When European explorers visited the south of America in 1500, they took tomato seeds(种子)back to Europe. Soon, tomatoes were grown in Europe, but people in England didn’t eat them. At that time, a lot of English people thought that tomatoes were poisonous!
Chilies(辣椒)have been eaten in Central and South America for more than 8 ，000 years ！ In the 1500s, chilies were taken to Europe by explorers. Today, they are grown in hot countries all over the world.
11. How many kinds of food are mentioned in the passage?
A. Two.          B. Three.         C. Four.
12. People in Central and South America have eaten chilies for more than          years.
A. 1,500          B. 1,586         C. 8,000
13. The underlined word "poisonous" in the passage means "           " in Chinese.
A.有毒的          B.重要的         C.辛辣的
14. According to the passage, we know that          .
A. people only ate food grown near their homes after 1719
B. people in Europe were the first to plant potatoes
C. the European explorers took chilies to Europe in the 1500s
15. Which of the following is the best title(标题)for the passage?
A. Traveling to America
B. "Strange" Food
C. The Earliest Explorers