Đề thi chọn học sinh giỏi Lớp 9 THCS cấp tỉnh năm học 2014-2015 môn Tiếng Anh - Sở giáo dục và đào tạo tỉnh Đồng Tháp (Có đáp án)

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C. Read the passage, choose the best ansuer and write it in the box below. (1,0 trark)

Before the mỉd-nineteenth century, people in the United States ate most foods only in
scason. Drying, smoking, and salting could preserve meat for a short time, but the availability of
fresh meat, like that of fresh milk, was very limitcd; there was no way to prevent spoilage. But in
1810 a French inventor named Nicolas Appert developed the cooking-and-sealing process of
canning. And in the 1850'% an American named Gail Borden developed a means of condensing
and preserving milk. Canned goods and condensed milk became more common đuring the 186013,
but supplies remained low because cans had to be made by hand. By 1880, however, inventors
had fashioned stamping and soldering machines that mass-produced cans from tinplate. Suddenly
all kinds of food could be preserved and bought at aÏl times of the year.

Other trcnds and inventions had also helped make it possible for Americans to vary their
daily diets. Growing urban populations created demand that encouragcd fñuit and vegctabic
farmers to raise more produce. Railroad refrigerator cars enabled growers and meat packers to
ship perishables great distances and to preserve them for longcr periods. Thus, by the 18901%,
northern city dwellers could enjoy southern and western strawberries, grapes, and fomatoes,
previousÌy available for a month at mosl, for up to six months of the year. In addition, increased
use of iceboxes cnabled families to store perishables. An casy mcans of producing ice
commercially had been invented in the 1870%, and by 1900 the nation had more than two
thousand commercial ice pÏants, most of which made home deliveries. The icebox became a
fixture in most homes and rcmained so until the mechanized refrigerator rcplaced it in the 19201
and 1930's.