单选题 It is the world's fourth-most-important food crop, after maize, wheat and rice. It provides more calories, more quickly, using less land and in a wider range of climates than any Other plant. It is, of Course, the potato.
The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato. It hopes that greater awareness of the merits of potatoes will contribute to the achievement of its Millennium Development Goals, by helping to alleviate poverty, improve food security and promote economic development. It is always the international year of this or month of that. But the potato's unusual history means it is well worth celebrating by readers of The Economist because the potato is intertwined with economic development, trade liberalisation and globalisation.
Unlikely though it seems, the potato promoted economic development by underpinning the industrial revolution in England in the 19th century. It provided a cheap source of calories and was easy to cultivate, so it liberated workers from the land. Potatoes became popular in the north of England, as people there specialised in livestock farming and domestic industry, while farmers in the south (where the soil was more suitable ) concentrated on wheat production. By a happy accident, this concentrated industrial activity in the regions where coal was readily available, and a potato-driven population boom provided ample workers for the new factories. Friedrich Engels even declared that the potato was the equal of iron for its "historically revolutionary role".
The potato promoted free trade by contributing to the abolition of Britain's Corn Laws-the cause which prompted the founding of The Economist in 1843. The Corn Laws restricted imports of grain into the United Kingdom in order to protect domestic wheat producers. Landowners supported the laws, since cheap imported grain would reduce their income, but industrialists opposed them because imports would drive down the cost of food, allowing people to spend more on manufactured goods. Ultimately it was not the eloquence of the arguments against the Corn Laws that led to their abolition-and more's the pity. It was the tragedy of the Irish potato famine of 1845, in which 1million Irish perished when the potato crop on which they subsisted succumbed to blight. The need to import grain to relieve the situation in Ireland forced the government, which was dominated by landowners who backed the Corn Laws, to reverse its position.
This paved the way for liberalisation in other areas, and free trade became British policy. As the Duke of Wellington complained at the time, "rotten potatoes have done it all. "
In the form of French fries, served alongside burgers and Coca-Cola, potatoes are now an icon of globalisation. This is quite a turnaround given the scepticism which first greeted them on their arrival in the Old World in the 16th century. Spuds were variously thought to cause leprosy, to be fit only for animals, to be associated with the devil or to be poisonous. They took hold in 18th century Europe only when war and famine meant there was nothing else to eat; people then realised just how versatile and reliable they were. As Adam Smith, one of the potato's many admirers, observed at the time, "The very general use which is made of potatoes in these kingdoms as food for man is a convincing proof that the prejudices of a nation, with regard to diet, however deeply rooted, are by no means unconquerable. " Mashed, fried, boiled and roast, a humble tuber changed the world, and free-trading globalisers everywhere should celebrate it.

单选题 According to the text, what are the features of potatoes?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】本题需要仔细阅读第一段第二句“It provides more calories，more quickly，using less land and in a wider range of climates than any other plant”这便说的是马铃薯的特点。那么结合选项，A项的lower price文中没有提及，B项的less labor in processing未有提及，D项中的wider range of products to be made of也未有提及，故选C。
单选题 What is the ultimate purpose of establishing 2008 the International Year of the Potato?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】求解本题需要找到“It hopes that greater awareness of the merits of potatoes will contribute to the achievement of its Millennium Development Goals，by helping to alleviate poverty，improve food security and promote economic development”。这一句有三层意思，一是让人们增进对马铃薯优点的了解，二是有助于减少贫困、提高食品安全性以及促进经济的发展，三是实现联合国的千年发展目标。第一层是活动本身的目的，第二层是手段，第三层是最终目标。而A、B项在文中都未有提及，故结合问题，D项最为合适。
单选题 Friedrich Engels declared that the potato was the equal of iron for its " historically revolutionary role", then according to the text, what does this "historically revolutionary role" refer to?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】A项说马铃薯产量高，价格便宜，有力支持了工厂的工人，但文中并未有此表述，故不选。B项说使人们脱离了田地间的劳作，从而为工业提供了劳动力．这在第三段中可以找到对应的表述，故选。C项说改变了英国的农业结构，文中也没有表述。D项说提供更多的热量是正确的，但是提供更多的土地供棉花种植却并不正确。
单选题 According to the text, which of the following is NOT true about Britain's Corn Laws?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】A项说是经过议会激烈辩论后被废除的，而在文中是说最终并不是口若悬河的辩论而是同情废止了《谷物法》，故答案选A项。B项说国内产品更贵，地主可以赚更多的钱，对应文中“廉价进口的谷物会降低他们的收益”。C项说进口谷物有助于他们开拓市场，这需要找到文中说的进口谷物“会降低食物价格，从而让人们在制造好的商品上花费更多”，这两者意思相同。D项则是第四段的最后两句的总结。
单选题 Why were potatoes at last accepted by Europeans?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】本题求解在最后一段中的“They took hold in 18th-century Europe only when war and famine meant there was nothing else to eat；people then realised just how versatile and reliable they were”。A项文中没有提及，B项是马铃薯被欧洲人接受之后呈现的现象，C项则可以直接对应，D项文中也未有提及，故选择C。