1 . More than 10 years ago，it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple (菠萝)．The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and，more often than not，hard with an unpleasant taste within.Then in 1996，the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves.

The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy­gold than green. It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside.But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit­and­miss pineapples we had known.In no time，the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm，rapidly becoming the world’s best­selling pineapple variety，and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth，up until then only found in tinned pineapple.

In nutrition (营养) it was all good news too.This nice­tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C (维生素C) than the old green variety.Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins，but also good against some diseases.People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit.The new type of pineapple was selling fast,                           and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a_fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eaters.

Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple，Del Monte tried to keep the market to itself.But other fruit companies developed similar pineapples.Del Monte turned to law for help，but failed.Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte’s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out of the market.

1. We learn from the text that the new type of pineapple is________.

A．green outside and sweet inside

B．good­looking outside and soft inside

C．yellowy­gold outside and hard inside

D．a little soft outside and sweet inside

2. Why was the new type of pineapple selling well?

A．It was rich in nutrition and tasted nice.

B．It was less sweet and good for health.

C．It was developed by Del Monte.

D．It was used as medicine.

3. The underlined word “fixture” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to something________.

A．that people enjoy eating

B．that is always present

C．that is difficult to get

D．that people use as a gift

4. We learn from the last paragraph that Del Monte________.

A．allowed other companies to develop pineapples

B．succeeded in keeping the pineapple for itself

C．tried hard to control the pineapple market

D．planned to help the other companies