1 . Apples are generally red, green, yellow or a combination of the three, but if the right geographical conditions are met, they can grow dark purple, almost black, as well. These apples are called Black Diamond, currently only grown in the mountains of Tibet.
Black Diamond apples get their dark purple color from the geographical conditions of Nyingchi, in Tibet. The 50-hectare (公顷) orchard(果园) set up by Chinese company Dandong Tianluo Sheng Nong E-Commerce Trade Co., Ltd. is 3,100 meters above sea level, making it the perfect place to grow these interesting fruits. The temperature differences between day and night are important, and the fruits get a lot of sunlight and ultraviolet light (紫外线), which causes their skin to go from the deep red to dark purple.
Production at the Nyingchi orchard started in 2015, three years after the trees were planted, but they can only be found in some high-end supermarkets in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and are usually sold in gift package of 6 to 8 fruits. And the price of Black Diamond apples is around 50 yuan per fruit.
Due to the low temperatures, Black Diamond apple trees’ growth rate is much lower than average. While most apple types are fully grown in 2 to 5 years, these trees require no less than 8 years. Furthermore, only about 30% of the orchard’s product meets the standards of color to be sold as high-quality Black Diamond apples.
Black Diamond apples are a mystery, even among experienced apple growers, as there really isn’t much information about them online. Some users of the Growing Fruit forum, for example, think these dark purple apples don’t really exist, while others say that the photos posted online have made the fruits darker than they really are.
1. Which plays a key role in the growth of Black Diamond apples?| A．Much rain. | B．High temperature. |
| C．Much land | D．High altitude |
| A．Their unusual sizes | B．Their limited numbers. |
| C．Their growing conditions. | D．Their high prices. |
| A．Too much heat. | B．Low temperatures. |
| C．Much poor soil. | D．Lack of enough water. |
| A．To tell people’s different ideas of Black Diamond apples. |
| B．To ask readers to learn more about Black Diamond apples. |
| C．To show people know little of Black Diamond apples. |
| D．To prove the information of Black Diamond apples wrong. |
