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1、2014届高考英语一轮复习话题阅读素材64 TheStoryofCorn Before1492,whenColumbus"discovered"America,noonelivinginEuropeknewcornexisted.Uptothistime,corngrewonlyintheAmericas.ScientistsbelievedcornwasoriginallycultivatedbyIndiansinthehighlandsofMexicothousandsofyearsago.AmericanIndiansweregrowingcorninmany
2、partsofNorthAmericalogbeforethefirstarrivalofEuropeanexplorersandtraders.ChristopherColumbusandtheexplorersthatfollowedhimtookcornbacktoEuropeandintroducedittotheworld.NativeAmericanIndianstaughtEuropeancoloniststogrowmanyvarietiesofthecornincludingyellow,re,blue,pink,andblackkernels.Ast
3、imewenton,thenewsettlestoAmericabegantodependoncornasoneofthemostimportantfarmcrops.Americanfarmershavealwayswantedtogrowstronghealthycornplantsthatyieldasmuchaspossible.Inthelater1800sscientistsworkedonthedevelopmentofhybridcorn.Thisresearchledtobettervarietiesofcornandhigheryields. Di
4、dyouknowcornisusedtohelpproduceantibiotics,babyfoods,condensedmilk,somefruitjuicesandevenpeanutbutter?Fromthecornsyrupinyoursodapoptothousandsofproducts--animalfeed,humanfood,drugs,cosmetics,cornsweetenerandcleansers,justtonameafew.Beyonditsfoodandconsumerproductuses,cornisreplacingpetro
5、leuminmanyindustrialapplications,fromplasticcontainerstoclean-burningethanol.Becausecornproductsareabiodegradableandrenewablenaturalresource,theyarebetterfortheenvironmentthantheirpetroleumcounterparts. CornandproductsmadefromcornimprovethelivesofAmericansinthousandsoflittleway.Ifcornan
6、ditsproductsweren'tavailable,manycommonproductswouldbelessuseful,moreexpensive,evenunavailable.HerearesomeexamplesofthelittleannoyancesandbiggerproblemsAmericanswouldfacewithoutcorn:Nofreezingpizza.Freezingpizzaisaproblem,becausethemoistureinthesaucecanmigrateintothecrust,makingitsosoggy
7、thatit'sunappealingtoeat.Modifiedcornstarchisusedtoprovideabarrierthatpreventswatermigrationandkeepsthecrustcrisp.Onalow-fatdiet?Saythankyouforcorn.Manylow-fatfoodsdependoncorn-derivedfoodstarchestoprovidequalitiesthatusedtocomefromfats.Examplesincludeeverythingfromlow-fa