Maria Alcalá of Madrid speaks for many Mediterranean people when she says that "a meal without olive oil is boring". No one knows when the Mediterraneans first fell in love with olives because it was before people wrote and kept records. However, there is some evidence that people began growing olive trees around the Mediterranean Sea approximately 6,000 years ago. The Mediterranean countries still produce 99% of the world's olive oil with Spain being the world's biggest producer.
From ancient times through today, the basic process of producing the oil is the same. First, farmers crush the olives. Then, they take the liquid and separate the oil from the water.
Many olive growers keep their ancient traditions and still harvest the olives by hand. "We harvest in the traditional way", says Don Celso, an olive farmer from Tuscany, Italy. "It is less expensive to do it with machines but it's more a social thing. Twenty people come to help with the harvest and we pay them in oil".
Ancient civilisations used olive oil as money and medicine. They even used it during war - they would heat it up and drop it down on the enemy! These days, it is still used in religious ceremonies as it was in ancient times. It is also great for making fish and cheese stay fresh. There are even olive oil lamps and olive oil soaps.(Adapted from Close Up)
Question 39. Which could be the best title for the passage?     A. The Prevalence of Olive Oil     
B. An Oil for Life       C. Traditions of Growing Olives    D. Purposes of Using Olive Oil
Question 40. According to paragraph 1, olive oil     .
A. plays an important role in the tradition of the Mediterraneans
B. had been discovered before the appearance of the Mediterraneans
C. is mass produced in several parts of the world     D. was transported to Spain about 6,000 years ago
Question 41. The word they in paragraph 2 refers to     .
A. olives    B. times    C. traditions    D. farmers
Question 42. The word ancient in paragraph 3 can be best replaced by     .
A. quite close    B. rather boring    C. extremely popular D. very old
Question 43. Which of the following is TRUE, according to the passage?
A. The process of producing olive oil has been changed. B. Olive oil served several useful purposes in the past.
C. People use olive oil to make fish taste better.   D. Using machines to harvest olives costs much money.