研究所、轉學考(插大)、學士後-英文題庫下載題庫

Questions 48-50 refer to the following article.

       In recent years, fall has become virtually synonymous with pumpkin spice, as U.S. grocery

stories and cafes tout the flavor in everything from beer and lattes to Oreo cookies. But the trend is even

if not downright impressive-when you consider how Americans once viewed the s

       Among colonial settlers, pumpkin "was a food of last resort," says Cindy Ott, author of

Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon. Because the crop was a new-world native, it was

secn as primitive. In fact, "pumpkin eater" was a derogatory term for a poor, ignorant farmer. (Hence the

nursery rhyme "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater," about a man who can't read or spell.) Things began to

change when Americans flocked to cities in the mid-19th century. Nostalgia for farm life meant

nostalgia for pumpkins. They were rebranded as a treat, especially after the 1844 publication of Lydia

Maria Child's poem "Over the River and Through the Wood," which ends with a cheer for pumpkin pie.

       But if nostalgia saved the pumpkin's reputation, the crop returned the favor. In the 20th century,

small producers threatened by industrial farms found that roadside pick-your-own pumpkin patches and

 pumpkin festivals could draw customers to the country which only made the pumpkin even more of a

sign of the season. Last year, sales of pumpkin-flavored products generated more than $400 million, an

all-time high.