▲ 閱讀下文,回答第44 – 47題
Cacao beans ( from which chocolate is made ) were brought to Spain from Central
America in the 16th century. The Indians of Central America had been making hot chocolate
drinks for many years. They made their hot chocolate with water, not milk, and it was dark
brown, spicy and bitter. At first, the Spanish people were not impressed with this strange drink.
However, someone came up with the idea of adding sugar. As a result, drinking hot chocolate
became popular in Spain, and quickly spread to England, France, Italy and beyond.
Because cacao beans had to be shipped such a long distance, chocolate was an expensive
drink and only the rich could afford it. The ordinary people generally drank beer, cheap wine or
water. They probably wondered how this special chocolate drink tasted. As drinking chocolate
became popular, chocolate houses grew up in England. Rich men spent hours in them, drinking
chocolate while they played cards for money, read the newspapers and shared the latest gossip.
Rich ladies did not generally go to the chocolate houses, but enjoyed their hot chocolate at
home, usually for breakfast.
【題組】46.According to the passage, why was chocolate so expensive?
(A) Because growing cacao beans took a lot of time.
(B) Because shipping cacao beans cost a lot of money.
(C) Because drinking chocolate was affordable for everyone.
(D) Because going to chocolate houses became popular in Europe.