36. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
(A) To clarify a myth about ice cream flavors.
(B) To discuss the evolution of ice cream in America.
(C) To inform us about the history of ice cream.
(D) To provide reasons for the popularity of ice cream.

The exact historical origins of the ice cream that young and old alike adore are shrouded in mystery. Before this popular dessert was invented, Marco Polo had returned from the Orient with a recipe for sherbet. Hundred of years earlier, the Roman emperor Nero had snow and ice rushed to Rome from the mountains by special teams of runners. He then flavored the ice with fruit juices. Ice creams like the modern variety were probably invented in Italy, where it quickly became an expensive treat for the very rich. King Charles I of England bragged of his secret recipe for ice cream; Henry II of France served a different flavor to his court each day for a month to mark his marriage. In America, Thomas Jefferson also bragged of his secret flavors. George Washington, according to a merchant’s book, spent almost $200 on ice cream in 1790. And Dolly Madison served ice cream at her husband’s Second Inaugural at the White House. It was pointedly evident that the cream was from the president’s cows; the fruit, from the White House garden. Not until the nineteenth century, when insulated icehouses for keeping ice and hand-cranked ice-cream freezers were invented, were the lower classes able to afford ice cream.

深受老少喜愛的冰淇淋的確切歷史起源至今仍是個謎。在它被發明之前，馬可·波羅曾從東方帶回了一種雪葩的配方。幾百年前，羅馬皇帝尼祿曾命人將山上的冰雪緊急運到羅馬，並用果汁調味。現代冰淇淋很可能起源於義大利，很快就成為富人的專屬奢侈品。英國國王查理一世曾炫耀他的冰淇淋秘方；法國國王亨利二世為了慶祝婚禮，連續一個月每天都為宮廷奉上不同口味的冰淇淋。在美國，湯瑪斯·傑佛遜也曾炫耀他的冰淇淋秘方。根據一位商人的帳簿記載，喬治華盛頓在1790年花了將近200美元買冰淇淋。多莉·麥迪遜在丈夫的第二次就職典禮上也提供了冰淇淋。顯然，冰淇淋裡的奶油來自總統自家的乳牛。這些水果來自白宮花園。直到十九世紀，隨著用於儲存冰塊的保溫冰窖和手搖冰淇淋機的發明，下層階級才能夠負擔得起冰淇淋。

What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
(A) To clarify a myth about ice cream flavors.
(B) To discuss the evolution of ice cream in America.
(C) To inform us about the history of ice cream.
(D) To provide reasons for the popularity of ice cream.

作者寫這篇文章的目的為何？

(A) 澄清一個關於冰淇淋口味的誤解。

(B) 探討冰淇淋在美國的發展歷程。

(C) 介紹冰淇淋的歷史。

(D) 解釋冰淇淋受歡迎的原因。