When the population of the port town began to suffer from poisoning（中毒）, the police came to find the cause of the poison. They thought someone was poisoning the people on purpose but no one knew how it was possible. Soon people took the position that the pork was poisoned. It was a popular food everyone ate and it could have possibly made everyone sick. Anyone who had possession of pork would throw it out. Even the poorest of the poor wouldn’t eat pork. Signs were posted on poles and letters were sent to everyone to warn people of the pork. Shortly afterwards, even policemen in high positions were also getting sick.
Soon it became political and popular. Politicians（政客） rushed to the town to talk about politics and promised how they would find the solution if they were elected. Everyone was so sick that they didn’t care about politics. Everyone was in a position where he or she didn’t know what to do anymore. They went to the post office to mail posts out asking for help. The poor town didn’t know how to deal with the situation.
One day, a well-known scientist from New York came to the town with a huge box containing many instruments and his possessions. He went to pools and the port and made measurements. He was quiet and polite. Then one day he made a speech at a newspaper meeting-room to announce his findings.
“I’m sorry to say your water supply is so heavily polluted; it is poisoned. I know who has been poisoning you all for such a long time. It is you who have been poisoning yourselves with pollution. A great deal of rubbish has been thrown into the water day after day. No one here has taken good care of the environment. It is no wonder all of you have been sick.” Shocked at the news, the people present were lost in thought.
78. Which is the correct order of the events that took place in the story?
a. People suffered from poisoning
b. Politicians came to make promises
c. People began to realize the real cause
d. Pork was thrown away
e. The water there was polluted
f. A scientist came to check the water
A. e, a, d, b, f, c B. e, a, d, c, f, b
C. a, e, b, d, f, c D. f, c, d, b, e, a
79. What does the underlined phrase “ took the position” mean in the passage?
A. took the job B. took the place
C. held the opinion D. made the suggestion
80. Which of the following statements is correct?
A. Everyone was so sick of politics that they didn’t care about those politicians.
B. According to the scientist from New York, not all the population in the town have taken good care of the environment.
C. The reason why the people in the town got sick was that they ate the pork poisoned by heavily polluted water.
D. If the people in the town hadn’t polluted the water supply, they would not have suffered from poisoning or sickness.
81. After reading the passage, we can infer that ______.
A. politicians took every chance to make themselves elected
B. pork was the main food of the people in the town
C. people in the town were not well-educated
D. even some police officers were getting ill