Life was hard five thousand years ago. People often felt hungry and got sick a lot. Shennong really cared about them. He wanted to find safe food and medicine for his people, so he walked through mountains and tried hundreds of herbs (药草) to test their medical value. He could see how the herbs worked inside his body. He tested different parts of the plants like roots, stems, and leaves to find out their best use. Then, he wrote down what he found.

    One day, Shennong tasted seventy-two poisonous (有毒的) herbs. It was too much for him, and he felt very weak. He fell, grabbing some leaves as he went down. Lying on the ground, he thought he might die soon. He decided to taste the leaves in his hand one last time. As soon as he put them in his mouth, the leaves swam around in his body. They quickly checked Shennong’s body and made Shennong feel better. Shennong was saved by these leaves. He was happy and named the plant “cha” (Chinese: 查) which means “check” or “examine” in Chinese. From then on, Shennong used “cha” as an antidote. It helped him feel better when he ate poisonous herbs or felt terrible. Cha was known by people because of him, but with a different character “茶”, which means tea in Chinese.

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1.1. Why did Shennong walk through mountains?

A To enjoy the beauty of nature.

B To look for safe food and medicine.

C To escape from danger.

D To collect different plants.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段的“He wanted to find safe food and medicine for his people, so he walked through mountains and tried hundreds of herbs to test their medical value.”可知，那时候人们时常挨饿和生病，神农开始尝百草寻找安全的食物和药材。故选B。

2.2. What did Shennong do with the herbs?

A He sold them in the market.

B He tested and recorded them.

C He gave them to the animals.

D He threw them away.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段的“He tested different parts of the plants like roots, stems, and leaves to find out their best use. Then, he wrote down what he found.”可知，神农亲自尝试各种草的味道及测试其在体内产生的作用，并记录下来。故选B。

3.3. What made Shennong feel better?

A The roots of the herbs.

B The stems of the herbs.

C The leaves he grabbed as he fell.

D The useful herb he tasted before.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据第二段的“Shennong was saved by these leaves.”可知，神农摔倒时抓了一些叶子，他把这些叶子放进嘴里，吞进肚子，这些叶子在他肚子里游走，像是在进行检查，不一会儿，神农感觉身体舒畅起来。故选C。

4.4. What does the underlined word “antidote” mean in Chinese?

A 礼物.

B 武器.

C 遗憾.

D 解药.

解析：选D。词义猜测题。根据划线单词后面的“It helped him feel better when he ate poisonous herbs or felt terrible. ”可知，以后每当吃进有毒的药草或感到不舒服时，神农便立即吃点“查”，让它检查身体，把毒物消灭掉，由此可推测，神农把“查”当成解药。故选D。

5.5. Where can we read the passage?

A In a storybook.

B In a newspaper.

C In a travel magazine.

D In a notebook.

解析：选A。推理判断题。本文主要讲述了神农在无意间发现了茶，这是一个古老的中国民间传说故事，因此我们可以在故事书上读到本文。故选A。