The first potatoes were grown by the Incas of South America, more than 400 years ago. Their descendants(后代) in Ecuador and Chile continue to grow the vegetable as high as 14，000 feet up in the Andes Mountains. (That’s higher than any other food will grow.) Early Spanish and English explorers shipped potatoes to Europe, and they found their way to North America in the early 1600s.
People eat potatoes in many ways—baked, mashed, and roasted, to name just three. However, in the United States most potatoes are eaten in the form of French fries. One fastfood chain alone sells more than $1 billion worth of fries each year. No wonder, then, that the company pays particular attention to the way its fries are prepared.
Before any fry makes it to the people who eat at these popular restaurants，it must pass many separate tests. Fail any one of these tests and the potato is rejected. To start with, only Russet Burbank potatoes are used. These Idaho potatoes have less water content than other kinds, which can have as much as 80 percent water. Once cut into “shoestrings” shapes，the potatoes are partly fried in a secret blend of oils, sprayed with liquid sugar to brown them, steam dried at high heat, then flash frozen for shipment to individual restaurants.
Before shipping，every shoestring is measured. Forty percent of a batch must be between two and three inches long. Another 40 percent has to be over three inches. What about the 20 percent that are left in the batch? Well, a few short fries in a bag are okay，it seems.
So，now that you realize the enormous size and value of the potato crop, you can understand why most people agree that this part of the food industry is no “small potatoes”．
【解题导语】 本文介绍了土豆被引进美国的历史及炸薯条在美国食物产业中举足轻重的地位。
1．Potatoes in North America came directly from ．
A．Chile B．Europe
C．Ecuador D．the Andes Mountains
B 解析：细节理解题。根据文中第一段最后一句可知，北美最早的土豆来自欧洲。故选B项。
2．Why does the company pay special attention to the way the fries are prepared?
A．Because selling fries is a big business.
B．Because fries are not easy to prepare at all.
C．Because Americans are particular about fries.
D．Because the government has a strict rule for that.
A 解析：推理判断题。根据第二段的One fastfood chain alone sells more than $1 billion worth of fries each year. No wonder, then, that the company pays particular attention to the way its fries are prepared.可知，在美国，炸薯条是个很大的行业，所以会被特殊关注。故选A项。
3．In the last paragraph, the writer mainly wants to say ．
A．small potatoes cannot be used for fries
B．potatoes are really important for Americans
C．eating in America is the very first thing
D．fries are really important for food industry
D 解析：推理判断题。根据最后一段中的内容this part of the food industry is no “small potatoes”可知，在美国，炸薯条在食品产业中不是“小土豆”(无足轻重的东西)，由此可推测，炸薯条在食品产业中占有重要的地位。故选D项。
4．What is the main idea of this passage?
A．The average American eats 50 pounds of potatoes a year.
B．French fries are made from potatoes.
C．Potato is a key vegetable in America.
D．The various terms for potatoes have a long history.
C 解析：主旨大意题。根据全文内容可知，在美国，土豆可以有多种吃法，尤其是炸薯条，深受人们的欢迎，也因此带来了强大的商业利润，在食品产业中占有重要地位。因此，本文的主旨是，在美国土豆是很重要的蔬菜。故选C项。
