Cloze test
Britain has gone mad for bananas. Over the past 12 months Britons have consumed an unprecedented 3.5 billion pieces of the tropical fruit, forcing the (1) ______ apple into second place. The nation's banana boom is one of the most remarkable nutritional trends of recent years, a guide not only to the growing (2) ______ consciousness of the British people but also to the country's economic health. (3) ______ is amazing is that bananas were virtually unheard of during the 19th century and even up until the end of the 1920s (4) ______ anyone in Britain had tasted or (5) ______ seen them. Early attempts to introduce them to northern countries had met with failure because by the time they had been shipped to Britain, they had rotted (6) ______ recognition. However, thanks to the development of refrigerated shipping, all this changed. Refrigerated shipping meant that then, as now, bunches of imported bananas could arrive in good condition at (7) ______ houses in dockyards where they were stored. The first commercial refrigerated shipment arrived 100 years ago, triggering an enthusiasm from (8) ______ Britons have never looked back.
"The banana has everything going for it", says Jeanette Scott of the Banana Group marketing organisation. "It's easy to open, it is packed (9) ______ energy and vitamins and is low in calories. It is also a first-class cure for upset stomachs and it stabilises blood (10) ______ so its popularity should not be seen as that surprising"