An oil for life

Maria Alcala of Madrid speaks for many Mediterranean people when she says that "a meal without olive oil is boring". (1) ___________ knows when the Mediterranean first fell in love with olives because it was before people wrote and kept records.

• Anyone

• Everyone

• No one

• Someone

However, there is some evidence that people began growing olive trees around the Mediterranean Sea approximately 6,000 years ago. The Mediterranean countries still (2) _________________ 99% of the world's olive oil with Spain being the world's biggest producer.

• better

• want

• buy

• produce

From ancient times (3) ________________ today, the basic process of producing the oil is the same. First, farmers crush the olives. Then, they take the liquid and separate the oil from the water.

• since

• for

• through

• until

Many olive growers keep their ancient traditions and still harvest the olives (4) _________________ hand. "We harvest in the traditional way", says Don Celso, an olive farmer from Tuscany, Italy. "It is less expensive to do it with machines but it's more a social thing. Twenty people come to help with the harvest and we pay them in oil".

• by

• in

• on

• with

Ancient civilisations used olive oil (5) ___________________ money and medicine. They even used it during war - they would heat it up and drop it down on the enemy!

• as

• at

• on

• of

(6) __________________ days, it is still used in religious ceremonies as it was in ancient times. It is also great for making fish and cheese stay fresh. There are even olive oil lamps and olive oil soaps.

• There

• These

• This

• Those

One important study showed that Mediterranean people have the (7) ______ hearts in the western world. This is partly to do with frequently using olive oil. Other studies have shown that using olive oil can help to protect people from some types of diseases. The world is beginning to understand the advantages of using olive oil and it isn't an unusual thing to see on dinner tables outside the Mediterranean region anymore.

• lightest

• lowest

• healthiest

• smallest

The olive oil producing countries now sell large (8) __________________ of olive oil to countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America used in religious ceremonies as it was in ancient times. It is also great for making fish and cheese stay fresh. There are even olive oil lamps and olive oil soaps.

• amounts

• groups

• lots

• numbers

Olive oil improves the lives of people everywhere when it is part of a well-balanced (9) _________________

• food

• dish

• diet

• plate

Ancient people knew about its benefits and modern science has confirmed them. Luckily, the Mediterranean people are happy to (10) _________________ their secret with the world.

• give

• offer

• share

• show