UOE Practice Text 3 – An Incredible Vegetable

Garlic, a member of the Lilliaceae family which also includes onions, is (1) Fill in the blank 1 of 9 (COMMON) used in cooking all around the world. China is currently the largest (2) Fill in the blank 2 of 9 (PRODUCT) of garlic, which is particularly associated with the dishes of northern Africa and southern Europe.

It is native to central Asia and has long had a history as a health-giving food, used both to prevent and cure (3) Fill in the blank 3 of 9 (ILL) In ancient Egypt, workers building the pyramids were given garlic to keep them strong, while Olympic athletes in Greece ate it to increase their resistance to infection.

The forefather of antibiotic medicine, Louis Pasteur, claimed garlic was as (4) Fill in the blank 4 of 9 (EFFECT) as penicillin in treating infections. Modern-day (5) Fill in the blank 5 of 9 (SCIENCE) have proved that garlic can indeed kill bacteria and even some viruses, so it can be very useful for people who have coughs and colds. In (6) Fill in the blank 6 of 9 (ADD), some doctors believe that garlic can reduce blood (7) Fill in the blank 7 of 9 (PRESS).

The only (8) Fill in the blank 8 of 9 (ADVANTAGE) to this truly amazing food is that the strong and rather (9) Fill in the blank 9 of 9 (SPICE) smell of garlic is not the most pleasant!