There are purple clothes， purple handbags， purple bicycles， purple furniture， even purple computers! So purple is one of the most（1） 　　colors today． But in the past， purple was a very expensive and unusual color． Let's take a look at the rich（2） 　　of the color purple．

Some scientists believe that the first plants to appear on Earth over 500 million years ago（3） 　　looked purple， not green． Plants today are green because（4） 　　use green chlorophyll （叶绿素） to produce energy． （5） 　　these early plants probably used something called retinal， which is a dark purple color．

During the time of the Roman Empire （37BC﹣476AD）， it was very（6） 　　to make purple dye （染料）． The dye came from sea snails （海螺）．But 10，000 dead sea snails（7） 　　you just one gram （克）of purple dye…as well as a very bad smell! This（8） 　　purple dye was called Tyrian purple， and it was the preferred（9） 　　of emperors．

In 16th﹣﹣century England， purple was（10） 　　for the kings family members． Queen Elizabeth I's clothes were purple， but ordinary people were not allowed to（11） 　　the color．

In 1856， William Perkin， an 18﹣year﹣old（12） 　　student， noticed something strange while doing an experiment （实验）． The chemicals （化学药品） he used to clean his instruments（13） 　　with the chemicals he used in his experiment and produced a bright purple color． This（14） 　　led Perkin to start a company using this chemical mixture to make purple dye． The dye was much（15） 　　than sea﹣snail dye． Thanks to Perkin， now anyone can afford to wear purple clothes．

（1）A． peaceful	B． popular	C． exciting	D． serious
（2）A． history	B． style	C． research	D． product
（3）A． gradually	B． especially	C． exactly	D． probably
（4）A． others	B． they	C． we	D． some
（5）A． And	B． So	C． But	D． Until
（6）A． dangerous	B． common	C． difficult	D． strange
（7）A． got	B． passed	C． wasted	D． cost
（8）A． basic	B． harmful	C． special	D． perfect
（9）A． color	B． smell	C． plant	D． animal
（10）A． even	B． never	C． seldom	D． only
（11）A． wear	B． sell	C． change	D． make
（12）A． geography	B． science	C． art	D． math
（13）A． compared	B． mixed	C． collected	D． kept
（14）A． survey	B． suggestion	C． discovery	D． exam
（15）A． healthier	B． thicker	C． cheaper	D． darker