Silkworms(蚕)were first brought from Asia to the ancient city of Byzantium around A. D. 550. It was two men who presented some silkworm eggs from China to Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople, where he created a fruitful silk industry. Silkworms reached Italy through Sicily in the 12th century, and by the 13th century, silkworm farming had moved north to the Po River Valley. By the 16th century, silkworm farming had been introduced to the Como area.

Since silkworms require a constant, mild temperature, entire sections of farmhouses were turned over to them and whole families would often join in the work, adding fuel round the clock to fires to maintain the proper warmth. “Some even gave the worms the house and slept outside with the animals, ”says Ester Geraci, an official at Como’s Educational Silk Museum.

The process began with the 10-to 14-day incubation(孵化)of silkworm eggs. According to the museum, keeping the tiny, delicate eggs at just the right temperature was the task of the women. Once hatched, the worms, only about one millimeter long, had to be fed night and day. From a birth weight of only half a milligram, they would grow 10, 000-fold to a final weight of around five grams and a length of 8 to 9 centimeters in just 30 days. Then, in the final three days of their youth stage, the worms would start to make their cocoons (茧) out of one continuous thin silk-up to 1, 200 meters long-which they produced from near their mouths. After about a week, the cocoons were placed briefly in a hot, dry place to kill the adult insects inside. These cocoons were then put in hot water to facilitate the difficult and boring task of obtaining the silk. The minute end of the cocoon’s silk had to be located and placed onto a round object, which then unwound it from the water-warmed cocoon. The silk was then cleaned and made into fabric.

【小题1】Which can best describe silkworm farming outside China?

A．It was a short-term investment.

B．It benefitted fruit growers.

C．It upset local emperors.

D．It was a success story.

【小题2】What is stressed in the second paragraph?

A．Raising silkworms was a backbreaking job.

B．Silkworms like living in a cool environment.

C．Raising silkworms in farmhouses was common.

D．Silkworms living with other insects grow healthy.

【小题3】What can be learned about young silkworms?

A．They produce silk 3 days after being hatched.

B．They gain weight quickly in about a month.

C．They grow to 8 to 9 centimeters in two weeks.

D．They need one week to come out of their eggs.

【小题4】What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To explain how silkworms reached Italy.

B．To encourage people to raise silkworms.

C．To introduce the farming of silkworms.

D．To show the life cycle of silkworms.