题目内容：

Grasse has always been associated with smell. In the Middle Ages it smelt particularly unpleasant due to its leather tanning (制革) industry. The nobles only rarely visited the pretty and charming town to pick up their handmade leather gloves. In spite of their grand lands in the surrounding countryside? Grasse was certainly a necessary evil with no self-respecting nobles owning buildings there.

Molinard, a Grasse tanner (制革工人) himself, created the first Grasse perfume. Word spread like wildfire amongst the nobles about the designer perfumed gloves. Molinard offered a pair of his gloves to Catherine de Medici (the Queen), who gave plenty of praise to her Grasse perfumed gloves; she almost assured (确保) Grasse’s reputation as the perfume capital of the world. Thanks to Catherine de Medici, Grasse merchants were encouraged to grow the perfume plants that tanners needed to supply perfumed leather to the nobles.

Grasse has four perfume factories as well as a perfume school and a perfume museum. Fragonard’s perfume museum is situated on the first floor of its perfume factory and displays an amazing private collection of perfume bottles, presentation boxes, documents and equipment that tells the history of perfume making from its earliest beginnings to the present day. The perfume museum is open every day, Sundays and public holidays included.

Grasse is certainly a perfumed heaven, a far cry from its smelly beginning as a leather tanning town. Now famous for a far sweeter smell, Grasse is surrounded by fields of flowers that make real estate (不动产) in Grasse very popular.

Those looking for real estate in France would have to go a long way to find anywhere more charming than Grasse with the city of Nice and its airport just a short drive away and plenty of activities to enjoy in the surrounding countryside. Real estate in Grasse is situated between the Southern Alps and the Cote d’Azur, allowing owners the best of both worlds.

1.Why was Grasse considered to be necessary although it was an evil?

A. Because it produced leather gloves.

B. Because it made the nobles look respectable.

C. Because many nobles lived in its countryside.

D. Because it was a beautiful and attractive town.

2.What can we learn about Fragonard’s perfume museum?

A. It has several perfume factories.

B. It can be visited all the year round.

C. It is famous for its perfume school.

D. It shows visitors the history of Grasse.

3.What do the underlined words “a far cry” in the 4th paragraph probably mean?

A. a good long cry

B. totally absent

C. very different

D. far distant

4.What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. Grasse is still less competitive in real estate.

B. Grasse is now a perfect place for people to live.

C. Grasse is becoming an important tourist attraction.

D. Living in Grasse might cause you much inconvenience.