COFFEE
Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia several centuries ago. There is a legend surrounding its discovery, and there is probably some truth to the tale. It is said that a goat herd called Kaldi noticed that his goats became very excitable after eating the berries from one (41) ______ bush. Kaldi reported this discovery to the Abbot of the local monastery, who (42) ______ a drink from the berries and found it kept him awake through the long hours of evening prayer. This knowledge of the energising effects of (43) ______ berries began to spread east towards the Arab world. The Arabs (44) ______ the first people to cultivate coffee and also to trade it. Coffee quickly became popular with Muslims who (45) ______ by their religion to drink alcohol. (46) ______ the 16th century, coffee had spread to Persia, Egypt and Turkey. All over the Middle East, new public coffee houses (47) _______ as places of social activity. By the 17th century, coffee had fin ally found its way into Europe, where religious leaders initially (48) ______ it as the devil's drink. However, the Pope at that time decided to taste the new (49) ______ himself, and liked it so much that he gave it papal approval. By the mid- 17th century there were coffee houses in all the major cities of Europe. In London alone there were 300. People gathered in them to engage in stimulating conversation over a cup of the hot, dark, revitalising drink. Coffee has established itself as one of the most valuable crops in the world, and is the world's second biggest (50) ______, after oil.