Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, and 29 to North America by European colonists in the 17th century.
答案：(C) were brought
被動語態過去式 were brought，「被歐洲殖民者帶到北美」，17th century是明確過去時間點，用簡單過去式被動；bring（原形動詞）、have brought（現在完成主動，方向不合，應該是蘋果「被帶去」）、have been brought（現在完成被動，時態不合，明確過去時間點應用簡單過去式）都不合。
前半句是 have been grown（現在完成式被動），看到 and 就直覺認為「後面要跟前面同一個時態」，於是挑 have been brought。這是本題最大的陷阱，答對率只有 45%。and 連接的是兩個動作，但兩個動作各自配的時間副詞不同時，時態本來就可以不同。
兩個判斷點，缺一不可，順序建議先語態、後時態。第一，語態：by European colonists（由歐洲殖民者）這個 by 片語就是被動語態的招牌 —— 蘋果是「被」殖民者帶過去的，不是蘋果自己去帶。所以主動的 bring 和 have brought 先出局。第二，時態：in the 17th century（在十七世紀）是一個明確而且已經結束的過去時間點。現在完成式不能跟明確的過去時間點連用 —— 你不會說 I have seen him yesterday.，只能說 I saw him yesterday.。同樣的道理，have been brought 配不上 in the 17th century，只能用簡單過去式的被動 were brought。那前半句為什麼可以用 have been grown？因為它配的是 for thousands of years（數千年來），是一段從過去延續到現在的期間，正是現在完成式的地盤。同一個句子裡前後時態不同，不是矛盾，而是因為兩邊的時間副詞不同 —— 這正是本題設計的用意。最後確認主詞：Apples 是複數，be 動詞用 were 不是 was。
bring（原形動詞）沒有時態也沒有語態，接不上 and 前面的結構。have brought 是主動，會變成「蘋果把某物帶到北美」，方向顛倒。have been brought 語態對了，但時態撞上 in the 17th century。三個誘答選項剛好對應三種不同的錯誤，這種題目一定要把語態和時態分開檢查，不要一次判斷。
be brought to（被帶到……）、bring A to B（把 A 帶到 B）、for thousands of years（數千年來，搭配現在完成式）、in the 17th century（在十七世紀，搭配過去式）、be grown（被種植）、colonist（殖民者）、be cultivated（被栽培）。
Nutritional products that can be collected from trees include fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, and bark. Tree products have been an important part of diets for thousands of years, from early humans 26 fruits and nuts to the first cultivation of important trees, such as mango and apple.
The apple is one of the world's most cultivated fruit trees, 27 over 7,000 different kinds in existence. Despite their great 28 , however, most domesticated apples can be traced back to a common ancestor, the wild apple of Central Asia, Malus sieversii. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, and 29 to North America by European colonists in the 17th century.
Today, apples are 30 eaten the world over and form the basis for multi-million dollar industries. In 2005, at least 55 million tons of apples were grown worldwide, which generated a value of about $10 billion.