题目内容

We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells—but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)? Shouldn’t we know who they are?

Joan Mclean thinks so.In fact,Mclean,a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range,feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic.In addition to learning“who”invented“what”,however,Mclean also likes her students to learn the answers to the“why’’and‘‘how”questions.According to Mclean.“When students learn the answers to these questions,they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.’’

Her students agree.One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’s statement.“If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’s invention,”said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major,“I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so constructive.”Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.

So,just what is the story behind the windshield wiper Well,Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City.The day was cold and stormy,but Anderson still wanted to see the sights,so she jumped aboard a streetcar.Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield,she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built—in device for cleaning the window.Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham,Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions.One of her ideas,a lever(操作杆)on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside,became the first windshield wiper.

Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations.It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A.Morgan’s traffic light.It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J.Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible.Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?

1.By mentioning“traffic light”and“windshield wiper”.the author indicates that countless inventions are__________.

A.beneficial,because their inventors are famous

B.beneficial,though their inventors are less famous

C.not useful,because their inventors are less famous

D.not useful,though their inventors are famous

2.Professor Joan McLean’s course aims to__________.

A.add color and variety to students’campus life

B.inform students of the windshield wiper’s invention

C.carry out the requirements by Mountain University

D.prepare students to try their own inventions

3.Tommy Lee’s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was____.

A.not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer

B.inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper

C.due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm

D.not related to Professor Joan McLean’s lectures

4.Which of the following can best serve as the title of this passage?

A.How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers

B.How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window

C.Shouldn’t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper

D.Shouldn’t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities

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Mary Allen was my best friend-like the sister I ever had. We did everything together: piano lessons, movies, swimming, and horseback riding.

When I was 13, my family moved away. Mary and I kept in touch through letters and we saw each other on special occasions(场合)- like my wedding and Mary’s. Soon we were busy with children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less often. One day a card that I sent came back stamped "Address Unknown ".

Over the years, I thought of Mary often. I wanted to share stories of my children and then grandchildren. And I needed to share my sadness when my brother and then mother died. There was an empty place in my heart that only a friend like Mary could fill.

One day I was reading the newspaper when I noticed a photo of a young woman who looked a lot like Mary and whose last name was Wagman--Mary’s married name. "There must be thousands of Wagman. "I thought, but I wrote to her anyway.

She called as soon as she got my letter. "Mrs Tobin!" she said excitedly. "Mary Allen Wagman” is my mother. Minutes later I heard a voice recognized immediately,even after 40 years. We laughed and cried and caught up on each other’s lives.

Now the empty place in my heart is filled. And there’s one thing that Mary and I know for sure: We don’t lose each other again.

1. I want to find Mary ______________ .

A. to share my stories B. to share my sorrow

C. to fill the empty in my heart D. all of the above

2.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. We never see each other again when I moved away when I was 13.

B. I find my friend in the newspaper

C. It is 40 years since we last saw each other

D. My friend’s husband is Mr Tobin

3.The best title of the passage is ________

A. My Good Friend B. Friend Like the brother

C. An Important Friend D. Friends Again- Forever

Some time ago, I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there were a whole lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.

The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth—so I decided that my approach must be wrong.

I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, but it’s nothing.”

Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry; I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it. ” “Your must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair. ” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver (五镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

1.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________.

A. was rather impolite

B. was warmly received

C. asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair

D. asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair

2.The expression “the penny dropped” in the last paragraph means the shopkeeper ________.

A. changed his mind

B. accepted the offer

C. saw the writer’s purpose

D. decided to help the writer

3.How much did the writer pay?

A. £ 5. B. £ 7. C. £ 20. D. £ 27.

4.From the text, we can learn that the writer was ________.

A. smart B. careful C. honest D. Funny

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