The air bag is a piece of safety equipment in cars. It was first designed by John W. Hetrick in 1952. Like many inventions, he came up with the idea as a result of an event that had occurred in his life. He says:
“In the spring of 1952, my wife, my seven-year-old daughter, Joan, and I were out for a Sunday drive in our 1948 Chrysler Windsor. About three miles outside Newport we were watching for deer jumping across the road. Suddenly, there was a large rock in our path. I hit the brakes and we went into a ditch(壕沟).
“As I applied the brakes, both my wife and I threw our hands up to keep our daughter from hitting the car. There was soft mud in the ditch, so the car wasn’t damaged, and no one was hurt.”
“During the ride home I couldn’t stop thinking about the accident. I asked myself,‘Why couldn’t some object come out to stop you from striking the inside of the car?’As soon as I got home that night I drew some sketches(草图). Each evening for the following two weeks, I’d add or reduce something from the sketches.”
Hetrick applied an event he had observed while in the Navy to the design of the air bag. He was repairing a torpedo(鱼雷) which had a cloth covering. When the compressed(压缩的) air that was in the torpedo was let out, the covering was suddenly filled with air and was shot to the ceiling.
With this knowledge, he developed his design until he was able to obtain a patent on the invention on August 5, 1952. The idea was similar to the air bag designs of today. Compressed air is stored in a container and when a traffic accident occurs and the car slows down at a rapid enough rate, the air will be released into the air bag. The idea was ingenious, but Hetrick’s air bag never would have functioned properly. It was really a breakthrough, but it would require years and years of designing and testing by some top car designers before it could be used.
【小题1】The car accident Hetrick was involved in ________.

A.damaged his carB.happened in 1948
C.was caused by a deerD.caused no harm to his family
【小题2】Hetrick’s experience in the Navy________.
A.turned out to be dangerousB.was helpful to his invention
C.involved designing torpedoesD.inspired him to design an air bag
【小题3】The underlined word “ingenious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.
A.creativeB.ridiculousC.crazyD.complex
【小题4】What do we know about the air bag Hetrick designed?
A.It came into use in the 1950s.B.It performed perfectly in car accidents.
C.It prepared the way for air bags nowadays.D.It took Hetrick about two months to develop it.
【小题5】The text is mainly about ____.
A.the great inventor HetrickB.The invention of air bags
C.a terrible car accidentD.road safety in the 1950s

The air bag is a piece of safety equipment in cars. It was first designed by John W. Hetrick in 1952. Like many inventions, he came up with the idea as a result of an event that had occurred in his life. He says:

“In the spring of 1952, my wife, my seven-year-old daughter, Joan, and I were out for a Sunday drive in our 1948 Chrysler Windsor. About three miles outside Newport we were watching for deer jumping across the road. Suddenly, there was a large rock in our path. I hit the brakes and we went into a ditch(壕沟).

“As I applied the brakes, both my wife and I threw our hands up to keep our daughter from hitting the car. There was soft mud in the ditch, so the car wasn’t damaged, and no one was hurt.”

“During the ride home I couldn’t stop thinking about the accident. I asked myself,‘Why couldn’t some object come out to stop you from striking the inside of the car?’As soon as I got home that night I drew some sketches(草图). Each evening for the following two weeks, I’d add or reduce something from the sketches.”

Hetrick applied an event he had observed while in the Navy to the design of the air bag. He was repairing a torpedo(鱼雷) which had a cloth covering. When the compressed(压缩的) air that was in the torpedo was let out, the covering was suddenly filled with air and was shot to the ceiling.

With this knowledge, he developed his design until he was able to obtain a patent on the invention on August 5, 1952. The idea was similar to the air bag designs of today. Compressed air is stored in a container and when a traffic accident occurs and the car slows down at a rapid enough rate, the air will be released into the air bag. The idea was ingenious, but Hetrick’s air bag never would have functioned properly. It was really a breakthrough, but it would require years and years of designing and testing by some top car designers before it could be used.

1.The car accident Hetrick was involved in ________.

A.damaged his car                        B.happened in 1948

C.was caused by a deer                    D.caused no harm to his family

2.Hetrick’s experience in the Navy________.

A.turned out to be dangerous               B.was helpful to his invention

C.involved designing torpedoes              D.inspired him to design an air bag

3.The underlined word “ingenious” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.

A.creative          B.ridiculous         C.crazy             D.complex

4.What do we know about the air bag Hetrick designed?

A.It came into use in the 1950s.              B.It performed perfectly in car accidents.

C.It prepared the way for air bags nowadays.    D.It took Hetrick about two months to develop it.

5.The text is mainly about ____.

A.the great inventor Hetrick                 B.The invention of air bags

C.a terrible car accident                    D.road safety in the 1950s

 

After sunset on our last day at the farm I walked out into the desert. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long hot hours, I thought I was the only thing out of doors. Suddenly I stopped. Before me a rattlesnake lay fixed, its head not yet drawn back to strike but only turned a little to watch what I would do. Many snakes will run away at the sight of a man but this rattlesnake felt no necessity to get out of any-body's way. He held his ground in calm watch-fullness waiting for me to show my intentions. My first aim was to take no notice of him; I had never killed an animal if I was not forced to kill. But I remembered that there were children, dogs and horses at the farm as well as men and women with thin clothes on; my duty was to kill the snake. I went back to the farm and returned with a stick. The rattlesnake had not moved; he lay like a wire but more quickly than I could stride he shot into a bush and set up his rattling, warning me by this that I had made an unreasonable attack and attempted to take his life and that if I insisted he would have no choice but to take mine if he could. For a moment I listened to this terrifying sound and then I struck into the bush with my stick and, chop-ping about, dragged him out of the bush with his back broken. w.wHe struck once more at the stick but a moment later his neck was broken and he was soon dead althoughwww..com when I picked him up by the tail his mouth opened, proving that a dead snake may still bite. There was blood in his mouth and poison was dropping; it was not only a dis-gusting(令人作呕的) sight but a pitiful one too. I dropped the body into a green bush and, as I did so, I saw him in my imagination, crawling over the sands as he might have done if I had let him go.

49. At the sight of the author, the rattlesnake        .

A. shot into a bush

B. lay motionless but got ready to meet danger

C. drew itself up to strike

D. took no notice of his presence

50. The author had to kill the rattlesnake because       .

A. it stood in his way

B. it attempted to take his life

C. it presented a disgusting sight

D. its presence was a danger to the people and animals at the farm

51. Which of the following best describes the rattlesnake?

A. It attacked man without any reason.

B. It would not attack unless it was attacked.

C. It ran away at the sight of man.

D. It exposed itself to danger.

52. It is implied at the end of the passage that the author____.

A. regretted having killed the snake

B. was glad that he had killed the snake

C. felt a little sorry for the snake

D. could not help thinking about the dead snake

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