Question

      

Australian people love swimming and going to its beautiful beach. But it wasn’t always that way.

       Different climate leads to different habits. When Europeans first invaded Australia, the only people here who were good at swimming were the Aboriginal people. The Europeans came from climates where it was too cold to swim. However the warm climate of Australia soon changed their attitude to swimming. At first, only men swam. They swam without any clothes on—there were no women to see them.

       Cover up! By the 1880 and 1890s visiting the beach was very fashionable. People wore everyday street clothes—much more than people wear at the beach today. In those days it’s believed people should cover their most body so as not to be seen by the opposite sex. Special bathing costumes were designed for women. This costumes used a lot of cloth and were very heavy when wet, making it difficult to swim.

       Laws made and laws changed. The government decided to stop men swimming naked(裸体). It passed a law which forbade bathing between 6 am and 7 am. But in 1903, the laws changed; people could swim in the daytime, but they had to wear neck-to-knee costumes.

        Costume is shrinking. As time passed, swimming costumes became smaller and more convenient. At first men and women were covered from neck to knee. Then arms became bare. Then more of the legs were uncovered. Each new change was regarded by many as shocking and rude and people wrote letters to the newspapers complaining about the new costume.

Nowadays some people go to special “nude beaches” to swim naked. However, most people cover their bodies more than they did ten years ago—not because they think bare skin is shocking—but to protect their skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

68. Which of the following statements about the climate of Australia is TRUE?

       A. It changed European settlers’ attitude to swimming.

       B. It changed European settlers’ swimming costume.

       C. It made European settlers feel much hotter.

       D. It made European settlers have to swim naked.

69. During the late 19^th century, swimmers should_________.
       A. wear a lot of heavy clothes on beaches.

       B. wear special wet costumes designed for them.

       C. hide when they come across a person of the opposite sex.

       D. cover their body to avoid being seen by the opposite sex.

70. What does the underlined sentence mean?

       A. People were surprised by each new change and criticized it.

       B. People were amazed by each new change and welcomed it.

       C. Only newspapers were in favor of each new change.

       D. Only newspapers thought poorly of each new change.

71. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

       A. People worry about getting skin disease from too much sun.

       B. People protect their swimming costumes from too much sun.

       C. People sometimes go swimming on the nude beaches.

       D. People today cover their bodies more than before.

Answer 1

ABA  A