Question

 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"，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 inven?tion ,"said Tommy Lee,a senior physics major, "I would never 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 builtin 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 colour 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 Builtin Device for Cleaning the Window?

   C. Shouldn't We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper?

   D. Shouldn't We Develop Invention Courses in Universities?

Answer 1

1-4  BDBC  

A篇：本篇讲述一个大学教授开设一门课程讲述各种发明是谁创造的，怎样创造的，以及如何创造的。人们通常只知道那些非常著名的发明家，而忽略许多相对不太著名的发明家，其实他们的发明同样对人类非常重要。今日的我们正从各种数不清的发明中受益。

1. B细节推理题。作者讲述了汽车雨刮器和交通灯等发明的故事及其重要性，由此可以排除C、D两个选项。由文章首段可知托马斯爱迪生等发明家众所周知，但是发明雨刮器和交通灯的人并不为人所熟知，所以排除A选项。

2. D综合分析题。根据第二段倒数第三行，这位女教授认为当学生们了解了这些问题的答案,他们就能够更好地认识到发明的机会，也有动力去尝试发明。由此可见D选项符合文

3. B细节理解题。第三段第二行那个学生说： "如果我不是听了发明雨刮器的故事，我永远想不到把自己在大雨中的遭遇变成一件有建设性的事情。"由此可见他的发明是受到这个故事的启发,答案为 B.

4. C主旨大意题。本文第一段最后一句话意为"难道我们不应该知道他们是谁吗？"后面讲述发明雨刮器的故事，并且这个故事启发了一个学生进行了自己的发明和创造，由此可见学习这样的故事的重要性，因此选择C。A、B、D文中都没有提到。