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 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 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?