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 willing to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent(专利)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 useful.” Lee is now considering 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(装置) for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birminghan, 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.
2.
3.
1.B
2.D
3.B
【解析】略
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don' t do it in front of my lads.I don ?t do it in front of my family.I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said.
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important.The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up.What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said.
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.
【小题1】The new law makes life difficult for .
A.Obama |
B.tobacco industry |
C.White House |
D.US Food and Drug Administration |
A.He no longer smokes. |
B.He still smokes as usual. |
C.He began to smoke at eighteen. |
D.He is trying hard to give up smoking. |
A.children | B.officials | C.his family | D.Businessmen |
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers.He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry.The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit.Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time.Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes.Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don' t do it in front of my lads.I don’t do it in front of my family.I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said.
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important.The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up.What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said.
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.
【小题1】The new law makes life difficult for .
A.Obama | B.tobacco industry |
C.White House | D.US Food and Drug Administration |
A.He no longer smokes. |
B.He still smokes as usual. |
C.He began to smoke at eighteen. |
D.He is trying hard to give up smoking. |
A.children | B.officials | C.his family | D.businessmen |
Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers.He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry.The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit.Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time.Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes.Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don' t do it in front of my lads.I don 't do it in front of my family.I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said.
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important.The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up.What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said.
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.
1.The new law makes life difficult for .
A.Obama |
B.tobacco industry |
C.White House |
D.US Food and Drug Administration |
2.What do we know about Obama?
A.He no longer smokes. |
B.He still smokes as usual. |
C.He began to smoke at eighteen. |
D.He is trying hard to give up smoking. |
3.According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about .
A.children |
B.officials |
C.his family |
D.businessmen |