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 ________.

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

The greatest source of inspiration for me has always been my father. Though he's been gone for 17 years, his 　 36　 still resonate（产生共鸣）. He taught me how to run my own 　37　 in life. But the most inspiring thing he taught me was to 　38 .

One incident is 　 39　 in my mind. It happened when I was a teenager. My sister and I weren’t very fond of a so-called friend of 　 40　 . Dad was a very generous man, and as he'd done with so many people, he'd given this fellow great help. But when he asked for a favor　　 41　 , the guy didn't deliver.

Dad’s outlook（人生观）on most things was "Live and let live. " In this case, however, his calmness 　 42　 Terre and me, and we let him know it.

"How can you be nice to that man?" we said to him. "You've been so kind to him, 　 43　 he's not being kind back. Why would you want to give him the time of day again?"

My father shrugged（耸肩）and said to us, "I do not bend my back with 　 44　 . "

I didn't 　45　 it at first, but over the years I came to understand the 　 46　 . Holding a grudge（怨恨）doesn't 　 47　 the person you're angry with, but it changes you. It makes you 　 48　 and gives you more weight to drag around.

After my father died in 1991, a（n）　 49　 came from a fellow I'd had a quarrel with years before to 　 50　 his sympathy. He wrote: "I thought I'd tell you how sorry I am 　 51　 the loss of your father. I know he 　 52　 the world to you. I just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts. "

Much moved, I wrote back. I thanked him for his 　 53　 . And then, because he'd 　 54　 our disagreement, I recalled Dad's 　 55　 words. "I am my father's daughter," I wrote. "And like him, I do not bend my back with yesterday.”

36. A. lectures　 　 B. suggestions　　　　 C. lessons　 　　　　　D. pictures

37. A. engine　 　 　 B. race　 　　　 C. route　 　 　 D. car

38. A. forgive　 　 　 B. persuade　 　　　 C. forget　 　 　 D. excuse

39. A. vital　 　　　 B. obvious　 　　　　 C. visual　 　 　 D. vivid

40. A. sister’s　 　 　 B. mine　 　　　　　　 C. father's　 　 D. mother’s

41. A. in return　 　 B. in turn　 　　　　　　 C. by return 　　 D. by turn

42. A. relaxed 　　 　 B. moved　 　　　　 C. interrupted　 D. bothered

43. A. and　 　　　 B. nevertheless　 　 C. still　 　　 　　 D. so

44. A. anger　 　　 　 B. disappointment　 C. worry　 　　　D. yesterday

45. A. make　 　　 　 B. get　 　　　　 　　 C. work　 　　　 D. hear

46. A. reason　 　 　 B. word　 　　　　　　 C. philosophy　 　 　 D. sentence

47. A. change　 　 　 B. hurt　 　　　 　　C. upset　 　 　　 D. disturb

48. A. stronger　 　　 B. weaker　 　　 C. rougher　 　 　　D. heavier

49. A. news　 　　　　　 B. letter　 　　 　　　 C. message　 　　D. information

50. A. explain　 　　　　　 B. express 　 　　　C. produce　 　 　　D. present

51. A. in　　　 　　　　　 B. with 　　　 　　　　　　C. about　 　　　　D. at

52. A. showed　 　　　　 B. represented　 　　C. equaled　 　　　　D. meant

53. A. kindness　 　　 B. sympathy　 　　 　　 C. understanding　　 D. consideration

54. A. referred　 　　　　 B. mentioned　 　 　　 C. reminded　 　 　　D. retold

55. A. well-known　 　 B. instructive　 　　C. inspiring　 　　 　　D. forgiving