To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun!
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, back in the eleventh century B.C.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in common used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France, and later on in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colours.
45. According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first invented in ancient _______.
A. China         B. Egypt       C. Greece         D. Rome
46. Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?
A. No one exactly knows who was the inventor of the umbrella.
B. The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun.
C. The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century.
D. In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade.
47. A strange feature(特征) of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as _______.
A. protection against rain                    B. a shade against the sun
C. a symbol of honour and power              D. women’s decoration
48. In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain ___________.
A. during the Middle Ages   B. by the eighteenth century   C. in Rome   D. in Greece

D
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains．But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain．Its first use was as a shade against the sun．
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times．Probably the Chinese were the earliest to use it in the eleventh century BC．We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade．And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority．In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices．
In Europe, the Greeks were the earliest to use the umbrella as a sunshade．And the umbrella was allowed in common use in ancient Greece．But it is believed that the earliest persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans．
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared．Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century．And again, it was considered a symbol of power and authority．In around 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England．
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe．Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become  much lighter in weight．It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors．
【小题1】The first use of umbrella was as ______________．

完形填空(共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36~55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It’s fourteen years since I left the Philippines to live with my family in the USA.A month ago,while on summer vacation back in my motherland,I learned a lesson from mosquito(蚊子) bites.Right before   36   Kennedy Airport in New York,my grandma   37   me of the behavior of the native mosquitoes around the   38   like me.She said,“There’s an old saying—the   39   you stay away from the motherland,the sweeter your blood   40   to the mosquitoes.”Not   41    it,I replied,“Grandmaaaa,that’s just an old wives’ tale!”

Well,less than a week   42   my arrival in Manila,I was already carpeted with a   43   of mosquito bites.I took many measures to keep myself from being   44   ，but they all proved useless.

Late one   45   in my cousin’s home,I couldn’t bear the   46   of the bites.Hoping to find some comfort,I   47   my cousin,who was sleeping peacefully in the bed next to mine.Unhappy for being   48   she said,“There is nothing you can do.Go back to sleep.”With a few turns,she slept again.Enviously(妒忌地)   49   her sleep,I hoped a big mosquito would

   50   on her face.However,the mosquitoes would just lightly dance around her forehead and fly away quickly,never biting her.Amazed(惊奇的),I ran to others’   51   ,only to find they were all sleeping   52   as the same thing occurred again and again.

From those bites,I came to   53   my grandma’s silly tale.From then on,I’ve always tried to keep a(n)   54   mind about those strange old wives’ tales   55   they do have some truth to them.

36.A.leaving                 B.passing               C.visiting                            D.finding

37.A.persuaded             B.reminded            C.warned                      D.informed

38.A.students                B.foreigners           C.passengers                 D.visitors

39.A.earlier                  B.longer                C.sooner                       D.later

40.A.grows                   B.goes                   C.flows                        D.remains

41.A.expecting              B.understanding     C.recognizing               D.believing

42.A.after                     B.before                C.when                        D.as

43.A.shade                   B.pile                    C.cloud                        D.blanket

44.A.touched                B.bitten                 C.defeated                    D.discovered

45.A.morning               B.afternoon           C.evening                     D.night

46.A.noise                    B.hit                            C.pain                          D.effect

47.A.woke up               B.shouted at           C.looked for                 D.dropped on

48.A.blamed                 B.interrupted         C.moved                      D.frightened

49.A.having                  B.watching            C.making                            D.helping

50.A.land                            B.fly                     C.fall                           D.wait

51.A.houses                  B.flats                   C.rooms                       D.homes

52.A.joyfully                B.anxiously           C.soundlessly                D.worriedly

53.A.tell                       B.know                 C.remember                  D.accept

54.A.open                    B.active                 C.clear                         D.honest

55.A.and                      B.so                      C.because                     D.until

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It’s fourteen years since I left the Philippines to live with my family in the USA.A month ago,while on summer vacation back in my motherland,I learned a lesson from mosquito(蚊子) bites.Right before   1Kennedy Airport in New York,my grandma   2me of the behavior of the native mosquitoes around the   3like me.She said,“There’s an old saying—the   4you stay away from the motherland,the sweeter your blood   5to the mosquitoes.”Not   6it,I replied,“Grandmaaaa,that’s just an old wives’ tale!”

Well,less than a week   7my arrival in Manila,I was already carpeted with a   8of mosquito bites.I took many measures to keep myself from being   9，but they all proved useless.

Late one   10in my cousin’s home,I couldn’t bear the   11of the bites.Hoping to find some comfort,I   12my cousin,who was sleeping peacefully in the bed next to mine.Unhappy for being   13she said,“There is nothing you can do.Go back to sleep.”With a few turns,she slept again.Enviously(妒忌地)   14her sleep,I hoped a big mosquito would

15on her face.However,the mosquitoes would just lightly dance around her forehead and fly away quickly,never biting her.Amazed(惊奇的),I ran to others’   16,only to find they were all sleeping   17as the same thing occurred again and again.

From those bites,I came to   18my grandma’s silly tale.From then on,I’ve always tried to keep a(n)   19mind about those strange old wives’ tales   20they do have some truth to them.

1.A.leaving         B.passing           C.visiting              D.finding

2.A.persuaded       B.reminded      C.warned                D.informed

3.A.students            B.foreigners        C.passengers            D.visitors

4.A.earlier         B.longer            C.sooner                D.later

5.A.grows           B.goes          C.flows             D.remains

6.A.expecting       B.understanding C.recognizing           D.believing

7.A.after           B.before            C.when              D.as

8.A.shade           B.pile          C.cloud             D.blanket

9.A.touched         B.bitten            C.defeated          D.discovered

10.A.morning            B.afternoon     C.evening           D.night

11.A.noise          B.hit               C.pain              D.effect

12.A.woke up            B.shouted at        C.looked for            D.dropped on

13.A.blamed         B.interrupted       C.moved             D.frightened

14.A.having         B.watching      C.making                D.helping

15.A.land               B.fly           C.fall              D.wait

16.A.houses         B.flats         C.rooms             D.homes

17.A.joyfully           B.anxiously     C.soundlessly           D.worriedly

18.A.tell               B.know          C.remember          D.accept

19.A.open           B.active            C.clear             D.honest

20.A.and                B.so                C.because           D.until

D

To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains．But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain．Its first use was as a shade against the sun．

Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times．Probably the Chinese were the earliest to use it in the eleventh century BC．We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade．And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority．In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices．

In Europe, the Greeks were the earliest to use the umbrella as a sunshade．And the umbrella was allowed in common use in ancient Greece．But it is believed that the earliest persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans．

During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared．Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century．And again, it was considered a symbol of power and authority．In around 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England．

By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe．Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become  much lighter in weight．It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors．

1.The first use of umbrella was as ______________．

A．protection against rain                   B．shade against the sun

C．a symbol of power and authority            D．a symbol of honor and authority

2.In Europe, the umbrella was first used against rain ___________．

A．in Greece         B．in Rome           C．in England         D．in France

3.From the text, we can infer that _________．

A．the umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century．

B．no one knows why the umbrella was used in very ancient times．

C．once ordinary people had no right to use umbrellas．

D．during the Middle Ages the umbrella was common in Europe．

4.This passage talks mainly about ____________．

A．when and how the umbrella was invented．

B．why the umbrella was so popular in Europe．

C．the development of the umbrella．

D．the history and use of the umbrella．