65. The article mainly tells us about __________.

A. the great inventors in the world

B. the important inventions in the world

C. the short history of household machines

D. the importance of the machines used in the home

C

Abby Subark is a mother of two from Boston. “For my kids, I’m nervous. I don’t know if they’ll be able to achieve their American dream.” She may be right. More than hard work or education, the best way to get rich in America is to be born rich.

It is the case that somebody who is in the upper class of income, poor scores, in the bottom on tests when they are in eighth grade, is more likely to go to college and finish college than a poor kid with the top scores. That’s what the working person’s children are up against.

The Economic Policy Institute finds it would take a poor couple with 2 children 9 or 10 generations to achieve middle class status. That’s about 200 years. The hallmark(特征)of American opportunity has always been the ability to do better than your parents. But compared with similar developed countries, the United States ranks fifth out of six for so-called intergenerational mobility(变动).

If you look at the mechanisms(机制)for upward mobility that were so readily available 50 years ago, they are becoming out of reach, like plentiful factory jobs with good wages and affordable education and health care.

White families are twice as likely as blacks to be upwardly mobile. For most people in America today, where you end up depends on where you start.

If you started in the middle-income class, about 40 to 45 percent of what you are making right now is due to the fact that your parents were in the middle-income class. The rest is up to you.

But for the millions of people who find themselves below the poverty line(贫困线)and the millions more who are the working poor, their starting point for the American dream leaves them painfully far away from the middle class.

64. The underlined word “crude” in the sentence “but it was crude by today’s standards.”　 probably means __________ .

A. useless　　　 B. ugly-looking　　　 C. rough　　　 D. not skillfully made

63. According to the article, modern inventors __________ .

A. followed the pattern of the first revolving drum but improve it much

B. only imitated the first washing machine

C. powered the first ever-made washing machine by electricity

D. had to wait for the first spin-drier for a long time

62. Whose sewing machine could do far more than the work that was done by five skilled sewing women?

A. Thomas Saint’s.　　　　　　　　 B. Bartelemy Thimonier’s.

C. Elias Howe’s.　　　　　　　　　 D. Isaac Singer’s.

61. Inventors patent the inventions so as to __________ .

A. produce more machines　　　　　　　 B. avoid being copied by others

C. make the inventions more popular　　　 D. make more money

60. Which of the following would probably be the best title for the passage?

A. Webster's dictionary

B. American identity

C. The shaper of American English

D. Spelling differences between American and British English

B

Machines in the home have a short history. Sewing machines, washing machines and tumble dries are common enough today, but a hundred years ago few people could even imagine such things. However, inventors have designed and built a wide range of household machines since then. In most cases the inventor tried to patent(申请专利)his machine, to stop anyone copying it. Then he tried to produce a lot of them. If the machine became popular, the inventor could make a lot of money.

In 1790 the first sewing machine was patented. The inventor was an Englishman called Thomas Saint. There was nothing to match his machine for forty years, and then someone built a similar device. He was a Frenchman, Bartelemy Thimonier. Neither of these early machines worked very well, however. It wasn’t until 1846 that an inventor came up with a really efficient sewing machine. He was an American, Elias Howe and his machine was good enough to beat five skilled sewing women. He didn’t make much money from it, however. The first commercially successful sewing machine was patented by Isaac Singer five years later.

Today, we take washing machines for granted, but there was none before 1869. The revolving drum(旋转桶)of that first machine set a pattern for the future, but it was crude by today’s standards. The drum was turned by hand, and needed a lot of effort. Eight years passed before someone produced an electric washing machine. The world had to wait even longer for a machine to dry clothes. The first spin-drier was another American invention, patented in 1924; but it was 20 years before such machines were widely used.

It was yet another American, called Bissell, who introduced the carpet sweeper. He patented the original machine back in 1876. It didn’t pick up dirt very well, but it was quicker than a dustpan and brush. Thirty-six years later, even the carpet sweeper was old-fashioned: modern homes now have a vacuum cleaner with an electric motor to suck the dust.

59. Which of the following word can best describe Noah Webster’s work?

A. Interesting　　　　 B. Boring　　　　　　 C. Unfinished　　　　　 D. Meaningful

58. Why did Noah Webster create these differences in his dictionary?

A. Because he wanted to make English simple and easy.

B. Because he wanted American English to have its own characteristics.

C. Because he wanted to achieve political freedom.

D. Because he wanted to show that the USA is stronger than the UK.

57. When did Noah Webster probably begin his project of the dictionary?

A. In 1758.　　　　　 B. In 1783　　　　　　 C. In 1800.　　　　　　 D. In 1828.

56. According to the passage, when he worked on his dictionary，Noah Webster did all of the following EXCEPT _____.

A. dropping “u” in all the British words

B. changing “centre” into “center”

C. adding local words

D. voicing his opinion