Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and over1,200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.

Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. He started experimenting at a young age.

When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time in experimenting his first patent(专利权) in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity.

Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.

Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.

1. How often did Edison make a new invention?

A. About every fourteen days. B. About every seven days.

C. About once a week. D. About twice a week.

2.The underlined world “fired” in the passage means “_____”

A. Gave somebody a job. B. Set fire to somebody.

C. Let somebody down. D. Forced somebody to leaves his job.

3. Edison considered his deafness as____.

A. something bad B. a gift from God

C. a kind of ability D. a disadvantage

4.Which of the following sentences is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Edison had only 8hours’rest each day after his deafness.

B. Edison got his education mostly by self-teaching.

C. Edison had his first job in 1986.

D. Edison’inventions greatly improved the quality of people’s life.

5. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A. The function of the electric light.

B. Edison and his experiments.

C. The importance of inventions.

D. The whole life of Edison.

To us, it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But in fact the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain. Its first use was as a shade(遮蔽)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 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 power(权力). In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office or by royal people such as the kings or queens.

In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. The umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece, but it is believed that the first people in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the middle ages in Europe, the use of the umbrella almost disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it became a symbol of power.

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 the umbrellas for women began to be made in all kinds of colors.

1.Ancient people first used umbrellas as ____.

A. a symbol of honor

B. protection against the sun

C. a symbol of power

D. protection against the rain

2.According to the passage, the umbrella was probably first used in ancient ______.

A. Egypt B. Babylon C. Rome D. China

3.The underlined word royal might mean _ in Chinese.

A.皇室的 B.富裕的 C.中产的 D.平民的

4.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. The ancient Greeks used the umbrella in their daily life.

B. Europeans hardly used the umbrella during the middle ages.

C. The umbrellas for women were made colorful in ancient times.

D. The style of the umbrella hasn't changed a lot since it was invented

5.This passage is mainly about _____.

A. the sales of the umbrella

B. the differences among umbrellas

C. the invention of the umbrella

D. the history and the use of the umbrella

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