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Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew (腱). And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.
Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch (缝合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection. ,科Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.
American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.
Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle(脚踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical, it could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.
However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement(侵犯). Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties(版税). In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.
小题1:Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because _____________.
A.people did not know how to put out the fire
B.Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention
C.the sewing machines was couldn’t work finally
D.workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire
小题2:Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?  
A.Singer is an American inventor and manufacturer.
B.The Singer sewing company became more practical.
C.The foot treadle helped to make the sewer’s hands free.
D.Singer made improvements to the design of sewing machines.
小题3:Why did the court force Isaac Singer to pay Elisa Howe a lifetime of royalties?
A.Because the judge was against Singer for his surly attitude.
B.Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer.
C.Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it.
D.Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine.
小题4:Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A.A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
B.The Case between Howe and Singer
C.Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine
D.The Early History of the Sewing Machine

答案

小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:B
小题4:D
解析

试题分析:文章介绍了缝纫机的萌芽和早期发展历程。以前都是手工操作,后来,不断有人对缝纫机的发展做出了贡献。
小题1:细节题:根据第三段“he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.”可知,一些工人放火烧服装厂是害怕因为机器的发明而丢掉工作。故选D。
小题2:细节题:根据第五段第一句“Isaac Singer, another American inventor...”可知,A、D正确;根据“This improvement left the sewer’s hands free”可知,C正确;根据“the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical”可知,B项错误;故选B。
小题3:根据最后一段的第一句“Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented”可知,Singer侵犯了Howe的专利,故选B。
小题4:考查主旨大意。文章介绍了缝纫机的早期发展历史,A、B、C太片面。故选D。
核心考点
试题【Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thre】;主要考察你对题材分类等知识点的理解。[详细]
举一反三
The purpose of a letter of application(求职信)is to help you to“sell”yourself. It should state  the job you want, and should tell what your abilities are and what you have  . It should be simple, human, personal and brief without  out any necessary facts.
In writing a letter of application, keep in  that the things a possible employer is most  to want to know about are your qualifications(条件), your achievements and your aims. The opening paragraph is perhaps the most important part.   the first few sentences fail to  the reader’s attention, the rest of the letter may not be  at all. Try to key your opening remarks to the needs or interests of the employer not  your own need or desires. For example, instead of beginning with “I saw your  in today’s newspaper”, you might say“I have made a careful  of your advertising during the past six months”or“I have made a survey in my neighborhood to find out how many housewives  your product and why they like it. ”
Try to  generalities(概述). Be clear about the kind of job for which you are now  . College graduates looking for their first positions often ask“What can I  in a letter? Employers want experience—which, naturally, no  has. ”The answer is that everything you have ever done is  .
It is important to write a good strong closing for your letter.   a specific request for an interview or give the possible employer something definite to do or expect. An excellent  is to enclose(内附)a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your letter. That makes it  for a possible employer to get in touch with you.
小题1:
A.easilyB.carefully
C.obviouslyD.clearly
小题2:
A.doneB.found
C.knownD.heard
小题3:
A.sendingB.leaving
C.takingD.picking
小题4:
A.brainB.sight
C.mind D.order
小题5:
A.probableB.possible
C.able D.likely
小题6:
A.WhileB.Although
C.IfD.As
小题7:
A.win B.pay
C.show D.fix
小题8:
A.keptB.read
C.writtenD.continued
小题9:
A.fromB.for
C.into D.to
小题10:
A.articleB.report
C.advertisementD.introduction
小题11:
A.watch B.study
C.searchD.discussion
小题12:
A.useB.make
C.sell D.change
小题13:
A.gainB.remember C.protectD.avoid
小题14:
A.applyingB.losing
C.preparingD.fitting
小题15:
A.offerB.supply
C.provideD.mean
小题16:
A.workerB.manager
C.ownerD.beginner
小题17:
A.successB.experience
C.practice D.development
小题18:
A.StateB.Ask
C.Make D.Get
小题19:
A.result B.idea
C.promiseD.decision
小题20:
A.easierB.happier
C.cheaperD.safer

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
 Beware of those who use the truth to deceive(欺骗). When someone tells you something that is  , but leaves out important information that should be  , he can create a false impression.
For example, someone might say, “I just  a hundred dollars on the lottery. It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and  it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy is a winner,   ? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought two hundred  , and only one was a winner. He’s really a big  !
He didn’t say anything that was  , but he deliberately left out some important  . That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically  , but they are just as not  .
Untrustworthy candidates in  campaigns often use this tactic(手段). Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, the state lost one million jobs and  three million jobs. Then she  another term. One of her opponents runs an ad  , “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!”That’s true.   , an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of  million jobs. ”
Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It’s  the law to make false claims so they try to mislead you with the  . An ad might boast, “Nine out of ten doctors recommend Yucky Pills to cure nose pimples. ”It  to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Corporation.
This kind of deception happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.
小题1:
A.falseB.true
C.interestingD.boring
小题2:
A.includedB.contained
C.ignoredD.referred
小题3:
A.lostB.found
C.donatedD.won
小题4:
A.changed B.took
C.turnedD.made
小题5:
A.rightB.wellC.reallyD.though
小题6:
A.booksB.papers
C.ticketsD.balls
小题7:
A.winnerB.loser
C.fighterD.thinker
小题8:
A.trueB.real
C.doubtful D.false
小题9:
A.details B.information
C.mistakes D.errors
小题10:
A.storiesB.truth
C.messages D.lies
小题11:
A.pleasantB.exciting
C.honestD.clever
小题12:
A.politicalB.commercial
C.personal D.public
小题13:
A.stoppedB.found
C.avoidedD.gained
小题14:
A.seeksB.gets
C.achieves D.searches
小题15:
A.writingB.telling
C.sayingD.speaking
小题16:
A.OtherwiseB.However
C.MeanwhileD.Because
小题17:
A.oneB.twoC.threeD.four
小题18:
A.forB.to
C.againstD.in
小题19:
A.wordsB.facts
C.data D.truth
小题20:
A.failsB.tries
C.managesD.plans

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
What makes humans smarter than other animals? We’ve got a bigger brain, of course. But when it comes to brains, is bigger always better?

Traditionally, scientists have thought that humans’ superior intelligence derived(源于)mostly from the fact that our brains are three times bigger than those of our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees. People even used to believe that because men have slightly larger brains than women that men are smarter.
This, however, is not the truth. Scientists at University College London in the UK have found that brain organization, and not brain size, is the key to the superiority of human intelligence, reported Live Science.
Through millions of years of evolution, our ancestors were constantly pushed to get smarter so that they could meet the demands of new environments. However, holding this growing intelligence in increasingly large brains was not the best choice because bigger brains require more energy to power. “This is when reorganization may come into play, ”said Christophe Soligo, a member of the London research team.
In the study, scientists looked at the brains of 17 species of primates(灵长目动物), including monkeys, apes and humans. They found that in the process of evolution, brains didn’t keep growing as a whole. Certain regions of the brain grew prior to others in response to species’ needs, and in this way they could make the best use of their limited brain space.
For example, when early humans were struggling to survive, the brain region in charge of using tools and finding food grew in size more than other regions. But in modern times, the prefrontal cortex(前额皮质)—the region in charge of social cognition(认知), moral judgments and goal-directed planning—grew more than the rest of the brain.
Think of the brain as a room. If a big room is poorly organized, it doesn’t necessarily store more stuff than a smaller one.
Paul Manger, professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, explains this principle using the example of whales. He told Scientific American: “Whales have big brains, absolutely. But if you look at the actual structure of the brain, it’s not very complex. Brain size only matters if the rest of the brain is organized properly. ”
小题1:It has recently been found that humans are smarter than the other animals mainly because   .
A.they are a species of primates
B.they have much larger brains
C.their brain structure is more complex
D.they were constantly pushed to get smarter
小题2:According to the article, in recent human evolution,    .
A.the brain kept growing in size to adapt to new environments
B.most regions of the brain didn’t change
C.the prefrontal cortex grew more than the rest of the brain
D.humans’ brains became increasingly simple so that humans could survive
小题3:What can we conclude from the article?
A.Gender makes a difference in intelligence.
B.The size of the brain has nothing to do with intelligence.
C.Species whose brain is organized properly tend to be smarter.
D.Larger brains are usually organized better than smaller ones.
小题4:The method the writer uses to develop the last paragraph is   .
A.by presenting research data
B.by giving examples
C.by making a comparison
D.by analyzing cause and effect

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Move Earth—It’s Not Science Fiction

LONDON—Scientists have found an unusual way to  prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets(彗星)in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr. Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams, needs carefully directing a comet or asteroid so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun, ”Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated.
In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The Sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so“seriously compromise” our biosphere(生物圈)—by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation(误算)in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position, it is“most likely the Moon would be stripped away from Earth”. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.
小题1:What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
A.A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth.
B.Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon.
C.Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive.
D.The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth.
小题2:If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of   years.
A.12 billion B.6 billion
C.18 billion D.24 billion
小题3:What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
A.The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the Moon.
B.Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death.
C.The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth.
D.Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened.
小题4:What does the underlined word“compromise”mean?
A.Provide. B.Benefit.
C.Share. D.Endanger.

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Recently we told you about a finding that more years of school could help students get higherscores on intelligence tests.That was the finding of a study of teenage males in Norway.Now,other research shows that physical activity may help students do better in their classes .
The research comes as educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like physical education.They are using the time instead for academic subjects like maths and reading.The studies appeared between 2007 and 2013.They included more than 55,000 children,aged 6 to 18.
Amika Singh:“Based on the results of our study,we can conclude that being physically active is beneficial for academic performance. There are,first,Physiological explanations,like more blood flow, and so more oxygen to the brain.Being physically active means there are more hormones(荷尔蒙)produced like endorphins(内啡肽).And endorphins make your stress level lower and  your mood improved, which means you also perform better.”
Also,students involved in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them.This could improve their classroom behavior and help them keep their mind on their work.
The study leaves some questions unanswered,however.Ms.Stash says it is not possible to say whether the amount or kind of activity affected the level of academic improvement.This is because of differences among the studies .
Also.they were mostly observational studies.An observational study is where researchers do not do controlled comparisons.They only describe what they observe.So they might observe a link that students who are more active often have better grades.But that does not necessarily mean being active was the cause of those higher grades.
The researchers said they found only two high - quality studies.They called for more high-
quality studies to confirm their findings.They also pointed out that “outcomes for other parts of the world may be quite different. ”
Still,the general finding was that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school.Ms.Singh says schools should consider that finding before they cut physical education programs.Her paper on “Physical Activity and Performance at School”is published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
小题1:The passage mainly tells us that ____
A.a research on physical education has been done by the researchers
B.there exists a possibility that physical activity leads to higher grades
C.the amount or kind of activity directly affects academic level
D.the research shows that the children aged 6 to 1 8 don"t do sports
小题2:Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Being mentally active is good for academic subjects.
B.The more hormones you have,the more stressed you will get.
C.They have found many high-quality studies to prove the research.
D.The educators in the research think studies,not exercise,mean much to students.
小题3:The underlined sentence in Paragraph 7 probably means ____.
A.good marks result from high-quality study
B.findings probably vary in different areas
C.physical activity will spread all over the world
D.academic performance depends on the surroundings
小题4:What"s the purpose of writing the passage?
A.To call our attention to the sports at school.
B.To introduce all types of physical activities.
C.To represent the academic performance.
D.To improve students" health .

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
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