閱讀理解

　　When the mills and mines were still open around Hebden Bridge, a northern English town, playing children showered the streets with sparks from the iron plates on their woodenclogs (木底鞋), the only shoos they could afford.

　　“At one time, they were the cheapest kind of footwear, ”said master clog-maker John Merrick, 62. “They used to use clogs in the mills. You would walk to Work in the morning and all you could hear was the chick-clock of the sales.”

　　Merrick, who has been making clogs since he started as a teenage apprentice (學徒) 47 years ago, can remember when he was paid just 1.50 pounds (US $ 2) for a dozen pairs of the shoos, whose leather tops and iron bottoms are nailed to wooden soles. Three decades ago, he sold 500 pairs of metal tipped industrial clogs a week to the Ford Motor Company for workers to wear in their factories.“That’s before they got all those robots,(機械設備)” he said, swinging his arms to imitate automation (自動控制). “We used to be really, really busy.”

　　Today, clogs cost 30 pounds (US $ 42) to 50 pounds a pair. Merrick, who can nail together a shoe in minutes, makes about 100 pairs a week.

　　One of the last clog-makers in Britain-he knows of only two others-Merrick says he does not know when he retires. He will have to train his successor (繼承者)at Walkley’s Clog Factory in Hebden Bridge how to pull leather over wooden soles an tap on the traditional horseshoe-shaped irons underneath.

　　In his workshop by a canal, Merrick sells wooden-soledpatent leather (漆皮) clogs, open-toed sandals (涼鞋),industrial steel-toed work boots and mini-clogs that customers can hang over the dashboards (汽車的儀表板) of their cars. Enthusiasts can pick up a clog purse or even a pair of clog earrings(耳飾). Merrick said he still gets orders from brickyards(磚廠)and glass companies for industrial clogs.

1．When Merrick was an apprentice, a pair of clogs cost ________.

[　　]

A．1.50 pounds
B．a(chǎn)bout 1 pounds
C．a(chǎn)bout 0.1 pounds
D．2 pounds

2．The word“shower” ( in Para. 1)most probably means ________.

[　　]

A．heavy rain
B．display
C．fill
D．shock

3．Today, Merrick sells his clogs to ________.

[　　]

A．successor
D．workers
C．children
D．All the above

4．Comparing to 3 decades ago, the different situation in making clogs is ________.

[　　]

A．more and more people become enthusiastic about clogs

B．Merrick becomes busier and busier

C．clogs cost more and mare

D．Merrick got mare. and more orders from brickyard

5．which of the following statements is true?

[　　]

A．Merrick is the only one who masters the skill of clog-making.

B．Merrick will give way to his successor very soon.

C．Merrick can make different kinds of clogs.

D．The children in the past liked clogs more than the children today.

練習冊系列答案
相關習題

科目：高中英語 來源：設計必修一英語北師版 北師版 題型：050

閱讀理解

How Long Can People Live?

　　She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday．

　　Whe n it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s recordholder．She lived to the ripe old age of 122．So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(壽命)?If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150－or beyond?

　　Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers．“Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,”says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas．

　　Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees．“People can live much longer than we think,”he says．“Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110．When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120．So why can’t we go higher?”

　　The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing．“Anyone can make up a number,”says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan．“Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine．”

　　Won’t new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries?Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120．Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most．So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller,“adding another 50 percent would get you to 120．”

　　So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers?That life span is flexible(有彈性的)，but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington．“We can get flies to live 50 percent longer,”he says．“But a fly’s never going to live 150 years．”

　　“Of course, if you became a new species(物種)，one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story,”he adds．

　　Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve(進化)their way to longer life?“It’s pretty cool to think about it,”he says with a smile．

(1)

What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?

[　　]

A．

People can live to 122．

B．

Old people are creative．

C．

Women are sporty at 85．

D．

Women live longer than men．

(2)

According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, ________．

[　　]

A．

the average human life span could be 110

B．

scientists cannot find ways to slow aging

C．

few people can expect to live to over 150

D．

researchers are not sure how long people can live

(3)

Who would agree that a scientist will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?

[　　]

A．

Jerry Shay．

B．

Steve Austad

C．

Rich Miller

D．

George Martin

(4)

What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?

[　　]

A．

Most of us could be good at sports even at 120．

B．

The average human life span cannot be doubled．

C．

Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before．

D．

New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species．

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習冊答案