Dior was born in Normandy in 1905, and his family’s original plans for him included a career in the diplomatic service, but by the time he was twenty-three, with his parents’ money, he opened a small art gallery in Paris. By 1931, the money had been used up. Dior’s friends in the art gallery asked him to draw and he took his first step at designing and drawing. His first job was with Lucien Lelong from whom Dior learned his craft（手藝）.
In February, 1947, Dior started the New Look in his first major Paris collection. He was backed by a famous textile producer, Boussac, who looked after the dollars, while Dior looked after the fashions. Dior knew nothing about cutting and sewing, but he was good at fashion design.
The New Look started an entirely different look to costume, with a tiny waist, a rounded shoulder and a shapely bust（胸圍）, usually with a low-cut neckline and a long full skirt. To women who had lived through the war years, the femaleness of the New Look was a great success, for people were tired of the extremely plain, wartime restrictive fashions.
It is said that dresses by Dior were “constructed like buildings”, but young people were attracted to his design, and all over the western world, manufacturers plunged into（投入）the production of his new style. Dior’s revolutionary designs lighted up a whole cycle of fashion - rounded, gentle, feminine - a delight in elegance. A New kook House of Dior opened in 1948, followed by one in London. Considered as King of Couture （Women’s clothing） for years, the Dior Empire grew until it covered every country in the western world, and included furs, jewelry, perfumes, men’s wear and so on. Over 1,000 people worked at the Paris headquarters then.
His sudden death in 1957 when he was 52 years old did not stop the growth of the House of Dior. Even now, so many years after his death, his name is closely connected with fashion throughout the world, and indeed is one of the most recognized names in the world. His first great New Look, with its long skirts, was an expression of freedom in the late 1940s.
小題1:Which of the following designs is close to Dior’s?
小題2:According to the passage, in Dior’s life, he did not _________.
| A．make creative fashion designs |
| B．work in a diplomatic service |
| C．learn craft as his first job |
| D．open a New Look House |
小題3:We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．Dior and his supporter had different interests in business |
| B．Dior’s New Look had little influence on people then |
| C．Dior is only a brand of women’s fashion |
| D．Dior’s fashion was not accepted at first |
小題4:What is probably the best title for the passage?
| A．The History of the New Look |
| B．The Growth of the Dior Empire |
| C．An Expression of Freedom - Dior |
| D．The Founder of the New Look – Dior |
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