Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew. 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(縫合) 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.
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(腳踏板) 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（版稅）. In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.
小題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
小題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.
小題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.
小題4:Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
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

小題1:D
小題2:B
小題3:B
小題4:D

試題分析：文章介紹了縫紉機的萌芽和早期發(fā)展歷程。以前都是手工操作，后來，不斷有人對縫紉機的發(fā)展做出了貢獻。
小題1:根據(jù)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，一些工人放火燒服裝廠是害怕因為機器的發(fā)明而丟掉工作。故選D。
小題2:根據(jù)第五段第一句“Isaac Singer, another American inventor...”可知，A、D正確；根據(jù)“This improvement left the sewer’s hands free”可知，C正確；根據(jù)“the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical”可知，B項錯誤；故選B。
小題3:根據(jù)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的專利，故選B。
小題4:考查主旨大意。文章介紹了縫紉機的早期發(fā)展歷史，A、B、C太片面。故選D。
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C
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A．Leading the following paragraphs.
B．Showing the main idea of the passage.
C．Introducing the background of the passage.
D．Giving a summary of the passage.
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B．When an ant dies, it can tell others using a certain chemical.
C．A living ant can pretend to be dead using a special chemical.
D．Ants often use chemicals to communicate with each other.
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B．Choe is a biologist who is only interested in animals, especially in ants.
C．Choe first came up with an idea to explain this ant behavior，and then did some tests to prove his theory.
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A．Octopi.B．Shellfish.C．Fish.D．The victims.
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A．a(chǎn)ttacking deep-sea diversB．cutting up large pieces of meat
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小題5:From the passage, we can conclude that          .
A．the octopus is not dangerous to man
B．people often fear creatures that are not dangerous to them
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A．gardening is popular in most part of Australia
B．April is a great time for people to enjoy flowers
C．it’s not easy to keep a garden without proper training
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A．She takes pride in her community.
B．She once stepped on a dog’s waste.
C．She is quite in favor of raising a dog.
D．She finds it embarrassing to walk on the grass.
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A．rainwater is not the best resource
B．her community owns a public tank
C．her community makes full use of resources
D．it is not necessary to water flowers very often
小題4:How many examples are given to show the caring for the environment in Australia?
A．TwoB．ThreeC．FourD．Five
小題5:What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Love nature, the Australian wayB．How Australians save resources
C．How Australians lead their life D．Protect nature, a must of life

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“When you constantly stare at a computer screen and type on your keyboard，you gradually lose the ability to socialize and survive normally，"said Shi．“A human’s most important task is to survive，which cannot be completed by staying at home all the time． Instead，it must be achieved through real life experience and communication．”
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A．He feels very lonely on campus．
B．He will promote close-in culture．
C．He will spend the Spring Festival with relatives．
D．He will spend the Spring Festival with on-line friends．
小題2:Spending the Spring Festival on campus for Jia Debao means         .
A．he will miss his parents a little bit
B．there will be more seats in classrooms
C．he will have a quiet and peaceful break
D．the speed of the Internet will get faster
小題3:The underlined phrase“couch potato” is closest in meaning to        .
A．inactive personB．close friend
C．sociable studentD．a(chǎn)ddicted gamer
小題4:What do education experts recommend students to do?
A．To do some traveling．
B．To stay more with families．
C．To find empty seats in classrooms．
D．To experience real lire and communication．

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