Aldous Huxley was a most unfortunate man.When he died in 1963 he must have expired in the confident belief that the event would be given wide coverage in the press the next day.After all,his career had not been without distinction.Where he made his big mistake was in dying on the same day that John F.Kennedy was assassinated.As a result Huxley got about three column inches at the bottom of page 27.
In the same way the death of Victor Farris has gone widely unnoticed because he foolishly shuffled off this mortal coil at the same time as Mr.Konstantin Chernenko.Now,as you all know,Victor Farris was the chap who invented the paper clip.The paper milk carton too.And paper clips and milk cartons will be in use long after everyone has forgotten the name of the comrade who came between Andropov and whatever this new bloke is called.
The same goes for the inventor of the supermarket trolley who died in Switzerland a few months ago.』①Fell off his trolley,so to speak.『For all I know,he may be a household name in his own canton and they are putting up a statue of home wheeling his trolley,and ar
e going to commemorate him on one of those ever-so-tasteful Swiss postage stamps we used to collect when we were younger and wiser,』②but I doubt if his name will be remembered outside the borders of his small country.Personally I forgot it within minutes of reading of his decease.
Not that it matters.Somehow it is hard to imagine things like paper clips and supermarket trolleys having had a named inventor.It’s like discovering that at a particular moment of history a particular person invented the spoon,or the chair, or socks.One assumes that these everyday objects just happened,or evolved through natural selection.
It isn’t necessarily so.I read only the other day that Richard Ⅱ invented the handkerchief.Almost everything else was invented either by Leonardo da Vinci(scissors,bicycles,helicopters,and probably spoons,socks and the Rubik cube as well)or by Benjamin Franklin(lightning-conductor,rocking-chair,bifocals)or else by Joseph Stalin(television).
It’s quite possible that Leonardo or Benjamin Franklin or Stalin also invented the supermarket trolley.Certainly it has been invented more than once.Hardly was Herr Edelweiss(or whatever the Swiss chap was called)in his grave,than news came of the death of Sylvan N.Goodman at the age of 86.Sylvan also invented the supermarket trolley or,as the Los Angeles Times report calls it,the shopping cart.
Be that as it may,Herr Edelweiss or Sylvan Goodman,or both,did a grand job and made supermarket shopping far less hellish than it would otherwise be.The next step will be to get the trolleys out of the shops and into the streets.You could put an engine in the front and call it a car.Or give it big wheels and a canopy and call it a pram.The possibilities are endless.
1.It can be inferred from the passage that Herr Edelweiss.
A.was remembered by the people all over world
B.made a lot of money from his invention C.was not very famous D.was a business partner of Sylvan Goodman 气动真空阀2.The author writes this article in order to illustrate that. A.the names of the people who invented the most useful things are usually forgotten B.everyday objects are invented and evolve through natural selection C.many everyday objects are invented more than once D.many famous people have passed away without being noticed 3.Who probably invented spoons? A.Leonardo da Vinci. B.Benjamin Franklin. C.Victor Farris. D.A person unknown. 4. By stating that Leonardo da Vinci invented helicopters, the author means . A. he really did it
B. he is a military scientist ctp版材
C. he painted in one of his masterpieces a helicopters
D. people turn to ascribe inventions to him but they are wrong
5.What can be inferred about Aldous Huxley?
A.His death was not reported by the press.
B.He was a famous inventor.
C.He made a very big mistake in his late years. 拉丝模
D.He died on the same day as John F.Kenneddy.
参考答案：CADDD
Over the past several decades, the U.S., Canada, and Europe have received a great deal of media and even research attention over unusual phenomena and unsolved mysteries. These include UFOs as well as sightings and encounters with "nonhuman creatures" suc
h as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. Only recently has Latin America begun to receive some attention as well. Although the mysteries of the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca civilizations have been known for centuries, now the public is also becoming aware of unusual, paranormal phenomena in countries such as Peru.
The Nazca“lines” of Peru were discovered in the 1930s. These lines are deeply carved into a flat, stony plain, and form about 300 intricate pictures of animals such as birds, a monkey, and a lizard. Seen at ground level, the designs are a jumbled senseless mess. The images are so large that they can only be viewed at a height of 1,000 feet - meaning from an aircraft. Yet there were no aircraft in 300 B.C., when it is judged the designs were made. Nor were there then, or are there now, any nearby mountain ranges from which to view them. So how and why did the native people of Nazca create these marvelous designs? One answer appeared in 1969, when the German researcher and writer Erich von Daniken proposed that the lines were drawn by extraterrestrials as runways for their aircraft. The scientific community did not take long to scoff at and abandon von Daniken's theory. Over the years several other theories have been put forth, but none has been acc
epted by the scientific community.
Today there is a new and heightened interest in the Nazca lines. It is a direct result of the creation of the Interment. Currently there are over 60 sites dedicated to this mystery from Latin America's past, and even respected scientists have joined the discussion through e-mail and chat rooms.
Will the Interment help explain these unsolved mysteries? Perhaps it is a step in the right direction.
86. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A. Latin America has long received attention for unusual phenomena.
B. Public attention is now directed towards countries like Peru.
C. Public interest usually focuses on North America and Europe.
D. Some ancient civilizations have unsolved mysteries.
87. According to the passage, the Nazca lines were found
A. in mountains.
B. in stones.
C. on animals.
D. on a plain.
88. We can infer from the passage that the higher the lines are seen, the the images they present.
A. smaller
B. larger
D. brighter
缎纹织物
89. There has been increasing interest in the Nazca lines mainly because of
A. the participation of scientists.
不锈钢钢锭B. the emergence of the Interment. C. the birth of new theories.
D. the interest in the Interment.
90. The author is about the role of the Interment in solving mysteries.
A. cautious
B. pessimistic
C. uncertain
D. optimistic
I am afraid to sleep. I have been afraid to sleep for the last few weeks. I am so tired that, finally, I do sleep, but only for a few minutes. It is not a bad dream that wakes me ; it is the realiry I took with me into sleep . I try to think of something else.
Immediately the woman in the marketplace comes into my mind.
I was on my way to dinner last night when I saw her . She was selling skirts. She moved with the same ease and loveliness I often saw in the women of Laos. Her long black hair was as shiny as the black silk of the skirts she was selling . In her hair, she wore three silk ribbons, blue ,green, and white. They meminded me of my childhood and how my girlfriends and I used to spend hours braiding ribbons into our hair.
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