Ellen Swallow Richards was the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A chemist, social activist, teacher, and first woman member of the Institute of Engineering, she believed that housekeeping was a science. As a progressive thinker at the time, she thought that women needed to learn about money matters and have up-to-date information on cleanliness and nutrition. She encouraged women from all backgrounds to get the best education possible.
Ellen was born in 1842 and was brought up in Massachusetts. A graduate of Vassar College in New York, she returned to New England to attend MIT. After her marriage to Professor Robert Richards, she worked in a laboratory at MIT, examining pollution of water sources in Massachusetts. Her work led to the creation of the first food-inspection (检验) laws of that state. She was instructor at MIT from 1884 until her death in 1911.
Like other progressive thinkers of the time, Ellen was worried about problems of the poor and the effect of the environment on society. She considered the environment a key factor in quality of life. Within the family, as in the world at large, science was chief in tools used to help the poor. Science could help to manage money matters, keep a home safe and clean, and improve quality of life. Food properly cooked could be tasty, nutritious, and inexpensive. Better and cheaper food could protect the health and improve the lives of working-class families.
Ellen created the science of housekeeping, now called home economics, and elevated（提升）it to a serious college subject. She worked tirelessly as a national leader in developing standards, materials, and teacher training for this new field. Her publications cover many subjects—from the chemistry of cooking and cleaning to the cost of living.
57. According to the text, Ellen __________.
A. provided new jobs for the poor
B. helped to create new kinds of food
C. set up the field of home economics
D. created the ideas of food-inspection laws
58. As a progressive thinker, Ellen __________.
A. suggested people cook their own meals at home
B. believed cheap food was better than expensive one
C. advised women to get the best education possible
D. considered money matters a key factor in quality of life
59. Ellen believed that __________.
A. poor families knew how to manage money
B. families were well informed about good nutrition
C. cheaper food could not protect people’s health
D. families spent much on food but were not well nourished
60. One can infer that, as a result of the efforts of people such as Ellen, __________.
A. one may study home economics at a university for a career
B. the pollution of water sources is no longer a problem
C. most people today learn to cook at school
D. science does not help much within the family as in the world
When you buy a T-shirt, or a fur coat in a store , it often carries a label(标签) telling who made it or from what store it was bought. Indeed, some labels show the dress is famous and it is very expensive, so buyers who deal with the cheapest products would be pleased to do away with labels entirely.
However, there is another label more important than the one showing from which store the dress was bought. When a person buys a fur coat, or a jacket , from a store , a label telling what the product is made of should be carried to it.
This label is required by law. Besides telling what the product on show is made of , the label should be in clear English and be where one can find it easily. The information on the label must be the truth.
The reason for this label is that most buyers today aren’t expert enough to know exactly what kind of fur or material they are buying. The buyer must believe in the store that sells the products or in what the labels say.The author doesn’t agree that_______.
| A．some clothes may carry more than one label |
| B．some clothing stores sell cheap dresses |
| C．shops can sell products with or without labels |
| D．buyers will believe what the label says |
This article mainly refers to__________.
| A．making furs and clothes | B．protecting buyers with law |
| C．keeping the buyers informed | D．businessmen and sellers |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Not all buyers know the materials they are buying. |
| B．A fur coat with a high price often carries a false label. |
| C．A label only says what material the product is made of . |
| D．A T-shirt seldom carries a label. |
In many homes, divorce is caused by the “battle between the sexes.” To understand the problem, one must remember that the modern American woman is freed. During childhood and adolescence(青少年期), the American girl is given freedom and education which is equal to a boy's. After completing school, she is able to get a job and support herself. She doesn't have to marry for financial security. She considers herself an independent, self-sufficient person. She wants a husband whom she can respect, but she doesn't want to be dominated(控制) by him. She wants a democratic household in which she has a voice in making decisions. When a husband and wife are able to share decisionmaking, their marriage is probably closer, stronger, and more satisfying. Otherwise, the couple is likely to wind up in the divorce court.
When a couple gets divorced, the court usually requires the man to pay his former wife a monthly sum of money. If the couple has children, they usually remain with the mother, and the father is expected to pay for their support.
Although divorce is quite common in the United States, 80 percent of those who get divorced remarry. The remarriages allow thousands of people, especially children, to enjoy family life again, but at the same time many troubles have arisen. A well-known American joke tells of a wife calling to her second husband, “Quick, John! Come here and help me! Your children are beating up our chidlren!”What causes most of the divorce cases in the U.S.A.?
A.Financial trouble in the family.
B.Women's liberation movement.
C.Different attitudes towards children's education.
D.Lack of democratic atmosphere in the household.What do you know of modern American women, according to the passage?
| A．They are overbearing and hardworking. |
| B．They are more independent than ever. |
| C．They do not have much say in the household. |
| D．They respect their husbands, but do not rely on them. |
What kind of marriage can be successful?
| A．Both the man and woman are financially secure. |
| B．Husband and wife share housework. |
| C．Both the man and woman are well-educated. |
| D．Decisions are made by the man and woman together. |
What happens when a couple is divorced, according to the passage?
| A．The children become homeless. |
| B．The man is still responsible for the welfare of his children. |
| C．Life becomes difficult for the woman and her children. |
| D．The man, rather than the woman, remarries soon. |
There is a story of a country where the rate of inflation(通货膨胀) is so high that clever people pay for a taxi ride before, instead of after the trip. The story may not be true, but inflation was almost that serious in Germany from July 1920 until December 1923. Prices went up so fast that by the end of 1923 they were 50 billion percent higher-arise of almost 2,500% a month.
There was so much paper money, and it had so little value, that people carried bags full of money around to pay for things. One woman tells the story of standing outside a shop with a basket full of 500,000 marks(马克) notes. She wanted to buy just one piece of meat, and she hoped she had enough money. But when she was looking, a thief robbed her. He didn't take her money, he threw it away and took the basket instead.
At first workers demanded to be paid every day, but as the situation became worse, they had to be paid twice a day. But they had to run out and spend the money at once, or it would lose its value. People bought anything that was for sale, but food was almost impossible to find. Farm workers refused to take money. They wanted to be paid in potatoes instead.
New policies ended the inflation in 1923, when the government introduced a new money, but about half of the German people lost everything in those three and a half years.According to the text, in Germany the prices in 1920 were ______.
| A．the lowest in history | B．the highest in history |
| C．higher than those in 1923 | D．lower than those in 1923 |
The thief stole the basket instead of the money in it because he thought ______.
| A．the basket was what he needed most |
| B．the money was of no value |
| C．the basket was more valuable than the money |
| D．he couldn't buy a piece of meat with the money |
The farm workers demanded to be paid in potatoes because they believed ______.
| A．the potato was valuable | B．the money might lose its value |
| C．the potato was too expensive | D．the money could not buy potatoes |
Computer people talk a lot about the need for other people to become “computer-literate”. But not all experts agree that this is a good idea.
One pioneer, in particular, who disagrees is David Tebbutt, the founder of Computertown UK. Although many people see this as a successful attempt to bring people closer to the computer, David does not see it that way. He says that Computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason, to bring computers to people and make them “people-literate”.
David Tebbutt thinks Computertowns are most successful when tied to a computer club but he insists there is an important difference between the two. The clubs are for people who have some computer knowledge already. This frightens away non-experts, who are happier going to Computertowns where there are computers for them to experiment on, with experts to encourage them and answer any questions they have. They are not told what to do. They find out. The computer experts have to learn not to tell people about computers, but have to be able to answer all questions people ask. People don't have to learn computer terms(术语), but the experts have to explain in plain language. The computers are becoming “people-literate”.Which of the following is David Tebbutt's idea on the relationship between people and
computers?
| A．Computer learning should be made easier. |
| B．There should be more computer clubs for experts. |
| C．People should work harder to master computer use. |
| D．Computers should be made cheaper so that people can afford them. |
We can infer from the text that “computer-literate” means ______.
| A．being able to afford a computer |
| B．being able to write computer programs |
| C．working with the computer and finding out the value |
| D．understanding the computer and knowing how to use it |
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to the idea that Computertowns ___.
| A．help to set up more computer clubs | B．bring people to learn to use computers |
| C．bring more experts to work together | D．help to sell computers to the public |
David Tebbutt started Computertown UK with the purpose of ______.
| A．making better use of computer experts | B．improving computer programs |
| C．increasing computer sales | D．popularising computers |
Watercolor is the oldest paints known. It dates back to the early cave men who discovered they could add lifelike qualities to drawings of animals and other figures on the walls of caves by mixing the natural colors found in the earth with water.
Fresco(壁画), one of the greatest of all art forms, is done with watercolor. It is created by mixing paints and water and applying these to wet plaster(灰泥). Of the thousands of people who stand under Michelangelo's heroic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, very few know that they are looking at perhaps the greatest watercolor painting in the world.
The invention of oil painting by the Flemish masters in the fifteenth century made fresco painting go down-hill, and for the next several centuries watercolor was used mainly for doing sketches(素描) or as a tool for study. It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that English painters put back watercolor as a serious art form. The English have a widely-known love for the outdoors and also small, private pictures. The softness of watercolor had a remarkably strong attraction for them.
The popularity of watercolor continued to grow until in the twentieth century. The United States passed England as the center for watercolor, producing such well-known watercolor artists as Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The gradual weakness of fresco painting. |
| B．Oils having more power or influence over watercolor. |
| C．The rediscovery of watercolor in England. |
| D．The start and development of watercolor. |
The first watercolor artists were ______.
| A．early cave men | B．Italian fresco artists |
| C．Flemish masters | D．English artists of the 18th century |
In 16th and 17th centuries the artists thought ______.
| A．watercolor was more costly, but was better |
| B．oil painting lasted less long, but clearer and brighter |
| C．watercolor was not suitable for finished works |
| D．oil painting was difficult to use |
According to the passage, watercolor painting was put back in England because ______.
A.it was easy to use outdoors B.it was a strong medium
B.it was extremely bright in color D.it was well suited to popular tastesWhat would the next paragraph most probably deal with?
| A．The works of famous American watercolor artists. |
| B．The weakness of oils as popular paints. |
| C．Techniques of producing watercolor. |
| D．Modern American oil painters. |