Take a look in your clothes drawer. Do you see a pair of jeans? You probably do. You may be wearing a pair right now. Or you might have a jean jacket, shirt, or a pair of denim (牛仔布) shoes. Jeans are so common, and you may wonder who invented them and how the fashion took off.
Jeans were invented by a German named Levi Strauss. He went to the U. S. in 1847 and followed the Gold Rush to San Francisco. He carried many kinds of fabric (布料) to sell to dry goods stores. Levi quickly became a successful businessman. The miners (矿工) in California had a problem with their pants. When they found gold or ore (矿石) , they carried it in their pockets. But the metal was heavy, and the pockets ripped (撕开) . In 1873, Jacob and Levi made the first jeans-tough denim pants. The miners loved them, and the jeans quickly became popular.
In the beginning, Levi's jeans were work pants. Many workers wore them all the time. But a gentleman wouldn't think of wearing jeans. Women didn't wear pants at all. But this changed when Western movies became popular. All the cowboys were in jeans. People thought the cowboys looked tough and cool. But jeans still weren't proper for places like schools and offices. Back in the U. S. , fashions changed. Movie stars wore jeans in their films. Teenagers everywhere loved them. Some schools banned jeans because of their "rebel" (叛逆) image. But casual clothing, including jeans, became popular for more and more occasions. Eventually, jeans were so common that it became okay for anyone to wear them. You can even find pictures of the president wearing jeans.
Today, all kinds of people around the world wear jeans. People wear them everywhere. Jeans are popular today for the same reasons they were popular when Levi Strauss first made them. They look good, they last long, and they are comfortable. That's probably why you own a pair or two, or seven, yourself.
1. Were jeans invented by an American?_____________________________________________________
2. When did Jacob and Levi make the first jeans?
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3. What did people think of the cowboys in jeans?
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4. Why are jeans popular today?
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5. What's the passage mainly about?
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