1 . A Brief History of Eyeglasses

When it comes to inventions that have entirely changed human existence, what comes to mind? Probably it’s the wheel, the printing press, maybe the refrigerator and definitely personal computers.     1    . Like eyeglasses, for example. Imagine a world without glasses—many of us would walk around knocking into things and driving our cars up onto the sidewalk. So who invented glasses, and how were they first made?

    2    . At some point in Italy between 1268 and 1289 someone came up with the idea, but the actual inventor remains mysterious. What we do know is that the earliest lenses were made from quartz(石英) and were usually set into bone, metal, or leather.     3    , they started making lenses out of glass.

Although glasses spread quickly throughout Europe and Asia, there was one major problem: keeping them on the wearer’s face.     4    . Ouch! It took nearly 400 years before opticians(验光师) figured out that accurate sidepieces resting on top of the ears might do the trick.

No history of glasses would be complete without some mention of Benjamin Franklin, who invented bifocals(双光眼镜) in the 1780s. Annoyed at having to constantly change glasses whenever he wanted to read or take in the sights while traveling, Franklin had his reading glasses cut in half and melted with his distance glasses.     5    .

A．Now that’s American originality for you

B．These glasses would make you see in the distance

C．The truth is that nobody knows who invented eyeglasses

D．Early glasses acted a bit like foldover, squeezed onto the bridge of the nose

E．Glasses enable you to see things, and keep you from eaten by tigers or run down by automobiles

F．As soon as early businessmen figured out how to make glass with other materials

G．Then there are those more everyday things that we rarely think about, but without which we’d be much worse off

2 . There are 195 countries in the world today and actually none of them have purple on their national flags. Throughout history, purple was never used to represent a kingdom.

So what’s wrong with purple? It’s such a popular color today. The answer is really quite simple. Purple was just far too expensive.

The color purple has been related to royal power and wealth for centuries. Queen Elizabeth I didn’t allow anyone except close members of the royal family to wear it. Purple’s unique position comes from the rarity and high cost of the dye used to produce it. The dye was from a small sea snail that was only found in the Tyre area of the Mediterranean. Over 10,000 snails were needed to create just one gram of Tyrian purple; not to mention lots of work went into producing the dye, which made purple dye so expensive even for some royal families. Third century Roman Emperor Aurelio famously wouldn’t allow his wife to buy a scarf made from purple silk because it cost three times its weight in gold. A single pound of dye cost three pounds of gold, which equals 56,000 dollars today. Therefore, even the richest countries couldn’t spend that much having purple on their flags.

In 1856, 18-year-old English chemist William Henry Perkin by accident created a man-made purple dye while attempting to produce an anti-malaria drug. He noticed that it could be used to dye cloth. He patented the dye and mass-produced it. Therefore everybody could afford it.

Till now, a handful of new national flags have been designed and a few of them have chosen to use purple.

1. Why was color purple expensive in the past?

A．Because only royal families were allowed to wear purple.

B．Because it took a long time to get purple dye from snails.

C．Because purple was worth as much as its weight in gold.

D．Because purple dye used to be uncommon and hard to produce.

2. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The anti-malaria drug.	B．Snails.
C．The man-made purple dye.	D．Tyrian purple.

3. What can we infer from the passage ?

A．A few new national flags have chosen to use purple.

B．William Henry Perkin got rich by producing the purple dye.

C．Royal families stop using purple because it’s not expensive.

D．A single pound of dye cost three pounds of gold.

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．No Purple Flags?	B．Purple vs. Gold
C．How to Produce Purple Dye?	D．The Birth of Purple Color

3 . There are 195 countries in the world today but almost none of them have purple on their national flag. So what’s wrong with purple? It’s such a popular color today. Why would no country use it in their flag? The answer is really quite simple. Purple was just for too expensive.

The color purple has been associated with royalty power and wealth for centuries. Queen Elizabeth I forbade anyone except close members of the royal family to wear it. Purple’s high status comes from the rarity and cost of the dye (染料)originally used to produce it. Fabric traders got the dye from a small sea snail (海螺)that was only found in the Tyre region of the Mediterranean. More than 10,000 snails were needed to create just one gram of purple; not to mention a lot of work went into producing the dye, which made purple dye so expensive.

Since only wealthy rulers could afford to buy and wear the color, it became associated with the royal family. Sometimes, however, the dye was too expensive even for royalty. Third century Roman Emperor Aurelio famously wouldn’t allow his wife to buy a scarf made from purple silk because it cost three times its weight in gold. A single pound of dye cost three pounds of gold, which equals 56,000 dollars today. Therefore, even the richest countries couldn’t spend that much having purple on their flags.

The dye became more accessible to lower-class about a century and a half ago. In 1856, 18-year-old English chemist William Henry Perkin accidentally created a man-made purple compound (化合物)while attempting to produce an anti-malaria drug. He noticed that the compound could be used to dye fabrics, so he patented the dye, manufactured it and got rich. Purple dye was then mass-produced so everybody could afford it.

Till now, a handful of new national flags have been designed and a few of them have chosen to use purple in their flag. So don’t be making any bets just yet.

1. Why was color purple expensive in the past?

A．Because only royal families were allowed to wear purple.

B．Because it took a long time to get purple dye from gold.

C．Because purple was worth as much as its weight in gold.

D．Because purple dye used to be rare and hard to produce.

2. Why did Roman Emperor Aurelio forbid his wife to buy a purple scarf?

A．Because of poor quality.	B．Because of long tradition.
C．Because of bad taste.	D．Because of high price.

3. What is purple's situation now?

A．Purple has been widely used on national flags.

B．Purple dye is now affordable to ordinary people.

C．Royal family stop using purple because it’s too common.

D．Fewer snails are used to produce purple dye than before.

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．No Purple Flags?	B．Purple vs Gold
C．How to Produce Purple Dye?	D．The Birth of Purple Color

4 . The Pharos, the great lighthouse of Alexandria, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It stood on the island of Pharos, in the harbor of the city of Alexandria. In 290 B.C, Ptolemy I Soter, the ruler of Egypt, ordered the building of the lighthouse. Twenty years later, it was finished−the first lighthouse in the world and the tallest building on Earth except the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

The Pharos was designed by Sostrates, a Greek architect. Sostrates wanted to leave his name on the base of the lighthouse. But Ptolemy refused, ordering that only his own name appear on the building. But Sostrates found a way to do that. At the base of the Pharos, Sostrates left a message containing his own name. Then he covered it with plaster (建筑石膏) and left Ptolemy's name over it. After many years, the plaster disappeared and people knew the true architect of the lighthouse.

In 1302 and 1323, two strong earthquakes hit Alexandria, and the lighthouse was damaged. In 1326, it finally fell into the sea. Much of what we know about the lighthouse comes from the writings of Arabs who once visited the Pharos.

The Pharos was about 384 feet tall, the same height as a modern 40-storey building. At the top of the lighthouse stood a large statue of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Under it was a beacon, the source of light for the lighthouse. The Pharos used two kinds of beacons. At night, a large fire created the light. During the day, a huge mirror made use of the sunlight to create the light.

It was said that the mirror was also used to set enemy ships on fire as they entered the harbor by directing the sun’s rays (sunlight) at them. Although it is clearly impossible, the idea is interesting.

1. Why did Sostrates use plaster at the base of the Pharos?

A．To follow Ptolemy's orders.

B．To hide his name left on the base.

C．To protect the base from damage.

D．To make the lighthouse more beautiful.

2. How long had the Pharos stayed standing?

A．For about 800 years.	B．For about 1,000 years.
C．For about 1,600 years.	D．For about 2,000 years.

3. What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The lighthouse.	B．The statue.
C．A large fire.	D．A huge mirror.

4. What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A．Sostrates and Ptolemy.

B．The function of an old lighthouse.

C．The Pharos, a wonder of the ancient world.

D．The architect of an old lighthouse.