To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun.
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, way back in the eleventh century B.C.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered a symbol of power and authority. By 1680, The umbrella appeared in France, and later on in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style. during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn't until the twentieth century that women's umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors.
The first use of umbrella was as ______.
A．protection against rain
B．a shade against the sun
C．a symbol of power
D．a symbol of honor
Darwin's great work, The Origin of Species, is now generally accepted as one of the most important books ever written. But when it first came out in 1859, it was both derided and bitterly condemned by scientists and laymen.
Much of opposition to The Origin of Species arose from Darwin's claim that all living creatures, including man, are somehow related. Many people were outraged by the suggestion that man shared a common ancestor with animals such as apes and monkeys. They attacked Darwin for saying that man had descended from the apes.
But Darwin never actually said this. He believed that modern men and modern apes have both descended from the same ancestor. But at some time in pre-history, millions of years ago, men and apes began to develop separately, and ever since have continued to take on different characteristics. Today, more than 90 years after Darwin's death, this is the opinion which scientists continue to hold.
In his works, Darwin described the progression of life from its earliest forms. First came the invertebrate-creatures without a backbone. Then invertebrates evolved into fish; fish into amphibians; amphibians into reptiles; and reptiles into birds and mammals.
Fossil remains found after his death show that Darwin was right. Perhaps the most amazing fact about his theory is that he managed to work it out with the aid of only a few fossil discoveries.
Fossil remains were not the only information which we now possess but which Darwin lacked. He did not know that apes have the same diseases as men; nor that they and men have the same kind of blood. Nor did he know about the modern uses of radiation which enable scientists to tell the age of fossil remains and so estimate the speed at which evolution has taken place.
Which of the following best describes the passage as a whole？
A．The Origin of Species is a very significant book.
B．Darwin's discoveries were proved to be right though the Origin of Species was severely attacked.
C．The evolution of men has gone through a very long process.
D．It was impossible for Darwin to prove his ideas only with the aid of fossils.
I was just a boy when my father brought me to Harlem for the first time, almost 50 years ago. We stayed at the Hotel Theresa, a grand brick structure at 125th Street and Seventh Avenue. Once, in the hotel restaurant, my father pointed out Joe Louis. He even got Mr Brown, the hotel manager, to introduce me to him, a bit paunchy but still the champ as far as I was concerned.
Much has changed since then. Business and real estate are booming. Some say a new renaissance is under way. Others decry what they see as outside forces running roughshod over the old Harlem.
New York meant Harlem to me, and as a young man I visited it whenever I could. But many of my old haunts are gone. The Theresa shut down in 1966. National chains that once ignored Harlem now anticipate yuppie money and want pieces of this prime Manhattan real estate. So here I am on a hot August afternoon, sitting in a Starbucks that two years ago opened a block away from the Theresa, snatching at memories between sips of high-priced coffee. I am about to open up a piece of the old Harlem -- the New York Amsterdam News -- when a tourist asking directions to Sylvia's, a prominent Harlem restaurant, penetrates my daydreaming. He's carrying a book: Touring Historic Harlem.
History. I miss Mr Michaux's bookstore, his House of Common Sense, which was across from the Theresa. He had a big billboard out front with brown and black faces painted on it that said in large letters: "World History Book Outlet on 2,000,000,000 Africans and Nonwhite Peoples." An ugly state office building has swallowed that space.
I miss speaker like Carlos Cooks, who was always on the southwest corner of 125th and Seventh, urging listeners to support' Africa. Harlem's powerful political electricity seems unplugged -- although the streets are still energized, especially by West African immigrants.
Hard-working southern newcomers formed the bulk of the community back in the 1920s and '30s, when Harlem renaissance artists, writers, and intellectuals gave it a glitter and renown that made it the capital of black America. From Harlem, W. E. B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Zora Neal Hurston, and others helped power America's cultural influence around the world.
By the 1970s and '80s drugs and crime had ravaged parts of the community. And the life expectancy for men in Harlem was less than that of men in Bangladesh. Harlem had become a symbol of the dangers of inner-city life.
Now, you want to shout "Lookin' good!" at this place that has been neglected for so long. Crowds push into Harlem USA, a new shopping centre on 125th, where a Disney store shares space with HMV Records, the New York Sports Club, and a nine-screen Magic Johnson theatre complex. Nearby, a Rite Aid drugstore also opened. Maybe part of the reason Harlem seems to be undergoing a rebirth is that it is finally getting what most people take for granted.
Harlem is also part of an "empowerment zone" a federal designation aimed at fostering economic growth that will bring over half a billion in federal, state, and local dollars. Just the shells of once elegant old brownstones now can cost several hundred thousand dollars. Rents are skyrocketing. An improved economy, tougher law enforcement, and community efforts against drugs have contributed to a 60 percent drop in crime since 1993.
At the beginning the author seems to indicate that Harlem
A．has remained unchanged all these years.
B．has undergone drastic changes.
C．has become the capital of Black America.
D．has remained a symbol of the dangers of inner-city life.
