The umbrella is a very common object. It keeps the 1and the sun off the people. Most umbrellas can be folded up(折叠) so it is 2 to carry them.
However, the umbrella was not always as 3 as it is now. In the past, it was a symbol of importance. Some African countries still use umbrellas in this 4. Someone carries an umbrella and walks behind the king or important person.
Umbrellas have a long history. People in different parts of the world began to 5 umbrellas at different times. The Chinese had them more than 3,000 years ago. From there, umbrellas 6 to India and Egypt. In Greece and Rome, 7, wouldn't use them. They believed umbrellas were only for women.
England was 8 the first country in Europe where common people used umbrellas against rain. The weather there is very 9 and umbrellas are very useful.
Everybody uses umbrellas today. The next time you 10 one, thinking that for centuries only great men and women used them, you'll feel you are the important person, too.
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Italy. He is best known as an artist today. One of his famous paintings is called Mona Lisa. However, Leonardo had many other natural abilities. He was also a great inventor. Many of his inventions have become important in modern day life.
Although Leonardo hated war, he invented many different machines used for war. His most special invention was the machine gun, which was produced and used in war many years later.
By watching the way birds fly, Leonardo tried to find out the secret of flying. Among his sketches(素描)we can see several objects. We consider them as modern flying machines.
Leonardo spent many hours thinking about how to make good use of time. He developed ideas for labor-saving machines like cutting machines.
Leonardo was a strange man. He didn't eat any meat, which was very unusual in those times. He never published (发表) his ideas and scientific discoveries. He usually used mirror writing, which looks like writing in a mirror, starting from the right side of the page and moving to the left.
We have very little of his work today. Leonardo finished only a few of his paintings. He left many unfinished because he thought they were not perfect. No one in his life time knew how great Leonardo was. We now believe, however, that he was one of the cleverest men the world has ever known.
Skin-diving(轻装潜水)is a new sport today. This sport takes you into a wonderful new world. It is like a visit to the moon. When you are under the water, it is easy for you to climb big rocks, because you are no longer heavy.
Here, under water, everything is blue and green. During the day, there is plenty of light. When fish swim nearby, you can catch them with your hands.
When you have tanks of air on your back, you can stay in deep water for a long time. But you must be careful when you dive in deep water.
To catch fish is one of the most interesting parts of this sport. Besides, there are more uses for skin-diving. You can clean ships without taking them out of water. You can get many things from the deep sea.
Now you see that skin-diving is both useful and interesting.
An American named Crum invented potato chips in 1853, although that was not his intention (意图). He was a chef(厨师长) at a beautiful restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. A regular dish on the menu was fried (油炸的) potatoes, which was an idea that had started in France. At that time, French fried potatoes were cut into thick slices (片).
One day, a dinner guest at the restaurant sent back his fried potatoes to the chef because he did not like them so thick. So Mr. Crum cut the potatoes a little thinner and fried them. The guest did not like those either. That made Mr. Crum angry, so he thought he would just show the man. He sliced the potatoes paper-thin and fried them, thinking that the man would say nothing about it. However, to his surprise, the man loved the thin potatoes very much. Other guests tried them and also liked them. So, Mr. Crum's potato chips were added to the menu. They were called Saratoga Chips.
Finally, Mr. Crum opened his own restaurant to sell his famous chips. Now potato chips are packaged (包装) and sold in stores.
Who invented ? |
was an American chef at a restaurant. |
A dinner guest his fried potatoes to the chef because they were so thick. |
The chef was probably glad in the end because . |
Now potato chips are packaged and sold . |
A: Look, Mona! ?
B: Oh, it's a computer. It is widely used in today's world.
A: You are right. Do you know ?
B: Yes, it was invented in 1946.
A: ?
B: It is used for helping us work, study, send e-mails and so on.
A: ?
B: It is said that it was invented by some American scientists.
A: By the way, what are you going to be when you grow up?
B: and invent many useful inventions for our motherland.
A: OK. Let's work hard to make our dreams come true.
