Question

     Mother Nature knows best. But she's not always generous with her secrets. Sometimes she only tells them to the most careful observers.

George de Mestral was a Swiss engineer who enjoyed walking with his dog in the woods. One day,after a walk,he looked down and saw some seeds (种子) stuck to his trousers. He was a little -bit angry because the seeds were hard to remove. He pulled a few of the seeds off of his trousers and examined them under a microscope（显微镜） What he saw amazed him: tiny hooks (钩子) on the ends of the seeds. De Mestral saw a new way to stick things together and keep them attached.

    He was inspired to turn his accidental discovery into a useful product. He borrowed money from a bank,gave up his job,and gave all of his time and energy to the task. At first,people refused to take him,and the idea,seriously. He took his idea to a weaving center,where he did manage to get the help of one weaver,who made two products out of cotton that worked. However, the cotton wore out quickly. Finally,by using nylon instead of cotton,he made his invention work. It took ten years to develop it. He called it Velcro.

Today,Velcro is used everywhere: in shoes,purses,and children's toys. We can thank de Mestral for discovering and developing a wonderful way to attach things. But the real thanks should go to nature for making the secret known.

21. What gave de Mestral the idea for inventing Velcro?

   A. The thick woods.       B. The sticky seeds.

   C. His trousers.          D. His dog

22. What does the underlined part “the task” in Paragraph 3 refento?

   A. Looking for a new job.

   B. Finding a useful material.

   C. Raising enough money for his experiment

   D. Developing a produet to stick things together.

23. What is the best title for the text?

   A. Velcro: An Invention Inspired by Nature

   B. Motlier Nature: The Perfect Designer

   C. Lessons Learned from Nature

   D. The Mother of Invention

Answer 1

21. B 22. D 23. A

21. B.细节理解题。根据第二段的描述可知，deMestral散步完后发现裤 子上粘上许多种子，而且这些种子很 难清除掉，这让他感到好奇，因此在 显微镜下观察其结构。也正是对于 这些种子的观察让他有了重大发现 并萌生了发明一种用来粘合物品的 材料。

22. D.篇章结构题。第三段中的the task实际上指的是上一句中的turn his accidental discovery into a useful product,由此可知答案。

23. A.标题归纳题。文章以Mother Nature knows best引出接下来要讲述 的故事，然后在文章的主体部分(第 二、三段) 详细描述了瑞士工程师是 如何受到大自然的启发发明尼龙搭扣的故事。最后—段末句 But the real thanks should go to nature for making the secret known 与文章开头 形成首尾呼应，说明大自然给予人类的启示。因此,A项作标题概括了文章主旨。