In Kansas at the turn of the century, Edwin and Amy Earhar doted on （溺爱）their active daughters, Amelia and Muriel. Edwin gave the girls footballs and rifles, while Amy shocked the community by dressing them in gym suits instead of skirts. Edwin's job caused the family to move from town to town, and the girls’ interest in rough sports and shooting rats raised eyebrows wherever they went.
   Amelia's parents did not pressure her to reform as she grew older, even when she dabbled（轻率地对待） in the domains of science and automobile mechanics. But in 1920, when she went aloft（在空中） at an air show and returned home determined to learn how to fly, even her liberal Parents hesitated. They soon gave in, however, and within months Amelia was flying a Kinner Airster her mother helped her buy.
56. According to the passage, Edwin gave the girls which of the following items?
  A. An airplane          B. Footballs                 C. An automobile         D. Gym suits
57. It may be inferred from the passage that, at the turn of the century, it was LEAST common
   for girls to____.
  A. wear skirts                                              B. have doting parents  

C. move from town to town                       D. play with rifles
58. In what way did Amelia's mother help Amelia in her career?
  A. By helping her to buy a plane                   B. by taking her to an air show
  C. By pressuring her to become a pilot      D. By giving her flying lessons

An experimental solar-powered plane landed safely Thursday after completing its first 24-hour test flight, proving that the aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to stay aloft(在空中) all night.

         Pilot Andre Borschberg eased the Solar Impulse onto the runway at Payerne airfield about 30 miles southwest of the Swiss capital Bern at exactly 9 a.m. (3 a.m. EDT) Thursday. Helpers rushed to stabilize the pioneering plane as it touched down, ensuring that its massive 207-foot wingspan didn't scrape the ground and topple(倾倒) the craft.

         The record feat(壮举) completes seven years of planning and brings the Swiss-led project one step closer to its goal of circling the globe using only energy from the sun. ‘We achieved more than we wanted. Everybody is extremely happy,’ Borschberg told reporters after landing.

         Previous flights included a brief ‘flea hop’ and a longer airborne test earlier this year, but this week's attempt was described as a ‘milestone’ by the team. The team said it had now demonstrated that the single-seat plane can theoretically stay in the air indefinitely, recharging its depleted batteries using 12,000 solar cells and nothing but the rays of the sun during the day. But while the team said this proves that emissions-free air travel is possible, it doesn't see solar technology replacing conventional jet propulsion(喷气推进) any time soon. Instead, the project's overarching purpose is to test and promote new energy-efficient technologies.

         Project co-founder Bertrand Piccard, himself a record-breaking balloonist, said many people had been skeptical that renewable energy could ever be used to take a man into the air and keep him there. ‘It’s a matter of time that people come to believe and understand about renewable energies,’Piccard said, adding that the flight was proof that new technologies can help break society's dependence on fossil fuels.

         The team will now set its sights on an Atlantic crossing, before attempting a round-the-world flight in 2013, making only five stops along the way. ‘It's absolutely not time to relax,’ said Piccard.

Title: A 1. __________ in solar-powered flight and its background information