Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew (肌腱). And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.

Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch (缝合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection.

Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.

American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.

Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle (脚踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical. It could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.

However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement (侵犯). Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties (版税). In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.

1.Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because __________.

A. people did not know how to put out the fire

B. Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention

C. the sewing machines couldn’t work finally

D. workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire

2.Why did the court force Isaac Singer to pay Elias Howe a lifetime of royalties?

A. Because the judge was against Singer for his unfriendly attitude.

B. Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer.

C. Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it.

D. Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine.

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

A. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

B. The Case between Howe and Singer

C. Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine

D. The Early History of the Sewing Machine

One of the greatest sources of unhappiness，in my experience，is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are．

When we see something we don’t like，we wish it could be different．We cry out for something better．That may be human nature，or perhaps it’s something ingrained(根深蒂固的) in our culture．The root of the unhappiness isn’t necessarily that we want things to be different．However, it’s that we decided we didn’t like it in the first place．We’ve judged it as bad，rather than saying, “It's not bad or good，and it just is it．”

In one of my books，I said“You should expect people to mess up and expect things to go differently than you planned”．Some readers said it's too sorrowful to expect things to go wrong．However, it’s only negative if you see it as negative and judge it as bad．Instead，you could accept it as the way the world works and try to understand why that is．

This can be applied to whatever you do：how other people act at work，how politics works and how depressing the news media can be．Accept these things as they are，and try to understand why they’re that way．It will save you a lot of sadness，because you’ll no longer say,“Oh．1 wish bad things didn’t happen!’’

Does it mean you can never change things? Not at a11．But change things not because you can’t accept things as they are，but because you enjoy the process of changing，learning and growing．

Can we make this world a better place? You can say that you’11 continue to try to do things to help others，to grow as a person，to make a difference in this world．That’s the correct path you choose to take，because you enjoy that path．Therefore，when you find yourself judging and wishing for difference，try a different approach：accept，and understand．It might lead to some interesting results．

1.The author believes that we feel unhappy maybe because ___________.

A．it is our natural emotion in the life

B．culture asks us to be different from others

C．everyone has their own opinions on things

D．we dislike something in the beginning

2.Some readers think the words in the author’s book is too ______________.

A．depressing  B．frightening  C．delighting D．idealistic

3.In Paragraph 4，the underlined word "it" refers to ____________．

A．acting well at work and in politics

B．feeling depressed for the news media

C．accepting and understanding what has happened

D．saying something negative when bad things come

4.In the last paragraph，you are advised _____________．

A．to help others and make a difference

B．to enjoy what you have to do in the work

C．to judge yourself and make a wish for you

D．to try a new way when making the world better

5.What is the main theme of the passage?

A．Expecting things to be different gives us hope．

B．Accepting can make our life happier and better．

C．Traditional culture becomes root of unhappiness．

D．Judging good or bad is important for our world．

Humans have sewn by hand for thousands of years. It was said that the first thread was made from animal muscle and sinew (腱). And the earliest needles were made from bones. Since those early days, many people have been involved in the process of developing a machine that could do the same thing more quickly and with greater efficiency.

Charles Wiesenthal, who was born in Germany, designed and received a patent on a double-pointed needle that eliminated the need to turn the needle around with each stitch (缝合) in England in 1755. Other inventors of that time tried to develop a functional sewing machine, but each design had at least one serious imperfection. [来源:学,科Frenchman Barthelemy Thimonnier finally engineered a machine that really worked. However, he was nearly killed by a group of angry tailors when they burned down his garment factory. They feared that they would lose their jobs to the machine.

American inventor Elias Howe, born on July 9, 1819, was awarded a patent for a method of sewing that used thread from two different sources. Howe’s machine had a needle with an eye at the point, and it used the two threads to make a special stitch called a lockstitch. However, Howe faced difficulty in finding buyers for his machines in America. In frustration, he traveled to England to try to sell his invention there. When he finally returned home, he found that dozens of manufacturers were adapting his discovery for use in their own sewing machines.

Isaac Singer, another American inventor, was also a manufacturer who made improvements to the design of sewing machines. He invented an up-and-down-motion mechanism that replaced the side-to-side machines. He also developed a foot treadle(脚踏板) to power his machine. This improvement left the sewer’s hands free. Undoubtedly, it was a huge improvement of the hand-cranked machine of the past. Soon the Singer sewing machine achieved more fame than the others for it was more practical, it could be adapted to home use and it could be bought on hire-purchase. The Singer sewing machine became the first home appliance, and the Singer company became one of the first American multinationals.

However, Singer used the same method to create a lockstitch that Howe had already patented. As a result, Howe accused him of patent infringement（侵犯）. Of course, Elias Howe won the court case, and Singer was ordered to pay Howe royalties（版税）. In the end, Howe became a millionaire, not by manufacturing the sewing machine, but by receiving royalty payments for his invention.

1.Barthelemy Thimonnier’s garment factory was burned down because _____________.

A. people did not know how to put out the fire

B. Elias Howe thought Thimonnier had stolen his invention

C. the sewing machines was couldn’t work finally

D. workers who feared the loss of their jobs to a machine set fire

2.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage???

A. Singer is an American inventor and manufacturer.

B. The Singer sewing company became more practical.

C. The foot treadle helped to make the sewer’s hands free.

D. Singer made improvements to the design of sewing machines.

3.Why did the court force Isaac Singer to pay Elisa Howe a lifetime of royalties?

A. Because the judge was against Singer for his surly attitude.

B. Because Howe had already patented the lockstitch used by Singer.

C. Because Singer had borrowed money from Howe and never repaid it.

D. Because Singer and Howe had both invented the same machine.

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

A. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

B. The Case between Howe and Singer

C. Patent Laws on the Sewing Machine

D. The Early History of the Sewing Machine

One of the greatest sources of unhappiness, in my experience, is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are.

When we see something we don’t like, we wish it could be different -- we cry out for something better. That may be human nature, or perhaps it’s something that’s ingrained（根深蒂固的）in our culture.

The root of unhappiness is that we decided we didn’t like it in the first place. We’ve judged it as bad, rather than saying, “It’s not bad or good, as it just is.”

An example: in my recent post（帖子）, A Beautiful Method to Find Peace of Mind, quite a few commentators thought my outlook was negative, pessimistic, or fatalistic（听天由命的）... because I said you should expect people to mess up, expect things to go differently from what you planned. Above all, you should embrace that.

It’s too negative to expect something to go wrong, they said. However, I think it’s only negative if you see it as negative, or if you judge it as bad.

Instead, you could accept it as the way the world works -- as the way things actually are. And try to understand why they are that way.

Does it mean you can never change things? Not at all. But changing things is not because you can’t accept things as they are, but because you enjoy the process of change of learning and growing.

Can we make this world a better place? Again, that’s an assumption that it’s a bad place fight now. But instead, you could say the world is just what it is -- and that’s neither good nor bad. You can say that you’ll continue to try to do things to help others, to grow as a person, to make a difference in this world -- not because you’re such a bad person now, but because that’s the path you choose to take, because you enjoy that path.

As you catch yourself judging, and wishing for different -- try a different approach: accept, and understand. It might lead to some interesting results.

1. Which of the following statements is correct according to the author?

    A. We can never change things because we can’t accept them.

    B. We shouldn’t try to do whatever we can to help others and make a difference.

    C. It’s wrong of you to expect things to go differently.

    D. There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

2. What’s the main idea of the whole passage?

    A. The world is a good place for us to live in.

    B. Unhappiness comes from what we want to be different.

    C. You might as well accept the world as it is and try to embrace it.

    D. Let’s make the world more beautiful.

3.Where does the passage probably come from?

    A. A novel.       B. A news story.      C. A travel guide.     D. A magazine.

One of the greatest sources of unhappiness, in my experience, is the difficulty we have in accepting things as they are.
When we see something we don’t like, we wish it could be different -- we cry out for something better. That may be human nature, or perhaps it’s something that’s ingrained（根深蒂固的）in our culture.
The root of unhappiness is that we decided we didn’t like it in the first place. We’ve judged it as bad, rather than saying, “It’s not bad or good, as it just is.”
An example: in my recent post（帖子）, A Beautiful Method to Find Peace of Mind, quite a few commentators thought my outlook was negative, pessimistic, or fatalistic（听天由命的）... because I said you should expect people to mess up, expect things to go differently from what you planned. Above all, you should embrace that.
It’s too negative to expect something to go wrong, they said. However, I think it’s only negative if you see it as negative, or if you judge it as bad.
Instead, you could accept it as the way the world works -- as the way things actually are. And try to understand why they are that way.
Does it mean you can never change things? Not at all. But changing things is not because you can’t accept things as they are, but because you enjoy the process of change of learning and growing.
Can we make this world a better place? Again, that’s an assumption that it’s a bad place fight now. But instead, you could say the world is just what it is -- and that’s neither good nor bad. You can say that you’ll continue to try to do things to help others, to grow as a person, to make a difference in this world -- not because you’re such a bad person now, but because that’s the path you choose to take, because you enjoy that path.
As you catch yourself judging, and wishing for different -- try a different approach: accept, and understand. It might lead to some interesting results.
【小题1】 Which of the following statements is correct according to the author?