Jeans are trousers made of a kind of clothe called denim. For many people, blue jeans represent American culture.

      The history of blue jeans usually begins with a man named Levi Strauss. Although he did not invent the jeans, he is considered the first person to produce and sell this kind of clothing in large amounts.

Levi Strauss was born in Bavaria, Germany. In 1847, he and his family moved to the US. He opened a store, first in New York, and then in San Francisco, California. Among the products he sold were jeans. These trousers were especially useful for miners in California who needed clothing made of a strong material.

Levi Strauss partnered with a clothing maker named Jacob Davis, who had invented a process for making rivets(铆钉) for jeans. These metal things helped strengthen the blue jean cloth to make the trousers stronger. In 1873, Strauss and Davis received a patent to officially own this invention. They began producing “ copper-riveted waist overalls(工装裤)”. In 1928 the Levi Strauss company used the word “Levi’s” as the trademark for their products.

The 19^th-century workers would probably be surprised to know that their trousers would one day become a fashion object. Today, jeans are worn by people of all ages, incomes and lifestyles. Jeans come in many colors other than blue and in many styles and at many prices.

A national museum in Washington, D.C. has one of the oldest known pairs of Levi’s jeans in its collection. Jeans have come to express different ideas about American culture based on the people who wear them. These include the heroes of the Wild West and famous Hollywood actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando in the 1950s. Writer James Sullivan published a book called Jean: A Cultural History of an American Icon. In the book, he says jeans serve as a sign for two American values, creativity and rebellion (叛逆).

1.This passage is mainly about _______.

   A. the life story of Levi Strauss                            B. jeans and American culture

   C. why jeans are popular.                                 D. the history of jeans

2.We know from the passage that Levi Strauss _________.

   A. was the first person who wore jeans.               B. moved to the US from Germany alone.

   C. not only sold jeans at first in his store              D. helped Jacob Davis invent a kind of rivet

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about jeans?

   A. Strauss and Davis owned the invention of using rivets on jeans.     

B. In California, Levi’s was the only jeans seller in 1928.

   C. Jeans were called copper-riveted waist overalls at first.           

 D. Jeans were originally made for heroes of the Wild West.

4.According to the last but one paragraph,jeans should be best described as _________.

   A. strong            B. cultural              C.  popular           D. unique

Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Ohio, a state in the
US with a l______________ population. He didn’t have much school education
【小题1】____________
because the m______________ of his teachers thought he was not clever enough,  
【小题2】 ____________
and his o_____________ of success is merely a dream. However, he became one    
【小题3】____________
of the greatest ________________ (发明家) with a list of 1,093 U.S. patents. In
【小题4】 ____________
fact, there was evidence indicating that Edison was to distinguish ____________
【小题5】 ____________
later in life. The boy had a great d____________ for knowledge and was curious
【小题6】 ____________
about things. He did a lot of reading in the library while ___________ a living by
【小题7】 ____________
selling newspapers on trains. He often __________ (实验)with different things. All
【小题8】 ____________
these made him so extraordinarily ________________ (成功). Many people think   
【小题9】 ____________
that we owe our way of life _________ his ideas and efforts.           
【小题10】____________

Spain— what’s on

Joaquín Sorolla

First major exhibition devoted to the Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla(1863-1923). The show brings together about 100 paintings by Sorolla, one of the key figures in the history of Spanish art. It offers a comprehensive survey based on examples of his finest works.

Kees van Dongen

First exhibition in Spain of the works of the Dutch painter Kees van Dongen(1877-1968), bringing together almost 100 of his works, and a number of works by Pablo Picasso, bearing witness to the friendship between the two artists.

Chopin Festival 2009

The annual festival dedicated（专注于）to the Polish composer Frederic Chopin(1810-1849). This year the festival is honoring five composers: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy(1809-1847), Jaume Mas Porcel (1909-1993), Franz Josef Haydn(1732-1809), Isaac Albniz(1860-1909)and Wanda Landowska(1877-1959). Works by these composers are performed together with works by Chopin.

Antoni Solà

Exhibition of the works of the Spanish sculptor Antoni Solà(1780-1861). A resident of Rome from 1803, Solà made his name and fame there and became one of the only two foreigners to be appointed president of the Accademia di San Luca. He took part in Rome’s main cultural affairs and supported the imitation of ancient Greek art looking for idealized beauty.

1. To find further information about Pablo Picasso’s works, you should dial_________

A. 34-91-3302800            B. 34-97-1612106

C. 34-93-2563500            D. 34-93-2563000

2. If you are a music lover, which website would you like to visit?

A. http://www.bcn.cat.                  B. http://www.museodelprado.es.

C. http://www.festivalchopin.com.         D. http://www.museumares.bcn.cat.

3. Who was involved in Rome’s main cultural affairs?

A. Antoni Solà.     B. Kees van Dongen.     C. Isaac Albniz     D. Frederic Chopin

4. The event that lasts more than three months is_______.

A. Antoni Solà.         B. Joaquín Sorolla

C. Kees van Dongen      D. Chopin Festival 2009

THE BRONTE FAMILY

Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels (小说) of the 19th century. These were Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The youngest sister, Anne, was also a gifted novelist, and her books have the same extraordinary quality as her sisters’.

Their father was Patrick Bronte, born in Ireland. He moved with his wife, Maria Bronte, and their six small children to Haworth in Yorkshire in 1820. Soon after, Mrs. Bronte and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care of the remaining three girls and a boy.

Charlotte was born in 1816. Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820. Their brother Branwell was born in 1817. Left to themselves, the children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills. They grew up largely self-educated. Branwell showed a great interest in drawing. The girls were determined to earn money for his art education. They took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes.

As children they had all written many stories. Charlotte, as a young girl, alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting. Therefore, they turned to writing for income. By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey. After much difficulty Anne and Emily found a publisher(出版商), but there was no interest shown in Charlotte’s book. (It was not published until 1859.) However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her works. Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it. It was accepted at once; thus each of the sisters had a book published in 1847.

Jane Eyre was immediately successful; the other two, however, did not do so well. People did not like Wuthering Heights. They said it was too wild, too animal-like. But gradually it came to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language. Emily lived only a short while after the publication of the book, and Anne died in 1849.

Charlotte published Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1853. In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis(肺结核) as her sisters had.

We know from the text that      .

A. Jane Eyre was published in 1847    

B. Charlotte Bronte wrote 22 books in all

C. the Bronte sisters received good education     

D. Patrick Bronte helped his daughters with their writing

The underlined words “the other two” in the 5 th paragraph refer to      .

       A. Shirley and Villette   B. The Professor and Agnes Grey

       C. Agnes Grey and Wutheriing Heights   D. The Professor and wuthering Heights

What do we know about the Bronte sisters from the text?

       A. Their novels interested few publishers.

       B. None of them had more than two books published.

       C. None of them lived longer than 40 years old.

       D. Emily was the least successful of the three.

THE BRONTE FAMILY
Yorkshire, England was the setting for two great novels (小说) of the 19th century. These were Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The youngest sister, Anne, was also a gifted novelist, and her books have the same extraordinary quality as her sisters’.
Their father was Patrick Bronte, born in Ireland. He moved with his wife, Maria Bronte, and their six small children to Haworth in Yorkshire in 1820. Soon after, Mrs. Bronte and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care of the remaining three girls and a boy.
Charlotte was born in 1816. Emily was born in 1818 and Anne in 1820. Their brother Branwell was born in 1817. Left to themselves, the children wrote and told stories and walked over the hills. They grew up largely self-educated. Branwell showed a great interest in drawing. The girls were determined to earn money for his art education. They took positions as teachers or taught children in their homes.
As children they had all written many stories. Charlotte, as a young girl, alone wrote 22 books, each with 60 to 100 pages of small handwriting. Therefore, they turned to writing for income. By 1847, Charlotte had written The Professor; Emily, Wuthering Heights; and Anne, Agnes Grey. After much difficulty Anne and Emily found a publisher(出版商), but there was no interest shown in Charlotte’s book. (It was not published until 1859.) However, one publisher expressed an interest in seeing more of her works. Jane Eyre was already started, and she hurriedly finished it. It was accepted at once; thus each of the sisters had a book published in 1847.
Jane Eyre was immediately successful; the other two, however, did not do so well. People did not like Wuthering Heights. They said it was too wild, too animal-like. But gradually it came to be considered one of the finest novels in the English language. Emily lived only a short while after the publication of the book, and Anne died in 1849.
Charlotte published Shirley in 1849, and Villette in 1853. In 1854 she married Arthur Bell Nicholls. But only a year later, she died of tuberculosis(肺结核) as her sisters had.
【小题1】We know from the text that      .