A
Automatic dishwashers have been around for more than 100 years. It started in 1886 with Josephine Cochrane, a woman in Shelbyville, Illinois. She was a rich woman who could afford servants to wash her dishes, so she really didn’t mind the work. What she did mind was that her servants broke the dishes. She hosted quite a few dinner parties, and after every party the servants broke more of her expensive dishes.
Finally, Cochrane took action. First, she measured her dishes and bent wire into racks to hold them. Next, she put the racks on a wheel in a large copper boiler. Then, the boiler sprayed hot, soapy water on the dishes as a motor turned the wheel. After a hot water rinse(冲洗), the dishes were clean!
Josephine Cochrane’s friends were impressed with the machine and asked her to build more. After that, word got out fast. Soon hotel and restaurant owners who didn’t like broken dishes also were interested. Cochrane then knew that she had a wonderful machine, so she received a patent from the government, which said that only the inventor can make money from an invention. Then in 1893 Chicago held a World’s Fair where inventions from all over the world were shown. Cochrane’s labor-saving machine was a big hit. Her dishwasher won the highest award.
Cochrane’s company came out with a smaller machine in 1914. It was supposed to be for the ordinary home, but it wasn’t an immediate success. Many homes couldn’t produce the extremely hot water it needed. Also, in most homes, dishwashing wasn’t considered very difficult compared to most other housework. In fact some people liked to relax at the sink after a hard day! Sales of the home model finally picked up in the 1950s when people had more money and wanted to have more time to enjoy themselves. Now many homes have electric dishwashers that aren’t very different from the one Josephine Cochrane invented more than 100 years ago.
1. Why did Josephine Cochrane invent the dishwasher?
A. To avoid possible damage to the dishes.
B. To reduce the number of servants.
C. To host more dinner parties.
D. To make the dishes cleaner.
2. What does the underlined words in Paragraph 3 suggest?
A. The machine wasn’t as efficient as described.
B. Josephine Cochrane could no longer keep it a secret.
C. The invention drew immediate attention of the public.
D. Josephine’s friends soon began to talk about the new machine.
3. The smaller machine became popular only when .
A. people had more relaxing jobs B. hot water was not needed
C. housework became easier D. people’s living conditions improved
【答案】1. A 2. C 3. D
【解析】
本文是一篇说明文，介绍了自动洗碗机的历史由来。
【1题详解】
推理判断题。根据第一段中的“What she did mind was that her servants broke the dishes. She hosted quite a few dinner parties, and after every party the servants broke more of her expensive dishes. ”她所介意的是她的仆人打破了餐具。她举办了几次宴会，每次宴会之后，仆人们都打破了她昂贵的餐具。为了避免打破她的餐具，后来Josephine Cochrane发明了自动洗碗机，故选A。
【2题详解】
词句猜测题。根据第三段中的“Josephine Cochrane's friends were impressed with the machine and asked her to build more. ”Josephine Cochrane的朋友们对这台机器印象深刻，并要求她造更多；以及“Soon hotel and restaurant owners who didn't like broken dishes also were interested. ”不久，不喜欢打破餐具的酒店和餐馆老板也对这个机器感兴趣。根据划线句子的前后两句可以推断Josephine Cochrane发明自动洗碗机的消息传播的很快，也就表明了The invention drew immediate attention of the public 这项发明立即引起了公众的注意。故选C。
【3题详解】
细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“Sales of the home model finally picked up in the 1950s when people had more money and wanted to have more time to enjoy themselves. ”在20世纪50年代，当人们有更多的钱，希望有更多的时间来享受时，这种家用模式的销售终于恢复了。也就是人们的生活条件提高了，自动洗碗机才流行起来，故选D。
