题型：阅读表达 题类： 难易度：普通
吉林省长春市德惠市第三中学2024-2025学年九年级上学期9月月考英语试题
Umbrellas could be one of the world's most important inventions. The first umbrella was invented over four thousand years ago.
Umbrellas were used on sunny days at first. Chinese people were the first to use their umbrellas on rainy days. They waxed (给……打蜡) their paper umbrellas so that they could be used when it was raining.
The word "umbrella" comes from the Latin word, umbra. It means shade (背阴). Starting in the 16th century, the umbrella became popular in the Western world, especially in northern Europe, where it often rains. At first, people thought that the umbrella was only suitable for women.
Then a famous English traveler, Jonas Hanway (1712-1786), carried and used an umbrella in England for thirty years. Because of him, men began to use umbrellas.
In Europe, early umbrellas were made of wood and covered with canvas (帆布).
People used very hard wood to make umbrella handles. In 1852, Samuel Fox invented a new kind of umbrella with ribs (伞骨) made of steel.
Samuel also started a company called English Steels Company. After that, compact collapsible (可叠) umbrellas were the next important step in umbrella production.
THIS IS HOW READING HAS CHANGED
CAVE（洞穴） PAINTINGS Cave paintings are the oldest pictures. Some of them，like the beautiful pictures in the caves in the north of Spain，are almost 30，we get an idea of how the people felt when drawing them. That's what the painters wanted to show others—hopes and fears. |
STONES AND PAPYRUS（纸莎草） Sometime between 4000 and 3000 BCE（公元前），people in Egypt developed the skill of writing. They put writing on stones first. But it was impossible to carry the stones from place to place. The invention of papyrus made it. It was easier to correct mistakes，too. |
PAPER AND PRINTING Paper was invented in China in 105 CE（公元年）. The world's oldest known printed book is from China，too. It was published around 700 hundred years later. In Europe，when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany. Since that time，almost 140 million books have been published. |
OTHER WAYS OF READING Books will be around for many years，of course. But there are many new ways of reading books，such as e-books and apps on mobile phones. |
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