The world would be a very different place if someone hadn’t invented the lift. There would be few, if any, high-rise buildings because people would refuse to climb many stairs. By the time workers reached their offices on the top floors of a tower building, it would be time to go home – if they were not too tired for the long walk down！

The first lift that we know about was used by the Greek scientist, Archimedes, in about 230 BC. It was a simple place that could be pulled up and down with a rope. A lift like this was used much later in the 12th century by priests who lived on top of a mountain at Metereo in Greece. Because they were afraid of killers, the priests had not built any stairs up the mountain. The only way up was by lift, which priests worked from the top of the mountain.
A few hundred years later, a Frenchman, Villayer, invented a ‘flying chair’ which used a rope and a place. A number of rich people had these ‘flying chairs’ built in their homes, including Queen Anne of England in Windsor Castle and Louis XVI of France at Versailles. Unluckily, Louis’ daughter was badly hurt when using one of the chairs, and Villayer ran away, afraid that he would be punished.
The main problem for lift engineers was that either humans or animals were needed to pull the ropes. This problem was not worked out until the discovery of steam power. But even steam powered lifts were not always safe because they also used ropes which sometimes broke. If the rope broke - which it sometimes did - the lift fell to the ground and people in it were killed or hurt. This problem worked out in 1854 when an American, Elisha Otis, invented something which stopped the lift from falling if the rope broke. At first Otis lifts were used only in factories, then in 1857 he built one in a large New York store. Now lifts use electric power and are completely safe. They also travel very quickly. Some lifts travel faster than 60 kilometers an hour.
小題1:The writer thinks that lifts are important today because __________.
A．people like playing on them
B．they are the best way of using steam power
C．we need them for tall buildings
D．workers are lazy
小題2:The 12th century priests had a simple lift instead of stairs because ___________.
A．they thought the stairs were broken
B．they liked having stairs and a lift
C．the lived at the bottom of a mountain
D．they were afraid of killers
小題3:Villayer thought he would be punished because ____________.
A．poor people could not afford his ‘flying chair
B．someone was hurt in one of his ‘flying chairs’
C．his ‘flying chair’ did not work at all
D．he ran away with Louis XVI’s daughter
小題4:Steam power meant that ________  .
A．they did not need a living thing to pull the ropes
B．Elisha Otis could invent a lift that would not fall
C．the rope always broke
D．they could use lifts in factories

小題1:C
小題2:D
小題3:B
小題4:A

試題分析：這篇短文中作者主要講述了電梯在日常生活中發(fā)揮的重要作用以及電梯的發(fā)展衍變過程。
小題1:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文There would be few, if any, high-rise buildings because people would refuse to climb many stairs的描述，如果沒有電梯，就不可能有那么多的高樓，因?yàn)槿藗儾豢赡芘滥敲炊嗟臉翘�。所以說高樓需要電梯。故選C。
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文Because they were afraid of killers, the priests had not built any stairs up the mountain. The only way up was by lift, which priests worked from the top of the mountain的描述可知，因?yàn)楹ε卤粴�，所以牧師使用升降機(jī)代替樓梯。故選D。
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文Louis’ daughter was badly hurt when using one of the chairs, and Villayer ran away, afraid that he would be punished的描述可知，因?yàn)樵谑褂谩帮w椅”的過程中，路易斯的女兒嚴(yán)重受損，Villayer以為會(huì)被懲罰而逃走。故應(yīng)選B。
小題4:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)短文The main problem for lift engineers was that either humans or animals were needed to pull the ropes. This problem was not worked out until the discovery of steam power的描述，蒸汽的發(fā)明使得升降機(jī)不再需要人力或動(dòng)物拉繩子。故選A。
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科目：初中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Do you know how important it is to have breakfast? A study of 2,000 teenagers in the US showed that eating breakfast daily is helpful to young people.
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科目：初中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

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Have you ever wondered?
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