Question

    László Bíró, a Hungarian, was the father of one of the 20th century’s most successful inventions—ballpoint pen. He worked in medicine, oil industry, motor racing and painting. It was when he was a newspaper editor that he became disappointed by the nibs (metal points) of pens which leaked ink and tore paper. One day, he was in a Budapest printing shop and saw an ink that dried as soon as it touched paper. “It got me thinking how this process could be simplified right down to the level of an ordinary pen,” he recalled later.

The quick-drying ink used in printing was too thick to flow from a fountain pen, so Bíró’s brother, George, who is an expert in chemistry, came up with a new design. After several years of experiments, Biro replaced the pen’s metal writing nib with the new design bearing a tiny ball in its tip with the help of his brother. As the pen moved along the paper, the ball rolled, picking up ink from the ink container and putting it smoothly on the paper.

Bíró sold his patent (专利) to Baron Marcel Bich of France for 2 million dollars. In 1950 Bich produced his own cheap, disposable (一次性的) ballpoint pen. It was sold throughout the market and in 1965 the French government allowed it to be used in schools, with other countries following suit, such as Argentina. Before long, the ballpoint was becoming an increasingly popular piece of stationery (文具). Today, around 15 million ballpoint pens are sold worldwide every day. People will always remember Biro for his invention. Today in many English-speaking countries, people still use the word “biro” to refer to any kind of ballpoint pen Millions of people use it all over the world every day.

Bíró used to hear people say the ballpoint was ruining writing skills. He would smile and say, “Well, writing comes from the heart. If we can help the hand to perform the task, what is so wrong with that?”

1.When did Biro decide to invent a new pen?

A.When he worked in the oil industry. B.When he saw the quick-drying ink.

C.When he began to use fountain pens. D.When he was buying a printing machine.

2.What did George help Biro do?

A.Design the ballpoint pen. B.Invent a pen-friendly kind of paper.

C.Manage to make printing ink thicker. D.Produce the pen’s metal writing nib.

3.Where were ballpoint pens first put on the market?

A.In Hungary. B.In England. C.In France. D.In Argentina.

4.What can we learn from the text?

A.We should put our heart into writing. B.The tip of the ballpoint pen ruins paper.

C.Biro regretted inventing the ballpoint pen. D.The ballpoint pen was welcome at the market.

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇记叙文。文章主要记叙了László Bíró发明圆珠笔的过程，以及圆珠笔在如今市场上的受欢迎程度。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段中One day, he was in a Budapest printing shop and saw an ink that dried as soon as it touched paper. “It got me thinking how this process could be simplified right down to the level of an ordinary pen,” he recalled later.可知有一天，他在布达佩斯的一家印刷店看到一种墨水一接触纸张就干了。“这让我开始思考如何将这个过程简化到一支普通笔的水平，”他后来回忆说。由此可知，当Bíró看到快干的墨水时，决定发明一种新笔。故选B。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段中The quick-drying ink used in printing was too thick to flow from a fountain pen, so Bíró’s brother, George, who is an expert in chemistry, came up with a new design. After several years of experiments, Biro replaced the pen’s metal writing nib with the new design bearing a tiny ball in its tip with the help of his brother.可知用于印刷的快干墨水太稠，无法从钢笔中流出，所以Bíró的兄弟George，一位化学专家，想出了一个新的设计。经过几年的实验，Bíró在他哥哥的帮助下，把钢笔的金属笔尖换成了笔尖上有一个小球的新设计。由此可知，George帮助Bíró设计圆珠笔头的小球。故选A。

3.

细节理解题。根据第三段中It was sold throughout the market and in 1965 the French government allowed it to be used in schools, with other countries following suit, such as Argentina.可知1965年，法国政府允许它在学校使用，其他国家也纷纷效仿，比如阿根廷。由此可知，圆珠笔是在法国首次投放市场的。故选C。

4.

细节理解题。根据倒数第二段中Before long, the ballpoint was becoming an increasingly popular piece of stationery (文具).可知不久，圆珠笔就成为一种越来越受欢迎的文具。由此可知，圆珠笔在市场上很受欢迎。故选D。