Question

In the 1920s and 30s the airlines were just beginning. It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous. In those days, there were no flight attendants to look after the passengers. Young men, or "stewards" helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers' luggage (行李) but they did not provide food and drinks. But then in 1930, a woman called Ellen Church invented the "stewardess".

Ellen Church was born in 1904 on a farm in Iowa. She was a different child. She didn't want to work on a farm or marry a farmer—she wanted a more adventurous (冒险的) life. Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital. For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot's license.

    Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport. She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man's world. Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous, she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot. But she had another idea. Most people were frightened of flying because flying was still an unreliable (不可靠的) way to travel. There were often delays (延误), many crashes and the bad weathers made many passengers sick. Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B.A.T. Agreed.

The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses.

At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes, but passengers loved the stewardesses. In 1940 there were around 1000 of them working for different airlines. The early "stewardesses" had to be under twenty-five-year old, single and slim. When a woman joined an airline, she had to promise not to get married or have children. It was hard job and not well paid. They worked long hours and earned $1 an hour.

In the 1970s, stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes. Since the 1970s, "stewardesses" have been called flight attendants. They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past.

1.The last sentence of the first paragraph suggests that _________.

A.the word "stewardess" was made up by Ellen Church

B. Ellen Church was the first woman who flew a plane

C. Ellen Church was the first woman who worked on a plane

D. Ellen Church was the first woman passenger on a plane

2.From the second paragraph, we learn that ________.

A.Ellen did not behave in the same way as most as other girls

B. Ellen's family was not rich enough to support her education

C. Ellen was fond of working as a nurse in the hospital

D. Ellen has an unhappy childhood that changed her completely

3.The main reason for Boeing Air Transport offering Ellen the job was ________.

A.her flying experience    B. her university education

C. her nursing experience   D. her life attitudes

4.According to the passage, in the 1940s a woman had to ________ if she wanted to be a stewardess.

A.be a nurse     B. be married 

C. be a mother   D. be young

5.The passage mainly talks about _______.

A. the background of early flying pilots 

B. the experience of flying passengers

C. the history of early flight attendants 

D. the development of airplanes

Answer

1.B

2.A

3.C

4.D

5.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文讲述空姐的由来。飞机起源时，飞机上的条件并不像现在这样。一位叫做Ellen Church的女士为我们带来了早期的空姐，但是那时空姐待遇很低。直到20世纪70年代，空姐的待遇提高了工作时间也减少了。

1.句意理解题。But then in 1930, a woman called Ellen Church invented the "stewardess".“但是在1930年，一个叫做Ellen Church的女士创造了第一个飞机上的女乘务员。”结合下文介绍，可知Ellen是第一个驾驶飞机的女飞行员。故选B。

2.段意概括题。第二段介绍Ellen不想成为一名农民，也不想嫁给农民。她想要做一些冒险的工作，说明Ellen和其他的女孩不一样。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据文章第三段最后一句话Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B.A.T. Agreed.“Ellen想要在飞行期间可以成为照顾乘客的护士并受到了波音航空公司的同意。”可知波音航空公司雇佣Ellen是因为她拥有护理经验，故选C。

4.细节理解题。结合第五段第二行The early "stewardesses" had to be under twenty-five-year old, single and slim.“早期的空姐必选要在25岁以下，单身并苗条。”可知答案，故选D。

5.主旨大意题。本文主要讲述空姐的由来以及早期空姐的要求和待遇，故选C。

考点：政治经济文化类短文阅读。