阅读理解
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers (生产商) follow certain uniform standards for various features (特征) of cl
othes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the
opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men's clothes tend to button
from the right, and women's from the left. Considering most of the world's population-men and
women-are right-handed, the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do
women's clothes butto
n from the left?
History really seems to matter here. Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th
century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women's shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men's shirt button from the right
made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand
would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.
Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women's shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned
from the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have
to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward
to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since any one who noticed that would
believe they were wearing men's shirts.
1. What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?
A. It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years.
B. It is different for men's clothing and women's.
C. It works better with men than with women.
D. It fails to consider right-handed people.
2. Women's clothes still button from the left today because _____.
A. adopting men's style is improper for women
B. manufacturers should follow standards
C. modern women dress themselves
D. customs are hard to change
3. The passage is mainly developed by_______.
A. analyzing causes
B. making comparisons
C. examining differences
D. following the time order