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Machines in the home have a short history. Sewing machines, washing machines and tumble dries are
common enough today, but a hundred years ago few people could even imagine such things. However,
inventors have designed and built a wide range of household machines since then. In most cases the
inventor tried t
o patent(申请专利)his machine, to stop anyone copying it. Then he tried to produce a lot
of them. If the machine became popular, the inventor could make a lot of money.
In 1790 the first sewing machine was patented. The inventor was an Englishman called Thomas Saint.
There was nothing to match his machine for forty years, and then someone built a similar device. He was a Frenchman, Bartelemy Thimonier. Neither of these early machines worked very well, however. It wasn't
until 1846 that an inventor came up with a really efficient sewing machine. He was an American, Elias
Howe and his machine was good enough to beat five skilled sewing women. He didn't make much money
from it, however. The first commercially successful sewing machine was patented by Isaac Singer five
years later.
Today, we take washing machines for granted, but there was none before 1869. The revolving drum(旋转桶)of that first machine set a pattern for the future, but it was
crude by today's standards. The drum was turned by hand, and needed a lot of effort. Eight years passed before someone produced an electric
washing machine. The world had to wait even longer for a machine to dry clothes. The first spin-drier was another American invention, patented in 1924; but it was 20 years before such machines were widely
used.
It was yet another American, called Bissell, who introduced the carpet sweeper. He patented the
original machine back in 1876. It didn't pick up dirt very well, but it was quicker than a dustpan and brush. Thirty-six years later, even the carpet sweeper was old-fashioned: modern homes now have a vacuum
cleaner with an electric motor to suck the dust.
1. Inventors patent the inventions so as to __________ .
A. produce more machines
B. avoid being copied by others
C. make the inventions more popular
D. make more money
2. Whose sewing machine could do far more than the work that was done by five skilled sewing women?
A. Thomas Saint's.
B. Bartelemy Thimonier's.
C. Elias Howe's.
D. Isaac Singer's.
3. According to the article, modern inventors __________.
A. followed the pattern of the first revolving drum but improve it much
B. only imitated the first washing machine
C. powered the first ever-made washing machine by electricity
D. had to wait for the first spin-drier for a long time
4. The underlined word "crude" in the sentence "but it was crude by today's standards." probably means
__________.
A. useless
B. ugly-looking
C. rough
D. not skillfully made
5. The article mainly tells us about __________.
A. the great inventors in the world
B. the important inventions in the world
C. the short history of household machines
D. the importance of the machines used in the home