Many great inventions are greeted with ridicule and disbelief. The invention of the airplane was no exception. Although many people who heard about the first powered flight on December 17,1903, were excited and impressed, others reacted with peals of laughter. The idea of flying an aircraft was repulsive to some people. Such people called Wilbur and Orville Wright, the inventors of the first flying machine, impulsive fools. Negative reactions, however, did not stop the Wrights. Impelled by their desire to succeed, they continued their experiments in aviation.
Orville and Wilbur Wright had always had a compelling interest in aeronautics and mechanics. As young boys they earned money by making and selling kites and mechanical toys. Later, they designed a newspaper-folding machine, built a printing press, and operated a bicycle-repair shop. In 1896, when they read about the death of Otto Lilienthal, the brother´s interest in flight grew into a compulsion.
Lilienthal, a pioneer in hang-gliding, had controlled his gliders by shifting his body in the desired direction. This idea was repellent to the Wright brothers, however, and they searched for more efficient methods to control the balance of airborne vehicles. In 1900 and 1901, the Wrights tested numerous gliders and developed control techniques. The brothers´ inability to obtain enough lift power for the gliders almost led them to abandon their efforts.
After further study, the Wright brothers concluded that the published tables of air pressure on curved surfaces must be wrong. They set up a wind tunnel and began a series of experiments with model wings. Because of their efforts, the old tables were repealed in time and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved surfaces. This work, in turn, made it possible for them to design a machine that would fly. In 1903 the Wrights built their first airplane, which cost less than one thousand dollars. They even designed and built their own source of propulsion- a lightweight gasoline engine. When they started the engine on December 17, the airplane pulsated wildly before taking off. The plane managed to stay aloft for twelve seconds, however, and it flew one hundred twenty feet.
By 1905 the Wrights had perfected the first airplane that could turn, circle, and remain airborne for half an hour at a time. Others had flown in balloons or in hang gliders, but the Wright brothers were the first to build a full-size machine that could fly under its own power. As the contributors of one of the most outstanding engineering achievements in history, the Wright brothers are accurately called the fathers of aviation.
1.The idea of flying an aircraft was ___to some people.
A. boring
B. distasteful
C. exciting
D. needless
E. answer not available
2. People thought that the Wright brothers had ____.
A. acted without thinking
B. been negatively influenced
C. been too cautious
D. had not given enough thought
E. acted in a negative way
3. The Wright´s interest in flight grew into a ____.
A. financial empire
B. plan
C. need to act
D. foolish thought
E. answer not in article
4. Lilenthal´s idea about controlling airborne vehicles was ___the Wrights.
A. proven wrong by
B. opposite to the ideas of
C. disliked by
D. accepted by
E. opposed by
5. The old tables were __ and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved surfaces.
A. destroyed
B. canceled
C. multiplied
D. discarded
E. not used
6. The Wrights designed and built their own source of ____.
A. force for moving forward
B. force for turning around
C. turning
D. force to going backward
E. none of the above
Answer Key: 1. (B) 2. (A) 3. (C) 4. (C) 5. (B) 6. (A)
Although witnesses vouched that all the members of the Czar´s family had been executed, there were rumors suggesting that Anastasia had survived. Over the years, a number of women claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia. Perhaps the best ?nown claimant was Anastasia Tschaikovsky, who was also known as Anna Anderson.
In 1920, eighteen months after the Czar´s execution, this terrified young woman was rescued from drowning in a Berlin river. She spent two years in a hospital, where she attempted to reclaim her health and shattered mind. The doctors and nurses thought that she resembled Anastasia and questioned heer about her background. She disclaimed any connection with the Czar´s family.
Eight years later, though, she claimed that she was Anastasia. She said that she had been rescued by two Russian soldiers after the Czar and the rest of her family had been killed. Two brothers named Tschaikovsky had carried her into Romania. She had married one of the brothers, who had taken her to Berlin and left her there, penniless and without a vocation. Unable to invoke the aid of her mother´s family in Germany, she had tried to drown herself.
During the next few years, scores of the Czar´s relatives, ex-servants, and acquaintances interviewed her. Many of these people said that her looks and mannerisms were evocative of the Anastasia that they had known. Her grandmother and other relatives denied that she was the real Anastasia, however.
Tried of being accused of fraud, Anastasia immigrated to the United States in 1928 and took the name Anna Anderson. She still wished to prove that she was Anastasia, though, and returned to Germany in 1933 to bring suit against her mother´s family. There she declaimed to the court, asserting that she was indeed Anastasia and deserved her inheritance.
In 1957, the court decided that it could neither confirm nor deny Anastasia´s identity. Although we will probably never know whether this woman was the Grand Duchess Anastasia, her search to establish her identity has been the subject of numerous books, plays, and movies.
1. Some Russian peasants and workers___for social reform.
A. longed
B. cried out
C. begged
D. hoped
E. thought much
2. Witnesses ___ that all members of the Czar´s family had been executed.
A. gave assurance
B. thought
C. hoped
D. convinced some
E. answer not stated
3. Tschaikovsky ____any connection with the Czar´s family.
A. denied
B. stopped
C. noted
D. justified
E. answer not stated
4. She was unable to ___the aid of her relative.
A. locate
B. speak about
C. call upon
D. identify
E. know
5. In court she ___ maintaining that she was Anastasia and deserved her inheritance.
A. finally appeared
B. spoke forcefully
C. testified
D. gave evidence
E. answer not stated
Answer Key 1. (B) 2. (A) 3. (A) 4. (C) 5. (B)