Fit for Life

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 shirts 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 anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.
44. 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 woks better with men than with women.
d. it fails to consider right-handed people.
45. what do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?
a. they tended to wear clothes without buttons.
b. they were interested in the historical matters.
c. they were mostly dressed by servants.
d. they drew their swords from the left.
46. 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
47. the passage is mainly developed by          .
a. analyzing causes                     b. making comparisons
c. examining differences                 d. following the time order
d
sitting on the peaceful coast of galapagos islands. ecuador, watching the sun move quietly into the sea, you shouldn’t forget that charles darwin (1809-1882) arrived here in 1835. he stayed on the islands for five weeks, observing various animals. this finally inspired (啟發) his famous work, on the origin of species. you can certainly follow darwin’s footsteps and enjoy a trip from four to seven days to the islands.