11과 14과 영어 본문

11. Henry Ford

 

Henry Ford is one of the most famous men in American history and perhaps one of the most famous men in the world. He is famous not only for what he achieved in his own lifetime, but also because one of the world's largest car manufacturers - the Ford Motor Company- is named after him. There can't be many people in the world today who haven't seen a Ford car or truck, at least on TV or in a movie.

 

Henry Ford was born in 1863, the son of a farmer. He developed his mechanical interest and skill working on his father's farm machinery, and he actually built a small tractor with a steam engine. In 1893, he became the chief engineer for the Edison Electric Company in Detroit. In his spare time, he built his first internal combustion engine and put it in a kind of wooden car on bicycle wheels He then sold this to raise money to develop more advanced models. While he was experimenting and refusing to manufacture cars in any number, other engineers were creating the early automotive industry. Finally, Ford decided he was ready to build a car for the people - a car that ordinary people could afford. This was the famous Model T Ford. It was in production for nearly twenty years and more than sixteen million were sold. This was half the world's total automotive production at that time and brought motoring within reach of everyone, not just the rich.

 

Ford's other great contribution to industry in general was his use of mass production. Instead of a few workers spending all their time making one vehicle, each worker was responsible for making or checking one small part of a vehicle or for assembling these parts into larger parts. These larger parts were then put together into a whole car. The workers stood at assembly lines and the parts that they made, checked or joined passed in front of them on a moving platform.

Although Henry Ford was very successful, he also had problems. He was often caught up in legal battles with other manufacturers. He had arguments with his company's investors and sometimes got into trouble over the way he treated his workers. However, even his enemies agreed that his contribution to the automotive industry was substantial.

 

 

Reading Comprehension Checkup

Choose the best answer to complete the sentence.

1. The story is about _________________________________________

a. Henry ford's problems.

b. a famous car manufacturer.

c. the history of the automotive industry.

d. how to assemble your own car.

 

2. Ford cars and trucks are________________________________

a. not very advanced. c. rarely seen by people.

b. very common. d. expensive to buy.

 

3. Henry ford______________________________________________

a. was born this century. b. was the chief engineer on a farm.

c. built a small tractor. d. invented the steam engine.

 

4. Ford wanted to build___________________________________

a. the best trucks in the world.

b. thirty-two million cars.

c. the safest car on the road.

d. cars that ordinary people could afford.

 

12. Bill Gates

 

Bill Gates is one of the world's wealthiest men. It is estimated that he earns about US$30 million a day. This figure, however, depends upon the value at any time of his computer software company, Microsoft. Gates established this company with Paul Allen in 1975 while he was still a student at Harvard University. He believed it would not be long before every home had a computer and that these computers would need software. Software is the name given to the programs that we use on a computer. The computer itself - the keyboard, monitor and processor - is called hardware.

 

Gates was born on October 28, 1955 and was already writing computer programs while still at school. In the eighth grade, he wrote a simple mathematical program and a computer version of his favorite board game, Risk, which is about world domination. Microsoft began its own domination of the fledgling software industry in 1980, when Gates licensed his operating system, MS-DOS, to a company called IBM for use in the personal computer it was planning to develop. Gates became a billionaire in 1986 at the age of thirty-one when he made a public offering of Microsoft stock. In 1994, Gates married Melinda French, an employee of Microsoft. They have one child. Although Melinda no longer works for Microsoft, she dedicates a lot of her time to charity work and is a member of the board at Duke University, where she completed a degree in Business.

 

Apart from Microsoft, Gates is interested in very fast cars and in the William H. Gates Foundation - a charitable organization that he established in memory of his grandfather. He has already given more than US$200 million to this charity, which distributes money to organizations interested in education and the development of new technology.

As president of Microsoft, Gates spends most of his time in meetings with the different teams working on the company's many projects. He also sends out hundreds e-mails a day. Anybody who wants to contact Bill Gates can do so at askbill@microsoft.com on the Internet.

 

 

 

 

 

Reading Comprehension Checkup

Circle the correct answer.

1. The story is about _______________________________________________

a. hardware and software

b. one of the world's richest men.

c. the William H. Gates Foundation.

d. the Internet.

 

2. Gates established the software company Microsoft ____________

a. on October 28,1955. b. while he was still at university.

c. with US$30 million. d. in the eighth grade.

 

3. While still at school, Gates___________________________________

a. married Melinda French.

b. distributed money to charities.

c. wrote a simple mathematical program.

d. established the software company Microsoft.

 

4. The William H. Gates Foundation was established in memory of

___________.

a. Melinda Gates. b. Melinda Gates's grandfather.

c. Bill Gates. d. Bill Gates's grandfather.

13. Changing Roles of Women

The traditional ideas about the relationship of men and women such as "man for the field, woman for the hearth" have changed rapidly in recent years. Today many women have emerged from the traditional role of homemaker. Even from the earliest times there have always been a few women who have earned their own living, yet the numbers have always been small. But recently more and more women have come to have their own jobs and earn their own living.

Why do many women work outside the home these days? One reason is that their jobs bring them genuine satisfaction. A recent survey indicates that more and more women are attending colleges. Women want to make use of the skills and interests they develop as a result of their education. Another reason is financial. Two incomes in a family are often necessary if a husband and wife would like to maintain certain standard of living.

What types of jobs do working women hold? Surprisingly a wide range of jobs is open to women. Have you ever seen women driving a taxi in the streets or training in the military camps? Of course we all have. There are even women judges and women pilots.

Even police officers or cabinet members may be women. Such employment is not yet typical, but the distinction between "women's work" and "men's work" is increasingly blurred. Not only are women playing important roles in the labor force, but they are also in politics. Candidates for public officer increasingly have to consider the women's vote. Their vote does not merely double the husbands' vote, with the wives voting the same way. No candidates can afford to disregard their attitudes. The women have really begun to study the issues and made up their own minds.

Social reform is another area in which women's influence has been felt. In many reform movements women have played an important part. The latest reform that women are attempting is for equal rights with men, particularly in business and professional matters. Women do not usually receive the same pay for the same work that men do. They want to change that.

The new role of women outside the home has also brought about some changes of family life. No longer is the family property solely in the hands of the husband. Women begin to express their opinion more often when they determine how the income should be spent. Family decisions in matters of raising the children, health and recreation are generally the result of discussions between husband and wife.

A result of this is that women have become partners within the home much more than they were in the past. In this partnership, some husbands share the responsibilities of maintaining the home with their wives. They help their wives with the housework, take care of the children, and do the shopping.

However, it is interesting to note that most women still consider homemaking as the most important part of their responsibilities. Only a few women consider their responsibilities. Only a few women consider their career as the most important of their life. Most working women want to combine their jobs and homemaking.

Reading Comprehension Checkup

Answer the following questions.

1. What have many women emerged from?

 

2. What are two reasons that women would like to work outside the home?

 

3. What kind of jobs do working women hold?

 

4. What has brought about some changes of family life?

 

5. What kinds of work do husbands do to help their wives?

14. Technology and Lifelong Learning

 

Paper Inventions

 

What is this book made of ? When we read books, magazines, and newspapers, we rarely stop and think about the paper used to make it. Without this invention our lives would very different.

 

Paper is one of the most important inventions of any time throughout history. The word paper comes from the word papyrus- a grasslike plant. The Egyptians first used papyrus around the year 3000 B.C. to make a kind of paper. In A.D. 105, a Chinese man named Ts'ai-Lun created a new type of paper using pieces of old cloth. For centuries, people all over the world used this Chinese method to make paper. In 1838, Charles Fenerty, a Canadian man, invented a new method of papermaking using wood. Today, most of the paper we use is made from wood.

 

Think again about your book. Did you use money to buy it? If so, you can thank Chinese. They invented paper money in the ninth century A.D. The government began using paper notes as money because there wasn't enough copper to make coins.

 

Today, it is hard to imagine life without paper. We use it to communicate in many different ways. We also use many important products that are made of paper. Take, for example, toilet paper. Many believe that an American, Joseph Gayetty, invented it in 1857. Walter Alcock, an Englishman, later had the idea to put the paper on rolls. By 1907, using toilet paper was common in the United States and England. Imagine what life today would be like without this important invention!

Reading Comprehension Checkup

Decide if the following statements according to the reading are true(T) or false(F).

1. ________ Paper was first made from a type of plant.

2. ________ The word paper comes from the Chinese word for cloth.

3. ________ The Chinese invented a method for making paper using wood.

4. ________ Toilet paper was invented by an American.

 

Lifelong Learning

 

Five years ago, Rachel Lopez graduated from college with a degree in history. Today, she works for a large software company. Now twenty-seven, Rachel takes classes twice a week after work. She is learning to use the computer program Power Point. "I enjoyed college, but may job doesn't use information I learned when I was doing my degree,' Rachel says. “This course is helping me to do my job better. In the future, I might go back to school and get an MBA.”

In the past, when students graduated from college and got a job, they usually stopped studying. Today, lifelong learning is becoming more common. In the United States, people can return to school in their late twenties, thirties, or older to get a higher degree, such as a master's or Ph.D. Like Rachel, many more are taking training courses to improve their workplace skills. With many classes now available through the Internet, it is easier for people to get degrees or training by distance learning.

Mayumi Hosoya, who is forty, teaches Japanese at a community college in New York. ''Next semester, I'll be teaching some of my classes using the Internet. This is new for me," says Mayumi. "At the moment, I am taking a course to learn how to teach this way." At the same time, Mayumi's seventy-year-old mother and father are taking a distance learning course in Art History. "We love the subject," says Mayumi's father, "and now we can study with people from all over the world. I never thought learning could be this much fun!

 

 

Reading Comprehension Checkup

Decide if the following statements about the reading are true (T) or false(F).

_____1. Rachel graduated when she was twenty-one years old.

_____2. Rachel believes that ter university studies prepared her well for her current job.

____3. Lifelong learning is becoming more common today.

____4. Mayumi Hosoya is taking a course to learn how to teach using the Internet. 

11-14.hwp