Question

It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers(生产商) follow certain uniform standards for various features(特征) of clothes. 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 button 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 shirts button form 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.

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 fails to consider right-handed people.

C. It woks better with men than with women.

D. It is different for men’s clothing and women’s.

2.What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

A. They tended to wear clothes without buttons.

B. They drew their swords from the left.

C. They were mostly dressed by servants.

D. They were interested in the historical matters.

3.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. customs are hard to change

D. modern women dress themselves

4.The passage is mainly developed by          .

A. examining differences                B. making comparisons

C. analyzing causes                     D. following the time order

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.C

【解析】文章告诉我们男女服装的差别，然后再分析原因。

1.细节题。根据文章第一段2,3行内容What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men.可知D正确。

2.细节题。根据第2段最后2行a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.可知B正确。

3.推理题。根据最后一段第2行a standard, once set, resists change.可以推断出习惯一旦形成就很难改变。

4.文章通过仔细分析男女服装的差别来组织的。