3．In the 1920s，the airlines were just beginning．It was unusual for people to travel by air because it was expensive and dangerous．In those days，there were no flight attendants（服務(wù)） to look after the passengers．Young men，or"stewards"helped the passengers onto the airplane and carried the passengers'luggage（行李）but they did not provide food and drinks．But then in 1930，a woman called Ellen Church invented the"stewardess"．
Ellen Church was born in 1904on a farm in Iowa．She was a different child．She didn't want to work on a farm or marry a farmer-she wanted a more adventurous（冒險的）life．Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital．For the next few years she stayed at the hospital and at the same time took flying lessons and got her pilot's license．
Ellen was twenty-five years old when she first got in touch with Boeing Air Transport．She loved flying but she understood that airlines were a man's world．Although women like Emelia Earheart were becoming famous，she realized it was impossible for a woman to have a career as a pilot．But she had another idea．Most people were frightened of flying because flying was still an unreliable（不可靠的） way to travel．There were often delays（延誤），many crashes and the bad weather made many passengers sick．Ellen thought nurses could take care of passengers during flights and B．A．T．a(chǎn)greed．
The young woman from Iowa and seven other nurses became the first air stewardesses．
At first pilots were unhappy because they did not want stewardesses on airplanes，but passengers loved the stewardesses．In 1940there were around 1000of them working for different airlines．The early"stewardesses"had to be under twenty-five-year-old，single and slim．When a woman joined an airline，she had to promise not to get married or have children．It was hard job and not well paid．They worked long hours and earned＄1an hour．
In the 1970s，stewardesses were unhappy in their job and airlines had to make some changes．Since the 1970s，"stewardesses"have been called flight attendants．They are well paid and work fewer hours than in the past．
38．From the first paragraph，we know thatA．
A．the word"stewardess"was made up by Ellen Church
B．Ellen Church was the first woman who flew a plane
C．Food and drinks were offered on the plane then．
D．Travelling by air was very popular because of the flight attendants．
39．From the second paragraph，we learn thatA．
A．Ellen did not behave（行為） in the same way as most as other girls
B．Ellen's family was not rich enough to support her education
C．Ellen was fond of working as a nurse in the hospital
D．Ellen has an unhappy childhood that changed her completely
40．Boeing Air Transport （BAT） offered Ellen the job because ofC．
A．her flying experience
B．her university education
C．her nursing experience
D．her life attitudes（態(tài)度）
41．According to the passage，in the 1940s a woman had toD if she wanted to be a stewardess．
A．be a nurse
B．be married
C．be a mother
D．be young
42．The passage mainly talks aboutC．
A．the background of early flying pilots
B．the experience of flying passengers
C．the history of early flight attendants
D．the development of airplanes．
分析 本文是一篇說明文．文章通過介紹艾倫如何成長為空姐，從而介紹了早期空姐的發(fā)展史，最開始飛機上沒有空姐，艾倫是一名護士，后來考得了飛行執(zhí)照，但是那時候女人是不能開飛機的，因此她提出可以照顧因各種原因生病的乘客，后來飛機上就有了空姐．現(xiàn)在空姐的工作時間比過去少，而報酬卻很多．
解答 38．答案：A．細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第一段最后一句a woman called Ellen Church invented the"stewardess"一個叫艾倫丘奇的女人發(fā)明了"空姐"．選A．
39．答案：A．細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第二段第二句She was a different child．She didn't want to work on a farm or marry a farmer-she wanted a more adventurous（冒險的）life．她是一個不同的孩子．她不想在農(nóng)場工作，也不想嫁給一個農(nóng)民--她想要一個更有冒險精神的生活．可知，她的想法與別人不同，故選A．
40．答案：C．推理判斷題．根據(jù)第二段最后兩句Ellen studied to be a nurse at the University of Minnesota and then got a job in a hospital．For the next few years she stayed at the hospital but also took flying lessons and got her pilot's license．可知Ellen曾經(jīng)做過多年的護士；根據(jù)第三段最后一句B．A．T．a(chǎn)greed航空公司采納了Ellen承擔照顧乘客的想法，可推知之所以她的想法被采納是因為她有做護士的經(jīng)歷．故選C．
41．答案：D．細節(jié)理解題．根據(jù)第五段中的 第一行最后一句The early"stewardesses"had to be under twenty-five-year-old，single and slim．可知早期的空姐要在25歲以下，單身，而且苗條．所以可推知20世紀40年代的時候想當空姐必須要年輕．故選D．
42．答案：C．主旨大意題．根據(jù)第一段最后一句But then in 1930，a woman called Ellen Church invented the"stewardess"．一個叫艾倫丘奇的女人發(fā)明了"空姐"．及最后一段Since the 1970s，"stewardesses"have been called flight attendants．自上世紀70年代以來，"（飛機上的）女服務(wù)員"被稱為空姐．可知，本文主要介紹空姐的發(fā)展史，因此選C．
點評 做題時我們應(yīng)先閱讀所給的任務(wù)，明確任務(wù)是什么，再帶著任務(wù)去閱讀材料，這樣就能做到心中有數(shù)，有針對性的去讀，并能提高閱讀效率．
