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A．senseB．thingsC．pricesD．numbers
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The English Weather
"Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather". This statement, often 'made by Englishmen to describe the strange weather conditions of their country, is both revealing and true. It is revealing because in it we see the Englishman insisting once again that what happens in England is not the same as what happens elsewhere; its truth can be proved by any foreigner who stays in the country for longer than a few days.
In no country other than England, it has been said, can one experience four seasons in the course of a single day! Day may break as a warm spring morning; an hour or so later black clouds may have appeared from nowhere and the rain may be pouring down. At midday it may be really winter with the temperature down by about eight degrees or more centigrade (摄氏度). And then, in the late afternoon the sky will clear, the sun will begin to shine, and for an hour or two before darkness falls, it will be summer.
In England one can experience almost every kind of. weather except the most extreme. (Some foreigners seem to be under the impression that for ten months' of the year the country is covered by a dense blanket of fog; this is not true.) The problem is that we never can be sure when the different types of weather will occur. Not only do we get several different sorts of weather in one day, but we may very well get a spell (持续的一段时间) of winter in summer and a spell of summer in winter.
The uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon the Englishman's character; it tends to make him cautious (小心谨慎的), for example. The foreigner may laugh when he sees the Englishman setting forth on a brilliantly sunny morning wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella, but he may well regret his laughter later in the day!
And, of course, the weather's variety provides a constant topic of conversation. Even the most taciturn (沉默寡言的) of Englishmen is always prepared to discuss the weather. And, though he sometimes complains bitterly of it, he would not, even if he could, exchange it for the more predictable climate of other lands.
"Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather". This statement suggests that
坡屋顶是目前民用建筑中采用最普遍的屋面形式，主要以钢筋混凝土屋顶为主。 ()
A．wellB．towardsC．tooD．along
The Compass
The great sea voyages of Europe's "Age of Discovery," such as Christopher Columbus's trip to the West Indies in 1492, would have been impossible without the use of a compass. This great device for sea voyages was introduced to the West from China during the thirteenth century A.D. We have to thank ancient Chinese for their invention of the compass.
Two thousand years ago the Chinese had already developed a working compass. A piece of lodestone (天然磁石) would be cut into the shape of a ladle (长柄勺). Placed on a stone board with a smooth surface, the lodestone would move round until the "handle" of the ladle pointed south while the bulk (主体) of the ladle was attracted to magnetic north. This interestingly shaped device is mentioned in a book from about A.D. 80. Other ancient books may have dated it as far back as the fourth century B.C. Jade (玉石) finders played an important role in the invention of the "ladle". They travelled great distances to look for jade. in order not to lose directions, they would take a "ladle" with them.
The jade connection is important. Lodestone is a hard material—though not as hard as some jade. And the making of a magnetic "ladle", as well as a highly smooth stone board, would have required great skill. This suggests that the compass was invented by the jade finders of ancient China.
However, the making of a "ladle" was a tough job. Much work needed to shape a piece of lodestone into a ladle would mean much of its natural magnetism (磁性) had been lost. This again meant that only a few "ladles" could have been produced. Small numbers of ladies produced and growing need for navigation led to a search for ways to produce more compasses, and at the same time, smaller and better compasses.
What is the first paragraph mainly about？
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