20142015学年度高中英语人教版选修七高分提能训练24.doc

第  PAGE 6 页 共  NUMPAGES 6 页 高分提能训练(二十四) 阅读理解 A Cleveland was an industrial boomtown in the years after World War I．The city was growing very fast，thanks to the steel industry，the automobile industry and other big businesses.And along with a growing population，there was also a growing number of cars. Garrett Morgan was the first African-American man in Cleveland to own one.One day，Morgan was at a busy Cleveland intersection when he witnessed a particularly bad collision.As he analyzed what had happened，he realized what the problem was.[来源:Zxxk.Com] Back in those days，traffic signals were just“stop”or“go”．And a lot of times，the sign would switch while a car was in the middle of the intersection－with no time to get out.That gave Morgan an idea.He created a traffic signal that had a third function－the“warning”sign that had been missing up until that point.And on November 20th,1923，the US Patent Office officially recognized his new invention. Originally，the traffic signal that Morgan invented had to be operated manually instead of auto-switch.Eventually，he sold the rights to his traffic signal to General Electric Company，which led to the creation of the modern traffic light－the lights we see today at intersections all over the world. Morgan was born in Kentucky in 1877.As a teenager，he moved to Ohio to find a job.At first，finding a job was difficult because a lot of businesses would not hire a black man.But Morgan was determined and he became a successful businessman himself and a newspaper publisher as well.He also invented a number of other products in addition to the traffic signal including a gas mask that became the model for the protective masks worn by soldiers during World War I．Crarrett Morgan died on August 27th,1963. And his determination to be somebody－despite the racial discrimination he faced－helped open new roads to success for the generations that have followed him.“If a man puts something to block your way，the first ti