医学博士英语统一考试之后，即将迎来各院校的考博英语初试，英语考试的备考，参考历年真题是一个很重要的备考过程，今天新东方在线小编给大家整理了中国人民大学2008年考博英语真题：阅读理解2，帮助大家更好的备考，考博英语考试，一起来看看吧!
Passage 2
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun. Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the eleventh century B. C. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor and authority. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high offices. In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first person in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered a symbol of power and authority. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later on in England. By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colors.
46. The first use of umbrella was as .
A. protection against rain B. a shade against the sun
C. a symbol of power D. a symbol of honor
47. were the people who first used umbrella.
A. Chinese B. Romans C. Greeks D. Egyptians
48. The umbrella was used only by royalty or by those in high offices .
A. in Europe in the 18th century B. in ancient Egypt and Babylon
C. in the Far East in ancient times D. during the Middle Ages
49. According to the passage，which of the following 董s not true?
A. Women enjoy using umbrellas with varied kinds of colors nowadays.
B. The inventor of the umbrella is unknown.
C. Once ordinary people had no right to use umbrellas.
D. Umbrellas were popular and cheap in ancient times.
50. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. When Was the Umbrella Invented? B. The History of Umbrella
C. Umbrella — A Symbol of Honor D. Who Used Umbrella First?