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41 die out make up get set go awry
42 discriminative formidable hypothetical proactive
43 Also Yet In case In practice
44 across the board in due course out of the blue up in the air
45 downsize embrace pinpoint offend
請依下文回答第 46 題至第 50 題
Before there were alarm clocks, how did people wake up at a specific time they wanted to in the morning? Since the
Industrial Revolution began in the 1780s, people had been finding ways to make sure they got to work on time. Back
then, a knocker-up, also known as a “knocker-upper,” started as a profession to wake people up by knocking on their
doors or windows.
Even though alarmclocks had been invented in 1787byAmerican inventor, Levi Hutchins, they were not yet available
to the general public in Britain or Ireland. It was common for people in these places to hire knocker-ups to wake them
up in the morning. Half a century after the invention of alarm clocks, Frenchman Antoine Redier patented an adjustable
alarm clock in 1847. Still, mechanical alarm clocks were not cheap or widely available. Well into the 1920s, most workers
in Britain would rather hire knocker-ups.
Knocker-ups used a variety of methods to wake up their clients. Some used a baton, or a short, heavy stick, to knock
on the client’s door. Some used a long and light stick made of bamboo to reach the client’s window on a higher floor.
Still others used a pea-shooter, through which small objects can be blown, to shoot dried peas at their clients’ windows.
Their job was to rouse the sleeping clients, and they certainly came up with creative ways to achieve this goal. Knocker-
ups would not leave a client’s door or window until they made sure that the client had been awaken.
There were large numbers of people carrying out the job, especially in large industrial towns such as Manchester.
Knocker-ups were generally elderly men and women, but sometimes police officers would take on the job to earn extra
income by performing the task during early morning patrols. But who woke the knocker-uppers? A tongue-twister from
the time goes like this:
We had a knocker-up, and our knocker-up had a knocker-up
And our knocker-up’s knocker-up didn’t knock our knocker up
So our knocker-up didn’t knock us up
‘Cos he’s not up.
By the 1950s, knocking up had gradually died out in most places due to the wide spread of electricity and affordable
alarm clocks. Today, people merely read about anecdotes regarding how knocker-ups woke up their clients creatively or
a fun tongue-twister like the one above.
46 What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
To make noise on windows, knocker-ups often relied on long, light bamboo sticks.
To accomplish their tasks, knocker-ups would not leave until their clients woke up.
To wake up their clients, knocker-ups used a tool from which they could shoot dried peas.
To ensure a successful job, knocker-ups had adopted several creative knocking-up methods.
47 According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
The alarm clock was patented by an American inventor in 1787.
People continued to hire knocker-ups even after the alarm clocks were invented.
In Britain and Ireland today, knocker-ups are still doing their jobs in industrial towns.
During their morning patrols, police officers would watch out for knocker-ups’ safety.
48 Which of the following best replaces “anecdotes” in the last paragraph?
stories effects problems accidents
49 Which of the following best summarizes the tongue-twister mentioned in the passage?
Our knocker-up’s knocker-up forgot to wake us up.
Our knocker-up’s knocker-up failed to wake him up.
We overslept because our knocker-up took the day off.
We did not sleep well because our knocker-up was sick.
50 Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?
Knocker-ups preferred to get into the houses of their clients’to wake them up.
Antoine Redier made a fortune by selling mechanical alarm clocks to workers.
British workers greatly appreciated Levi Hutchin’s invention of the alarm clock.
Police officers during the Industrial Revolution were not paid very well at work.