单选题 Lipstick(口红) plays an important role in attraction and can even protect the lips from drying out in harsh weather. No wonder it's the most important thing in a woman's cosmetics(化妆品) bag.
Colouring the lips is certainly not a new idea. It was practiced as early as 3 500 BC.
In the past, a natural dye was used to paint lips, It was not until the 17th century that lipstick manufacturing really took off. The lipstick was made of mixtures that included pig fat and red sandalwood(檀香油). It was kept in tiny pots and applied with a colouring Stick.
Lipstick was invented and first presented by Parisian perfumeries (香水制造商) in Amsterdam. But these "little red sausages" were less practical. They were wrapped in silk paper and the ends had to be broken off before each use. They also did not come cheap.
Over the years the sticks became less expensive and new colours were developed. But it was not until 1950 that lipstick accidentally was reinvented -- this time by the Americans.
Today there are so many types of lipsticks and shades that it is hard to {{U}}keep track{{/U}} of them. Faced with many choices in the cosmetic departments, it is easy to forget that there is a whole science to manufacture them.
The basic materials are colours, oils and waxes. But they can contain up to 30 different materials. Lipstick manufacturers have to achieve a careful balance. "You need a thicker oil to make the lipstick last longer, but a thinner one to make it easy to apply," says Cornelia Riede, product developer at Nivea Beaute in Hamburg.
Different oils also provide protection for lips, preventing them from drying up.
The waxes used in lipsticks must strike the right balance between strength and elasticity(弹性). And up to nine different colouring matters could be needed to find the right shade.
No one today need fear dangerous materials in lipsticks. A study by a leading German consumer organization found dangerous materials such as lead or cadrnium(镉) are hardly a problem any more -- even in the cheapest products.
Today, the question is whether to choose a conventional lipstick or the newest, long-lasting variety.
单选题 Lipstick plays an important role in women's life because ______.
  • A. it can show they are rich
  • B. it can show they are healthy
  • C. they want to keep their body temperature
  • D. they want to be more attractive
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】细节题。短文第一段第一句指出：Lipsticks plays an important role in attraction...，即口红在 (让女性)迷人这一点上有重要作用，还能防止嘴唇干裂，所以女性化妆包里最重要的东西是口红这一点就不奇怪了。由这一句可以看出，口红对女性重要就是因为女性想让自己显得迷人，故答案是[D]。
单选题 Lipstick, according to this passage, was first made in ______.
  • A. Europe
  • B. America
  • C. Asia
  • D. Africa
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】细节题。短文第四段第一句指出：Lipstick was invented... in Amsterdam，由于Amsterdam (阿姆斯特丹)属于欧洲，故答案就是[A]。
单选题 It can be inferred from this passage that ______.
  • A. Americans wear the flint to use lipsticks
  • B. lipsticks were colourless at first
  • C. modern lipsticks came out by chance
  • D. lipsticks have been made from the same materials
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推理判断题。文章第五段最后一句说：But it was not until...by the Americans，由其中的ac cidentally(偶然地)可以推知[C]正确。文章中提到美国人的地方只有这一句，因此[A]没有根据迁回与第三段第一句的意思不符；[D]与第七段第一、二两句指出的事实不符，由常识也可加以排除。
单选题 The underlined phrase "keep track of" in this passage means ______.
  • A. find
  • B. follow
  • C. use
  • D. store
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】词义推测题。该词所在句的意思是；如今有这么多种口红和颜色，因此很难______它们。而由后面一句的意思(面对化妆品店里如此多的选择，人们……)及该词所在句本身的搭配关系与常识可知keep track of在此应当是指“跟上”红的式样，所以答案为[B]。
单选题 We know from this passage that ______.
  • A. lipsticks are much cheaper than before
  • B. lipsticks are much handier than before
  • C. lipsticks are more dangerous than before
  • D. lipsticks are much safer than before
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】推理判断题。文章最后两段说明了如今的口红很安全、不含有毒物质的事实，特别是倒数第二段第一句明确指出人们不必再担心口红中有危险物质，因此[D]是正确的。[C]与此正好相反，而其他两项可能是事实，但文章在论及现代的口红时并没有涉及这两个方面，无法推知。