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发表于 2016-7-12 22:26:28
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Michael:In that case, did you know that the first trolley was used in Los Angeles in 1910?
Yuki:Now,how would I know that? I don't even think I have ever seen a trolley.
Michael:You're kidding! Well,these days we don't have many historic things of that nature just lying about Japan. Oh,I forgot the Japanese went immediately from Shinto shrines to bullet trains. (Michael laughs) Hey,here is something interesting! Taxicabs were first used in 1896 in Stuttgart,Germany. That doesn't surprise me at all. Also,the name of the first commercial jetliner was theComet.
Yuki:Comet,I lik that.I've been looking for a name for my cat. I think I am going to name him'Comet'.
Michael:Really,I don't know why I bother with you sometimes.
Yuki:Because no one else wants to talk to you!
Michael:I'll ignore that.The first jumbo jet was used in 1970;it was the Boeing 747.
Yuki:Don't they still use those?
Michael:I think so,but now they have ven larger jumbo jets. The largest are used by the military. In 1976 the Concord flew its first passenger flight.
Ynki:What's the Concord?
Michael:The Concord was the world's first supersonic plane. It broke the sound barrier.Imagine flying faster than sound. That's even stranger than crossing the international date-line.
Yuki:Michael,may I see your book?
Michael:Feel free.Here you are.
Yuki:Let's find a more interesting chapter,shall we?Hmmm...Here we are.This chapter is about firsts in the fashion world.
Michael:Right.How about we look at another chapter?
Yuki:Hey!I had to sit through you telling me about trolleys and taxis. Now you're going to learn about fashion. Besides,here is something that relates to your life. The first pair of blue jeans was manufactured in America over a hundred years ago; Levi Strauss made them in 1850.
Michael:So are the Levis jeans of today related to Levi Strauss?
Yuki:They are one and the same company. Haven't you ever read the big brown tag on the back of every pair of Levis jeans? Hey,listen to this:European shoemakers first made shoes with different shapes for the left and right feet in 1818. Don't you think that sounds a bit late? You'd think they would have figured that one out quicker. Shoes must have been uncomfortable before 1818.On the other hand,contact lenses have been in existence since 1887. They were invented in Switzerland. I would have thought they were a relatively more modern invention.
Michael:Yeah,but who would have thought that nowadays people, who do not even need to wear contact lenses
choose to wear them only to change their eye color.Crazy world! Well it makes sense,then,that only 29 years after contact lenses were invented wearing false eyelashes became popular in Europe and America. At the same time,using nail polish became fashionable as well.
Michael:So,once women were able to take off their glasses they wanted to dress up their now exposed eyes somehow. So they started to wear false eyelashes. I can see that.Forgive the pun.
Yuki:Your sense of humor really leaves something to be desired. You know that,don't you? Here's something else that should interest you. A French designer first produced the bikini in 1946.
Muchael:So when did the first swim suit magazine come out?1947?
Yuki:(mockingly) Ha,Ha,Michael. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend.
Michael:But I thought you were my girlfriend,Yuki.
Yuki:Sure,I am.Just keep telling yourself that.Sometimes I don't even want to admit that I know you.
Michael:(laughing)Stop it!You're hurting my feelings!
Yuki:Anyway...miniskirts were first made popular in 1965 by a British designer named Mary Quant. You know how I told you that my mother keeps everything she's ever owned? Well,in her closet at home she has a bunch of miniskirts that she bought when she was a teenager in the sixties. She and my grandparents were visiting London in the late sixties, and they were all the rage,very fashionable;so she bought a couple. However,she couldn't wear them in Tokyo, because,at that time,Japan was a very conservative place. If she had worn one of those miniskirts in public, she would probably have caused a riot! Now every girl in Tokyo wears them.How things have changed!
Michael:Well,you know,in the sixties everyone said 'London swings'. Now I guess it would be appropriate to say'Tokyo swings'.
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