As a young girl, Margaret “Mattie” Knight never played with dolls, preferring to make toys for her brothers instead. In 1849, Knight went to work in a cotton factory where she witnessed a “shuttle,” a device that carries thread back and forth across a textile loom（纺布机）, fly off the machine when the thread broke, striking and killing a young boy about her own age.
The 12-year-old Knight developed a safety mechanism that made it impossible for a shuttle to leave the loom. The design was so effective, soon virtually every new power loom carried her invention, saving countless workers from injury or death. Being so young, she didn’t bother to patent the device, so she never received payment.
Knight wouldn’t make the same mistake later in life when she invented a machine that could produce flat-bottomed paper bags. Knight had built a small wooden model in her home, but she needed a metal version to show it could hold up to the stress of mass production. So she hired Charles Annan to make the full-sized machine for her, only to have him try to claim the patent for himself. When Knight sued（起诉）, Annan’s argument was that the design had to be his, because no woman could possibly understand the plex mechanics. Knight proved him wrong when she brought back her wooden prototype and explained how every part worked. She won the case in 1871, making her the second woman to hold an American patent. Over a hundred years later, her design is still used as the basis for many modern flat-bottom bag machines.
But that wasn’t the last the world heard of Mattie Knight. During her lifetime, she made about 90 inventions and received 26 patents, being one of the most productive female inventors of the 19th century.
【小题1】We can learn from Paragraph 1 that .A．Knight behaved like boysB．Knight had an unhappy childhoodC．Knight did a poor job of making toysD．Knight liked inventing things as a child【小题2】What do we know about Knight’s first invention?A．It is still used today.B．It brought her great profit.C．It was made when he was 20.D．It reduced injuries at textile plants.【小题3】Knight sued Charles Annan because he .A．stole the wooden model for the machine she invented.B．failed to make the full-sized machine for herC．tried to patent her invention for himselfD．kept the metal version for himself【小题4】What would be the best title for the text?A．Mattie Knight’s fight for her patentB．A great woman in the 19th century C．“The female Edison”, Mattie KnightD．Great inventions, great womanD
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(答案→)D
解析：文章是关于一位女发明家Mattie Knight的故事。
【小题1】推理题。根据文章第一句As a young girl, Margaret “Mattie” Knight never played with dolls, preferring to make toys for her brothers instead可知她喜欢制作玩具，喜欢发明小东西。
【小题2】细节题。根据第二段第三行saving countless workers from injury or death.
【小题3】细节题。根据第三段第五行only to have him try to claim the patent for himself.
【小题4】主旨大意题。文章是关于一位女发明家Mattie Knight的故事。