Australia is famous for its beautiful beaches. And Australian people love swimming and going to the beach. But it wasn't always that way.
Different Climate, Different habits
When Europeans first invaded Australia, the only people here who were good at swimming were the Aboriginal people. The Europeans came from climates where it was too cold to swim. Also some people worried that they would get sick if they wet their whole body.
However the warm climate of Australia soon changed their attitude to swimming. At first, only men swam. They swam naked - there were no women to see them.
Cover up!
By the 1880’s and 90’s visiting the beach was very fashionable and a lot of people went there, especially in warm weather. They wore everyday street clothes - much more than people wear at the beach today.
In those days, people believed they should cover most of their body so it would not be seen by the opposite sex. Special bathing costumes were designed for women. These costumes used a lot of cloth and were very heavy when wet, making it difficult to swim.
Laws Made and Laws Changed
The government decided to stop men swimming naked．It passed a law which forbade bathing between 6am and 7pm. Many people objected to this law and wrote letters to the government asking it to change the laws. In 1903, the laws changed; people could swim in the daytime, but they had to wear neck-to-knee costumes.
The Shrinking Costume
As time passed, swimming costumes became smaller and more convenient.
At first men and women were covered from neck to knee. Then the arms became bare. Then more of the legs were uncovered．Each new change was regarded by many as shocking and rude and people wrote letters to the newspapers plaining about the new costumes. Nowadays some people go to special nude (裸体) beaches to swim naked．
However, most people cover their bodies more than they did ten years ago -- not because they think bare skin is shocking -- but to protect their skin from the harmful rays of the sun.
【小题1】The climate of Australia .A．made European setters think differently about swimmingB．change European setters’ swimming costumeC．made European setters hotterD．made European setters swim naked【小题2】 During the late 19th century, swimmers should .A．hide when they see a person of the opposite sexB．cover their bodiesC．wear many heavy clothesD．take no notice of their clothes【小题3】 According to the law just before1903, people must .A．not swim in the main daylight hoursB．only swim between 6am and 7pmC．have a bath at 6am and 7pmD．swim with neck-to-knee costumes between 6am and 7pm【小题4】The last paragraph of the passage states that .A．people worry about getting skin cancer from too much sunB．people protect their ten-year-old sons from bare skinC．people are shocked by the sunD．people think it rude to swim with the smaller costumesA
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(答案→)A
解析：这是一篇海外风情类短文。本文叙述了“在澳大利亚游泳服随着历史的变迁而逐渐发生改变”的过程。
【小题1】细节题。短文中“…changed their attitude to swimming”的意义与A项的“think differently about swimming”同义。
【小题2】细节题。根据短文中的“they should cover most of their body”一句可得出。C项的意义是“穿很多衣服”，与文中的意义不符，但其干扰性较大。
【小题3】细节题。弄清了文中的“a law which forbade bathing between 6am and 7pm.”一句的意思，可得出答案。
【小题4】段落主旨题。最后一段的意思是“人们现在穿的比十年前多了，不是因为光着身子觉得不雅观，而是因为强烈的太阳会带来对皮肤的伤害”。