In 1853, the California gold rush was in full swing and everyday items were in short supply. Levi Strauss, a 24-year-old German immigrant, left New York for San Francisco with a small supply of dry goods with the intention of opening a branch of his brother's New York dry goods business. Shortly after his arrival, a prospector wanted to know what Mr. Strauss was selling. When Strauss told him he had rough canvas cloth to use for tents and wagon covers, the prospector said, “You should have brought trousers!”, because he couldn't find a pair of trousers strong enough to last. Levi Strauss had the canvas made into work trousers. Miners liked the trousers, but complained that the fabric was not very comfortable and tended to wear out. Levi Strauss substituted the canvas with a twilled cotton cloth from France called “serge de Nimes.” The fabric later became known as denim and the trousers were nicknamed blue jeans. Then Levi Strauss and Nevada tailor David Jacobs co-patented the process of putting small metal rivets in places such as the sides of the pockets that needed extra strength. On May 20, 1873, they received U.S. Patent No. 139,121. This date is now considered the official birthday of “blue jeans.” But why were they called blue jeans? Denim is unique in its singular connection with one colour. It is made from thread that is traditionally dyed with the blue pigment obtained from indigo dye. Indigo was linked with practical fabrics and work clothing. The durability of indigo as a colour and its darkness of tone made it a good choice when frequent washing was not possible.
1. What is the purpose of this text? A. to sell a product B. to solve a problem C. to argue a point D. to inform
2. What was Levi Strauss' job?
A. He was a clothes designer.
B. He was a prospector
C. He was selling textiles and clothing.
D. He was selling tools for gold mining.
3. What problem did the prospectors have?
A. There were no trousers in California.
B. They did not like Levi's product.
C. Their clothes were not stylish.
D. Their clothes wore out quickly.
4. Where did the word ‘denim’ come from?
A. the name of a French fabric
B. the indigo colour
C. David Jacobs, the tailor, thought of it
D. Levi Strauss invented it
5. Which best describes indigo dye?
A. A long lasting, practical colour that did not show dirt.
B. A colour used on all kinds of fabric to make the fabric stronger.
C. A very rare and desirable colour that was difficult to create.
D. An affordable dark colour that was only used by poor people
