To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains.But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain.(1)_______________________.Probably the first to use it were the Chinese,way back in the eleventh century B.C.We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade.And there was a strange thing connected with its use;it became a symbol of honor.In the Far East in ancient times,the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade.The umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece.(2)_______________________.During the Middle Ages,the use of the umbrella practically disappeared.Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century.And again it was considered a symbol of power.By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France, and later on in England.By the eighteenth century,the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe.(3)_______________________.It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made in a whole variety of colours.
