To us it seems (36) to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. The history of umbrella can (37) back to the 11th century B. C. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a (38) . And there was a strange thing (39) with its use: it became a symbol of (40) . 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. And the umbrella was in (41) use in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in (42) to use the umbrella as (43) against the rain were the ancient Romans.
(44) . Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. (45) . 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. (46) . It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors.