阅读理解 There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown. They probably came about just to give children something to do. In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers. This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world. What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same. The changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology. It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic (北极的) peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles. Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been subject to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of ascent (进步). The progress from a rattle (拔浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by an infant today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of the times and subject to the limitations of available materials.
单选题 The reason why the toys most boys play with are different from those that girls play with is that ________.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】辨认事实题。本题询问许多男孩玩的玩具与女孩玩的玩具不同的原因是什么。A项意为“他们的社会角色被严格地确定了”；B项“许多男孩喜欢追随其父亲的职业”；C项“男孩喜欢与其父亲一起玩而女孩喜欢和母亲一起玩”；D项“他们喜欢挑战性的活动”。第2段第2句提到，“在社会角色被严格确定的社会，男孩玩耍时模仿其父亲的活动，而女孩则模仿其母亲的职责”，可见A项为正确答案。
单选题 One aspect of "the universality of toys" lies in the fact that ________.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】归纳推理题。本题询问“玩具的普遍性”的一个方面基于________的事实。A项意为“科技的进步极大地改进了玩具的耐用性”；B项“制作玩具的工艺的改进依靠大学的努力”；C项“对宇宙的探索导致了新玩具品种的创造”；D项“全世界玩具的基本特征是一样的”。第3段提到，“关于玩具的历史最惊人的不是在过去的岁月里怎样改变，而是它们怎样维持不变”，“在埃及、美国、中国等国家，通常出现了相同种类的玩具”，这些都说明“universality of toys”强调的是玩具基本特征的相似，因此D项为正确答案。
单选题 Which of the following is the author''s view on the historical development of toys?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】归纳推理题。本题询问下面哪一项是作者有关玩具发展的历史的观点。A项意为“玩具制作的工艺基本上没有改变”；B项“经过许多个世纪，玩具基本上维持不变”；C项“玩具工业见证了近年来工艺的大飞跃”；D项“玩具在塑造孩子的性格特征方面起着越来越重要的作用”。通过阅读文章，我们发现C项、D项两项在文中根本没有提到。而在谈到玩具制作的工艺时，文章提到"the changes have been mostly in terms of craftsmanship...”，可见 A项也是错误的。只有B项为正确答案。
单选题 Regarded as a kind of art form, toys ________.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】辨认事实题。本题询问“被看作是一种艺术形式，玩具________”。A项意为“直线地进步”；B项“也极大地为成年人所喜爱”；C项“不是以工艺的进步为特征”；D项“反映了社会进步的步伐”。第4段第1句提到，“由于玩具通常被看作是一种艺术形式，它们不必经历工艺的飞跃”，也即“不是以工艺的进步为特征”，因此C项正确。
单选题 The author used the example of a rattle to show that ________.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】辨认事实题。本题询问作者采用拨浪鼓为例来证明什么。A项意为“在玩具制作中使用原材料有一种连续性”； B项“即使是最简单的玩具也反映了工艺的进步”；C项“要将新的工艺引入玩具制造需要很长一段时间”；D项“即使是一个简单的玩具也能反映当时的艺术品位”。文章最后一句提到，每一个拨浪鼓是当时的艺术品位的产品，因此D项为正确答案。