单选题 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 how they changed over the centuries, but how they 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 (拨浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 B. C. 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. (306 words)
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】解析:本题属于细节归纳题。由题干确定本题指向第二段要点:男孩女孩玩不同玩具与成人社会中男女社会角色的严格限制有关。
单选题 One aspect of "the universality of toys" lies in the fact that______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:本题属于细节理解题。由“the universality of toys”定位至短文第三段最后三句要点:埃及、美洲、中国、日本、北极都有相同的玩具。因此可确定D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】解析:本题属于细节归纳题。本题涉及玩具persistence的特征,即第四段要点:玩具不受技术进步的影响,公元前3000年的拨浪鼓和今天的拨浪鼓仅在工艺及材料方面有所差异,再结合第三段第一句(全文主题),可明确答案为B。
单选题 Regarded as a kind of art form, toys______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:本题属于词语理解题。由题干确定本题仅涉及对第四段第一句的理解,“have not been subject to”相当于“are not characterized by”,因此可确定C为正确答案。
单选题 The author uses the example of rattle to show that______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:本题属于细节理解题。“rattle”一例出现在最后一段,该段要点是:①玩具是一种艺术形式;②玩具不代表技术进步;③玩具只代表时代的艺术品味和材料资源。归纳上述要点即得答案为D。