Children’s literature traces its beginnings to preliterate times, when ancient storytellers passed tales and legends from generation to generation in the oral tradition. William Caxton, who established England’s first printing press, published books of etiquette, fables and legends. However, these didn’t constitute a body of work that could be considered literature for children. Because children at that time were considered “miniature adults”, books were didactic in nature. The content for young readers consisted mainly of religious instruction, rules of behavior, ethical messages, and moral platitudes. In 1774, Englishman John Newberry changed children’s publishing when he began to create books with attractive formats, quality illustrations, and sturdy buildings, that were designed primarily for children to enjoy. The oldest, and most prestigious award given for children’s books published in America, is the Newberry Medal.
In the following century, children’s literature began to bloom. Hans Christian Andersen’s wonderful stories like “The Ugly Duckling”, and “The Little Mermaid”, and Grimm brothers collected two volumes of German folktales that included stories such as “Snow White” and “Rumpelstiltskin”. Childhood came to be recognized as a joyful and carefree period of life, and books celebrating it began to be published. Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carrol) wrote the fantasy “Alice in Wonderland”, the first book that was intended purely for children’s enjoyment without any pretense of instruction. Edwards Lear’s books of nonsense poetry delighted both young and old readers. In North America, books for a young audience were becoming popular as well. Kate Douglas Wiggin wrote “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm”, Louisa May Alcott wrote “Little Women”, and Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) created Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. By the end of the century, the pious and moralistic books of earlier times had been replaced by writing designed to amuse and entertain a young audience. In the 1800s color printing was introduced, and by the middle of the 19th century, the rough illustrations that characterized earlier children’s books had been replaced by works of art that captured the word and some of the story.
The word “constitute” underlined in Paragraph 1 means______.
本题是词义题。第一段提到了儿童文学最早可追溯到文字出现之前，当时的故事和传说通过口口相传一代一代的流传下来。随后提到威廉·卡克斯顿(William Caxton)建立了英国第一个印刷所，出版了一些礼仪、寓言和神话书籍。接着出现However，表示出现转折，然而，这一切并不能被认作是儿童文学作品的主体。所以“constitute”在这里应意为“构成，组成”，答案为选项A。
According to the passage, the early books of etiquette, fables, and legends could not really be considered children’s literature because______.
本题是细节题。第一段第四句介绍了原因：Because children at that time were considered “miniature adults”, books were didactic in nature.(因为那时的孩子被认为是“小大人”，那时的书籍本质上都是说教式的)。因此答案为选项D“这些故事是用来教育的孩子的，而不是娱乐的”。
According to the passage, what changed children’s publishing in 1774?
本题是细节题。文中第一段提到：1774年英国人约翰·纽伯利(John Newberry)改变了儿童书的出版，他开始用吸引人的样式(attractive formats)、高质量的插图或图解(quality illustrations)、坚固的装订(sturdy buildings)来设计图书，这些主要是供儿童欣赏的。因此答案为选项B。
The word “sturdy” underlined in Paragraph 1 means______.
本题是词义题。参考上题解析，这里的“sturdy”意为“坚固的”，D项的hard有此意，所以选D。robust健壮的。ornate装饰的；(文体)华丽的。soft柔软的。
What does the author mean by the statement “children’s literature began to bloom” underlined in Paragraph 2?
本题是推断题。第一段主要介绍了儿童文学的兴起，第二段提到涌现出许多优秀的儿童作品。由此可以推断出这句话的意思是：在随后的一个世纪，儿童文学开始繁荣。选项D“它（指儿童文学）变得数不胜数而且变得很普及”与画线句子意思吻合。
The word “it” underlined in Paragraph 2 refers to______.
本题是词义题。这句话表达的是：人们逐渐意识到孩童时期应该是快乐和无忧无虑的人生阶段，并且开始出版庆祝、赞美它的书籍；由此可判断出此处“it”指代的是前面的“Childhood”，答案为选项D。
According to the passage, “Alice in Wonderland” was an example of______.
本题是细节题。参考上题的解析，以及这句提到Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carrol)写的幻想小说《爱丽丝漫游仙境》(the fantasy “Alice in Wonderland”)是第一本没有任何说教，纯粹供孩子们享受乐趣的书籍。因此答案为选项C，而不是选项A。因为《爱丽丝漫游仙境》虽然是一本幻想小说，但在文章中作者是把它作为人们开始出版庆祝、赞美儿童时代的书籍例子来介绍的，因为它是第一本这样的书。
Who wrote “Little Women”?
本题是细节题。文章第二段提到：Louisa May Alcott wrote “Little Women”，所以答案为D。
The word “characterized” underlined in Paragraph 2 means______.
本题是词义题。这句话表达的是：十九世纪出现了彩色印刷；到十九世纪中期，早期儿童图书中所描述的粗糙的故事被捕捉言词和故事情节的艺术作品所取代；在此“characterized”意为“描述为”，因此答案为B。
What impact did color printing have on children’s books?
本题是推断题。参考上题的解析，彩色印刷出现之后，儿童图书更注重言辞和情节，因此也更具吸引力，答案为选项C。