Do your kids like plastic toys? Well, I guess it’s time for them to play with wooden toys.
I have always liked kids’ wooden toys since I was five. I always ran along on the back of a hobby horse pretending to be a cowboy from the West when I was a little boy. Now I’m a dad and I still like buying these timeless natural wooden toys. They will never be out of style. My daughter has a child’s rocking horse, and my two sons have wooden trains and cars. The great thing about this type of toys is that they will last generations if they are treated kindly. Even if they break, most of the time they can be repaired using spare parts bought from wooden-toy makers, and if the part is not too complicated(复杂的), you yourself can make the part from a piece of wood.
What if they do break and can’t be repaired? Well, at least they can be dealt with without having any bad effects on the environment. They can be turned into wood chippings and used for pathways in the country or play areas for kids. Even if the wooden toy is buried as rubbish, which is very rare these days, it will not harm the soil or the environment.
I like all types of wooden toys. There is such a wide variety of wooden toys today and the choice is getting bigger day by day. As an alternative(替代品) to plastic toys, wooden toys can’t be beaten. I’m sure in the near future wood will no doubt become the number one material for making toys, as plastic becomes more and more expensive because of rising oil prices and the environmental issues concerning plastic. Plastic toys might harm kids’ health, too.
67. According to the author, wooden toys which can’t be repaired will _______.
A. be taken back by the makers B. need a lot of money to deal with
C. not harm the environment D. be collected by collectors
68. From the last paragraph, we can learn that _______.
A. plastic will be used up sooner or later
B. plastic toys will not be allowed to be sold very soon
C. wooden toys will become more popular in the future
D. wooden toys will become more and more expensive
69. Which of the following is NOT the reason why plastic toys will be less popular in the future?
A. That plastic has bad effects on the environment.
B. That plastic toys might harm the health of children.
C. That plastic toys offer children few choices.
D. That oil prices are getting higher than before.
70. We can infer that this passage is written to _______.
A. tell us the disadvantages of plastic toys
B. advise parents to buy wooden toys instead of plastic ones
C. tell us how much the author and his children like wooden toys
D. advise toy makers to make wooden toys rather than plastic ones
When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized(崇拜) basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s. Not him.
“I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr.,” he says of his father.
So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. “I'm jumping up and down,” saying, “Mom, can I go? Can I go?”
The experience changed Dekalb's life, he tells his dad on a visit to StoryCorps. “My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off.” the younger Dekalb says. “This is the life that I want to live someday. ”
Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together — father supervising(监督) son.
“You know, it's everything for me to watch you grow,”his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced.
“I received a phone call that night. And they said, 'Well, your son was at this fire.' I said, 'OK, which way is this conversation going to go?' ” Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.
“And they said, 'But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him.'”And the word went around, 'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on Earth for a dad."
Dekalb Walcott Jr. retired in 2009. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second
-generation firefighter. "You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son."The underlined phrase “tag along” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.put out fire | B.watch basketball |
C.ask his mother’s permission | D.follow his father |
Dekalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of _________
A.8 | B.21 | C.35 | D.27 |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Dekalb Walcott Jr is proud to be a second-generation firefighter. |
B.Dekalb Walcott III wants his son to become a firefighter too. |
C.Dekalb Walcott Jr wants to pass the torch to Dekalb Walcott III. |
D.Dekalb Walcott III is proud that his son has become an excellent firefighter. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Putting Out Fire: A Challenging Job for Father and son |
B.Passing The Torch: A Firefighter Dad's Legacy |
C.Dekalb Walcott III: A Second-generation Firefighter |
D.Dekalb Walcott Jr.: A Chicago Fire Chief |
We grew up with the familiar toy bricks (积木) that gave us the imagination to build towers and castles. Generations have been attracted by this toy that lets children and adults alike create anything and everything. But with over 200 millions sets being sold a year in over 100 countries, the question remains — where did Lego actually come from?
Lego was born from the creative mind of Danish carpenter (木匠), Ole Kirk Christiansen, back in the early 1930s. He established a small business in Denmark. He and his team built a variety of household goods like ironing boards along with wooden toys. The Lego name was adopted in 1934, formed from the Danish words “Leg Godt” or “play well”, which means “I study” or “I put together” in Latin.
Christiansen’s company continued to make wooden toys until 1942 when fire struck — the entire Lego factory burned to the ground. Unwilling to give in, the factory was rebuilt and the production line restarted soon after. By 1954, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred, had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group. It was during his conversation with an overseas buyer that he was struck by the idea of a toy system.
For over 30 years, the Lego Company made only toys and related goods. Then, in 1968, the company opened its first Legoland in Denmark. Combining the Lego building bricks with a computer, the Robotics Invention System 1.5 is now the most advanced toy in the Lego Company, which is targeted at users aged twelve and above, and that includes any parents or grandparents that want to join in.
Now the Lego Company is expanding its production lines to include lights, cameras and so on. Lego Company has done a lot to entertain many children around the world. The author presents the text by ________.
A.telling an interesting story |
B.showing the process in different stages |
C.introducing a practical method |
D.describing many different activities |
Which of the following is NOT true about the Robotics Invention System 1.5?
A.It is the most advanced toy in the Lego Company. |
B.It combines the Lego building bricks with a computer. |
C.It is intended for users aged twelve and above. |
D.It is the most expensive toy invented since 1968. |
What is the correct order of the following events in the development of Lego?
a. The entire Lego factory burned to the ground.
b. The company and its products adopted the name Lego.
c. The company opened its first Legoland in Denmark.
d. Godtfred had become the junior managing director of the Lego Group.
A.cadb | B.cbad | C.abcd | D.badc |
What can we learn from the text?
A.The Lego Company expands its production lines with computers. |
B.The author thinks highly of Lego, which entertains many children. |
C.The name Lego means “I put together” in the Danish language. |
D.Lego enjoys the greatest popularity among children of 12. |
In a movie, a woman reads a storybook to her friend’s daughter. As they approach the last page, she reads, “...and Cinderella and the prince lived happily together ever after.” She closes the book and looks at the young girl, adding, “You know, things don’t always happen like this in real life. I just think you should know that now.”
We were all raised on fairy tales with glass slippers, brave princes and magic! It didn’t take too long to realize that stories like that aren’t necessarily true. In the life, you learned that glass slippers are really uncomfortable, no prince is perfect and magic doesn’t always work.
So what do you do when the way you planned things is not the way they turned out?
Know that parts of your fairy tale have already been written, and sadly, there’s not a whole lot you can do about those first few chapters.You didn’t get the best start.Your trust was unexpectedly betrayed. You didn’t get the job. Whatever falls and failures that happened in your past are just that in your past. There’s still more to the story.
While your life has a lot of contributors(投稿者), you are the editor-in-chief. You take what’s there and create the masterpiece. All the good pages and the bad can come together to make a beautiful adventure.
When you find yourself wishing your life was more like the fairy tales, remember that in some ways it already is. There will be dragons, bad witches, great romances, winding roads and friends to help you along the way. So, keep rewriting your story every day that you’re alive. Whether it’s a comedy, tragedy or a little of both, the pen is in your hand. How it all ends is up to you. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To help the readers to live a good life. |
B.To encourage the readers to write their own stories. |
C.To advise parents to tell the fairy tale to their kids. |
D.To describe the difficulties in today’s education. |
Which of the following may NOT often appear in the fairy tale?
A.Glass slipper. | B.Winding roads. |
C.Sad ending. | D.Bad witches. |
According to the fires paragraph, we know the woman is ________.
A.wise | B.cruel | C.brave | D.stupid |
Why does the author mention the question in Paragraph 3?
A.To express the doubt to life |
B.To compare different ideas. |
C.To introduce a point for discussion. |
D.To describe the conditions in life. |
The aims of the Illustrators(插图画家) Exhibition, staged as part of the Bologna Children's Book Fair, organized by BolognaFiere and held from 23 to 26 December, are to bring illustrators and publishers together and to promote illustrators and their works among publishers.
QUALIFICATIONS
*Individual illustrators or groups of illustrators of any nationality, if they were born before 31st December 1996, whose artwork is intended for use in children's books, are qualified to enter the Exhibition, either directly or through publishing houses or schools.
*Please state in the application form whether you are entering work for the Fiction or Non Category. Illustrators may only enter one category.
`*Artwork previously presented to the Exhibition may not be re-entered.
*The confirmationform must be filled in and a photograph attached, then presented together with illustrations no later than15 October.
SHIPMENT
Entries may be delivered by post, express delivery service or by hand. From abroad, please use the following forms:Form "A" for registered mail or post by air;Form "B" if using an international forwarding agent or airline. To avoid delays, material should not be sent by normal post. Material should be sent "carriage (运费) paid", including any customs and delivery costs.
BolognaFiere may not be held responsible for the non-arrival or late arrival of artwork.
All published works must be accompanied by a declaration bearing the ISBN number, publisher's name and address.
REQUIREMENTS
The illustrations (i.e. the size of the sheet)must not exceed the following dimensions:
Fiction: 32*42cm (or 42*32cm) Non-fiction: 50*70cm (70*50cm)
Illustrations in larger formats will not be considered, nor will they be returned by BolognalFiere.
The illustrations must be on paper or flexible board, maximum thickness 2mm.According to the text, the Illustrators Exhibitions_________.
A.will last five days in all |
B.is intended to pick out works for story-books |
C.can strengthen the relationship between illustrators and publishers |
D.is held by the Bologna Children's Book Fair |
The illustrators of the Illustrators’ Exhibitions_________.
A.should be no more than 16 |
B.may re-enter their artwork after it is returned |
C.may choose to attach a photo to the application form |
D.should state the category of their artwork clearly |
Which of the following is unacceptable for delivering entries?
A.Normal post. | B.Airline post |
C.Registered mail. | D.Express delivery |
In life, people come across many experiences, which they remember throughout their lives. I had a similar experience, too.
I was very excited. It was the day of my last paper of the final examination. My mind was full of thoughts of how I would spend my vacation. I was especially excited of the invitation that my uncle had given me to stay with him for a few days in Cambridge.
I was prepared for the subject, physics. My friends and I were on the ground doing the last minute revisions and also discussing the questions that were supposed to come in the paper. Suddenly the bell rang and we got into our classrooms. The teacher came and quickly handed out the answer paper and the question paper. The paper was of two hours and some of the expected questions came. I finished it almost forty-five minutes earlier. But since it was a rule not to collect the answer paper before the allotted(规定的)time. the teacher was not collecting and I had to sit till the time was over. I checked my paper twice and corrected some of the mistakes in it. I started thinking about the place my friends and I had planned to go after the paper.
Though I was thinking for a long time, the time seemed to be endless. So I thought of drawing something on the question paper and turned it overleaf. I was shocked to see that the page which I had supposed to be blank had four more questions on it which carried 20 marks and would take at least half an hour to complete. I had a quick glance at my watch. There were only 10 minutes left. I was so nervous that I was hardly in a state to write anything. They were the sub-questions(小题)of the last question. Suddenly our physics teacher came in and told all of us that in the last question, out of 6 sub-questions only 2 had to be solved. I felt very much relieved.
Thereafter I never made such mistakes again. But I realized that my anxiousness and excitement could have cost me to lose 20 marks and decided never to make such a mistake again.Which of the following statements is true?
A.The writer didn’t work hard at physics. |
B.The writer lost 20 marks for the last question. |
C.The writer made some mistakes during the exam. |
D.The questions on the paper were difficult for the writer. |
The underlined word “relieved” means ________.
A.more nervous | B.less afraid |
C.more surprised | D.less worried |
We can infer from the passage that _____________.
A.the writer did 2 sub-questions of the last question |
B.the writer turned overleaf to do the sub-questions |
C.the writer spent 45 minutes finishing the paper |
D.the writer got full marks in the physics exam |
We can learn from the passage that we should _____________.
A.learn some exam skills |
B.concentrate on what we are doing |
C.try our best to do well in the exam |
D.be careful not to make mistakes in the exam |