阅读理解

　　There seems never to have been a civilization(文明) 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 play with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are strictly 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. It is the universality of toys about their development in all parts of the world and their continuing to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. 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 (服从于) technological progress that characterizes inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of advancement. The progress from a rattle(拨浪鼓) 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 materials then ready for use.

1．The reason why the toys most boys play with are different from those that girls play with is that _____.

[　　]

A．their social roles are strictly determined

B．most boys would like to follow their father's jobs

C．boys like to play with their fathers while girls with their mothers

D．they like challenging activities

2．“The universality of toys”lies in the fact that _____.

[　　]

A．technological advances have greatly improved the making of toys

B．the improvement of techniques in making toys depends on the efforts of universities

C．the exploration of the universe has led to the creation of new kinds of toys

D．the basic characteristics of toys are the same world over

3．Regarded as a kind of art form，toys _____.

[　　]

A．follow a direct line of development

B．also greatly interest adults

C．are not characterized by progress in technology

D．show the pace of social progress

4．The author used the example of a rattle to show that _____.

[　　]

A．in toy-making there is a continuity in the use of materials

B．even the simplest toys can show the progress of technology

C．it often takes a long time to introduce new technology into toy-making

D．even a simple toy can mirror the artistic tastes of the time

　　A teacher was asking one of her pupils some questions, but not even one of the answers was correct. So the teacher __(1)___ to ask him some very simple questions. She hoped that he could give at least one __(2)___ answer.

　　“Now Sam,”said the teacher,“__(3)___ is Waterloo?”

　　“Waterloo?”said the boy.“Oh, it's a kind of __(4)___ machine, I think.”

　　The teacher was __(5)___. She shook her head and raised __(6)___ question,“Sam, be __(7)___, please. Now tell me the __(8)___ to a very, very simple question: Who was Washington?”

　　“Well,”the answer __(9)___ quickly,“Washington must be the man who uses that washing machine.”

　　The teacher got __(10)___, but she didn't __(11)___. She thought and thought, and at last she thought of the __(12)___ question--if this could be __(13)___ a question: Who is the __(14)___ of the United States now?

　　Sam thought for a long time, but he had no __(15)___ at all. Then the teacher lost her temper（脾气）. She __(16)___,“Bush!”Sam looked __(17)___ and sat down.“Stand up!”Sam stood up again. He looked __(18)___.“Oh, I'm __(19)___.”he said，“I thought you were calling the __(20)___ student.”

Smallpox, a kind of disease, has now died 　　.

A. out　　　 B. away　　　 C. off　　　　 D. down

Smallpox, a kind of disease, has now died 　　.

A. out　　　 B. away　　　　 C. off　　　　 D. down