(木匠)from Denmark. Christiansen began creating wooden toys in 1932. Two years later, he came
upon the Lego name by putting together the first two letters of the Danish words Leg and Godt,which
mean"play well. "The name could be interpreted as "I put together" in Latin;it is also similar to the
Greek verb meaning "gather" or"pick up".
In 1 947,the company enlarged to making plastic toys. At first,the use of plastic for toy production
was not highly regarded by salesmen and consumers of the time. Many of the Lego Group"s shipments
were returned,following poor sales. However, Christiansen"s son,Godtfred Kirk Christiansen,saw the
great potential(潜能)in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play-As the junior managing
director of the Lego Group,he spent years trying to improve the "locking"ability of the bricks and made
the bricks more versatile(多用途). In 1958, the modem interlocking brick design was finally developed
and patented(获得专利).
Today Lego is sold in more than 1 30 countries. Every minute 33,824 Lego bricks are made,and kid
s around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with Lego. There will be more than 400 million
people playing with Lego bricks this year. On average,every person in the world owns 62 Lego bricks,
and about seven Lego sets are sold every second.
This year Lego fans all over the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tiny building blocks.
Though already 50 years old,Lego is still the same product it was in the 1950s.
Bricks bought then are still compatible(兼容的) with present bricks and that is probably the reason
the toy has never fallen out of favor.
B. It was created by Ole Kirk Christiansen"s son.
C. It was created in 1947 for naming the plastic toys.
D. It came from Danish words meaning "play" and "well."
B. 1947.
C. 1934.
D. 1932.
B. Children spend an average of 62 dollars on Lego bricks each year.
C. People in the world spend 400 million hours playing with Lego every year.
D. The Lego Group now produces more than 30 thousand toy bricks every minute.
B. The company hasn"t changed its name since 1 947.
C. The material for the bricks has proved to be safe.
D. The price of the toy is relatively, reasonable.
national parks. Elephants suffered a serious and steady decrease in numbers in the 1970s. This wa
s the same time when scientists were beginning to learn a great deal about elephants and their behavior.
Studies through the 1980s and into the 1990s showed a lot about their sounds and methods of
communication.
In Kenya alone, in the 1970s and 1980s, the elephant population decreased from 170,000 to
25,000. The sharp drop in numbers was the result of poachers (偷猎者) illegally killing elephants for
their ivory. The price of ivory went from $3 a pound to $50 to $100 a pound. Africa became very
attractive to poachers. Bull elephants carried the largest tusks (象牙), so they were more often killed.
With males gone and older females killed by poachers as well, there were many young elephants unable
to benefit from the wisdom of the older females and matriarchs, who lead the herds.
Kenya took a stand, international trade in ivory was officially forbidden, and $3,000,000 worth of
confiscated (没收的) ivory was burned in Kenya. The following year, only 50 elephants were lost to
poachers in Kenya instead of 3,000. But Kenya has the fastest growing human population in the world.
People throughout Africa won"t tolerate elephants eating their crops and destroying their livelihoods.
In South Africa, elephants live behind the fences of national parks. In some parts of Africa, big-game
hunters pay a lot of money to hunt elephants. This keeps their numbers down, and the money goes toward conservation. In Kenya, there were some attempts at birth control to keep the elephant population at
manageable numbers to reduce conflicts with people.
Faced with a growing human population, elephants are losing the battle for space. It"s unlikely, though,
that they will become extinct. They will live in natural parks that bring tourists to Africa as well as India
and other parts of Asia. The money from tourism will help elephants to survive.
B. they possessed bigger ivory
C. they were of smaller size
D. they ran slowly
B. most ivory was sold at a reasonable price
C. many young elephants are gaining less wisdom
D. the elephant population decreased because of the terrible climate
B. they are pursuing fun instead of profit
C. the money they pay can be used to save elephants
D. they are not hunting in national parks
B. it"s likely that elephants will become extinct
C. confiscated ivory will be kept in national parks
D. no attempts were made to reduce elephants" conflicts with people
to make mistakes elsewhere in life.
Hitting a few keys and then seeing the desired word appear in full trains children to be fast but
inaccurate when doing other things, according to Australian scientists.
They warn that this could have repercussions throughout the country, especially as more than 9 out
of 10 16-year-olds now own a mobile phone as well as 40 percent of primary schoolchildren.
In a new study, Professor Michael Abramson, a researcher at Monash University, Melbourne,
Australia, analyzed the mobile phone use of children aged between 11 and 14 and their ability to carry
out a number of computer tests.
A quarter of the children made more than 15 voice calls a week and a quarter of them wrote more
than 20 text messages a week.
When researchers studied the way in which the children handled IQ-type tests they found that
increased mobile phone use appears to change the way their brains work.
Prof Abramson said, "The kids who used their phones a lot were faster on some of the tests, but
were less accurate.
"We suspect that using mobile phones a lot, particularly tools like predictive texts for SMS (Short
Message Service), is training them to be fast but inaccurate.
"Their brains are still developing, so if there are effects then potentially it could have effects in the
future.
"The use of mobile phones is changing the way children learn and pushing them to become more
impulsive (易冲动的) in the way they behave."
Experts concerned about the possible impact of mobile phone radiation on developing brains have
given a warning over children"s use of them.
But Prof Abramson says the amount of radiation given off when texting is a mere 0.03 percent of
that given off during voice calls - suggesting radiation is not to blame for the brain effects. Instead, he
thinks predictive texting could be doing the damage.
The study was published in the journal Bioelectromagnetics and disagreed with previous studies
which suggested that text messaging encourages children"s language skills and did not damage their
ability to spell.
B. profits
C. chances
D. positive influences
B. text messaging is bad for children"s spelling
C. mobile phone use encourages children"s language skills
D. children can be more accurate if they use mobiles a lot
B. Children use mobile phones much more than before
C. The negative impacts of mobile phone radiation
D. Text messaging is making children more impulsive
For five days, Edmonton"s Downtown Park is transformed into one huge stage where artists are
able to share their talents, and where people are able to celebrate and enjoy themselves. Since its
beginning in 1980, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has been commemorating(纪念) the true
feeling of what folk music is all about and that"s the traditional togetherness(友爱) that is felt when
people gather to share stories and feelings through song.
This year will be the sixth year when volunteer Riedel will be offering up her time to the festival.
"People coming off a busy spring and summer have a moment of relaxation," Riedel said."It"s really
easy to relax, and it"s great seeing family and friends have fun together." These families and friends
come from all different kinds of musical tastes. People who take pleasure in Blues are there, so are
people who love Bluegrass. This festival does its best to develop everyone"s musical interests.
With so many years of experience, the festival has become a welloiled machine, and does whatever
it can to make attendees feel as comfortable as possible. There are free water stations throughout the
venue(举办地)for people to fill up their travel cups. When people buy food, reusable dishes are given
a $2 plate fee, but that is returned when the plate is brought back.
The festival has completely sold out of tickets, and in record time. But with big names such as Van
Morrison and Jakob Dylan, it"s easy to see how that was going to happen. There is no parking area
during the festival, so using the Park & Ride system or Edmonton Transit is highly recommended. A
bike lockup area is provided and will be available Thursday until Sunday one hour before the gates
open until 45 minutes after the gates close.
The Edmonton Folk Music Festival begins on Wednesday, Aug. 4 with Van Morrison playing the
special donation fund(基金) concert, and will finish up on Sunday, Aug. 8.
1. The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is held mainly to________.
B. remind people of the real sense of folk music
C. exhibit the good voices of great talents in folk music
D. collect old stories of folk music
B. It"s hard for people to appreciate Blues.
C. It costs people a little to fill up their cups from water stations.
D. People have to pay $2 for a plate of food.
B. the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is well organized
C. driving one"s own car to the festival is highly recommended
D. bikes are available at the festival from Wednesday to Sunday
B. One Festival for All
C. Festival for Family Gathering
D. Edmonton"s Downtown Park
through a narrow village street lined with thatched cottages painted pink or white; the sight over the
rolling hills of a pretty collection of thatched farm buildings __these are still common sights in parts of
England. Most people will agree that the thatched roof is an essential part of the attraction of the English
countryside.
Thatching is in fact the oldest of all the building crafts practiced in the British Isles. Although thatch
has always been used for cottage and farm buildings, it was once used for castles and churches, too.
Thatching is a solitary(独自的)craft, which often runs in families. The craft of thatching as it is
practiced has today changed very little since the Middle Ages. Over 800 full-time thatchers are
employed in England and Wales today, maintaining and renewing the old roofs as well as thatching
newer houses. Many property owners choose thatch not only for its beauty but because they know
it will keep them cool in summer and warm in winter.
In fact, if we look at developing countries, over half the world lives under thatch, but they all do
it in different ways. People in developing countries are often unwilling to go back to traditional materials
and would prefer modern buildings. However, they may lack the money to allow them to import the
necessary materials. Their temporary mud huts with thatched roofs of wild grasses often only last six
months. Thatch which has been done the British way lasts from twenty to sixty years, and is an effective
defence against the heat.
B. Rolling hills with pretty farm buildings.
C. Cottages with thatched roofs.
D. churches with cottages around them.
B. It is practised on farms all over England.
C. It is quite different from what it used to be.
D. It is in most cases handed down among family members.
B. their durability
C. their easy maintenance
D. their cheap and ready-made materials
B. thatching is a building craft first created by the English people
C. the English people have no special liking for thatched houses
D. most thatched cottages in England are located on hillsides
still the delight of children everywhere.
Theodore Roosevelt"s Presidency marks the beginning of the "Teddy Bear". In the year 1902, toy
bears were named "Teddy" after the president"s nickname. The Teddy Bear became known worldwide,
and is still known and loved today.It was only a few years later that the Teddy Bears were mass
produced.
In 1913, an item called the Erector Set was invented.It was a steel, motorized toy that children could
use to build models of anything. Its creator was A. C. Gilbert, a medical doctor.
Charles Pajeau created a similar wooden set called Tinker Toys in the year 1914. Tinker Toys were
made for younger children.
Raggedy Ann dolls first came on the scene after newspaper cartoonist Johnny Gruelle reproduced the
doll he made for his daughter.That was in 1915.
The following year,an architect"s son named John Lloyd Wright, invented Lincoln Logs, which were
interlocked to make structures.
Two years after Mickey Mouse was created, stuffed(填塞)Mickey Mouse dolls were made by
Charlotte Clark. This was the start of Disney merchandise.
The yoyo became popular in the United States after Donald Duncan bought a yoyo company in
1929.
The ViewMaster, a three dimensional viewer, was developed by a camera enthusiast named William
Gruber.The toy became popular when Gruber licensed Disney characters to make still, 3D images from
Disney movies and television programs.
Finally, in 1940, model airplanes were mass produced. They started out as a way for manufacturers
to sell planes to the military, but later caught on as a toy.
The toys that we know and love today have had their roots from these ancient times. Isn"t it
interesting to know that if it hadn"t been for all these creative people, most of the games you know today
would never have been?
B. To be easily pronounced by children.
C. To meet the advertisers" needs.
D. To memorize President Theodore Roosevelt.
A. Shape.
B. Material used.
C. Themes.
D. Price.
B. After Gruber licensed Disney characters.
C. Two years after Mickey Mouse was created.
D. When Disney merchandise was started.
B. some toys created in ancient times now disappear
C. creativity exists in every field all the time
D. toys nowadays are totally different from those in ancient times
B. The history of Disney characters.
C. Toys in the early 1900s.
D. The financial meaning of toys.
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- 4函数y=2-x+1,x>0的反函数是______.
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