Through history, children have played with toys and they help to prepare children for adult life. But the toys are changing all the time. As science and technology have changed the way adults live, the toys children play with have changed as well. Developments in science and technology have had a big effect on the toys that children play with. Today trains and mobile phones are popular toys for young children, but there were no toys of this kind before real trains and mobile phones were invented.  The materials that toys are made of have also changed.  Today lots of toys are made of plastic. Plastic is a modern, man-made material that did not exist (存在) in the past. On the other hand, some other toys that you have might not be all that different from the ones children played with 1,000 years ago. Scientists have found some bone dice (骰子)in Aberdeen. In medieval (中世纪的)times dice were used for playing games as much as they are today.

A recent survey found that half of all the children aged from 4 to 6 have played video games, a quarter of them regularly. The increasing use of electronic toys troubles Dr Singer, a professor at Yale. “One thing we know is that kids in early years need to be in touch with the real world,” he said, “No matter how brilliant they are, they’re not going to learn to walk, to move or to talk to others unless their hands or feet have a direct role in such activities.”

Some toy experts argue that the best toys are the ones that increase a child’s creativity and imagination. Traditional toys can be used for different kinds of purposes and be used in group settings, individually(单独地), and one-to-one. They are also used differently depending on the child’s age and skill level. And these toys made of natural materials are valuable for children because they teach children what the world is made of.

68. In how many ways do toys change according to the first paragraph?

A. One.    B. Two.    C. Three.    D.  Four.

69. From the article, we can know that      .

A. only children like to play with toys

B. toys have nothing to do with children’s future life

C. the development of toys is related to science and technology

D. plastic is the best material for making toys

70. According to Dr Singer,      .

A. the electronic toys are good for children if they play often enough

B. the electronic toys prevent children keeping in touch with the real world

C. children should be stopped from being hurt by the danger coming from the outside world

D. children should play with electronic toys instead of the traditional ones

   Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: Trevor The Taxi

   In this children's story, suited to younger children, we have an adventure with Trevor. He is a taxi. Trevor loves his life:

   “Sometimes he takes patients to the nursing home, where they can get better after being ill, and sometimes he takes people home when they have been shopping, and Stan puts all their packages inside Trevor's boot, so they will not get wet or broken.”

   The black cab, in this adventure, goes far beyond the call of duty whilst he achieves his wildest dreams! What could this be? Well you will just have to read this short story for yourself!

   Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: The Girl Who Believed In Fairies

   The fairy queen is upset and the elves just don't know what to do:

   “Oh, oh," sobbed the queen, getting her hankie all wet with her constant crying. For the twelfth time that day, Elgie the chief elf took her hankie and wrung it out on to the carpet of grass that grew all around the palace.”

   How will they manage to help the queen? Why was she so unhappy? There is only one person that can help! Can she do it? This is a lovely fairy tale that will glow the embers of your heart - only for young little princesses!
   Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: The Envious Kings

   This story is suitable for 6 years and upwards.

   Unfolding in the story pages of this recommendation is a children's story about two kings who were competing with each other:

   “In spite of the easy life that the two kings had, they were not happy, for each of them kept thinking that the other one had a bigger and better palace, or owned more horses, or had more jewels or even had creamier milk.”

   They were both petty and, through their envy, they caused themselves much trouble. Who do you think saved the day? Well, you will just have to read the story to find out!
   Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: The Wise Old Woman

   This story is probably suited to the 8 years old age range and upwards, although would appeal to adults, alike.

   Here I introduce you to one of my kids on-line stories listed on the writing and literature section of Hubpages. In this parable you will find a magical world of wisdom involving trees, people and someone very special.
   “As she stood and watched, the knowledge melted into her and the sapling grew...The magical transition took her breath away and as she watched on with ore, she noticed something strange.”

   So, what was this strangeness and magical transition? Let me leave you with wonderment ... and a click of the link!

   Free On-line Short Stories For Kids: Unusual Stories - Faffenburger's Odyssey

   This story is probably more suited to the older child. So who is Faffenburger? Well with one of these free on-line short stories for kids, we enter into a different realm. A world of nonsense as Faffenburger moves within alpha and omega. This is a rather unusual story as you will find out!

   “My friend, Henry Faffenburger stomped down the long lane on his short stumpy legs, moonlight glancing off his bald-spot, which was a little surprising as there was no moon that night. As he rounded the bend, he saw a pair of headlights coming toward him. They drew level, and stopped. A small man with yellow eyes emerged from the darkness behind the lights, and enquired if Faffenburger would like a lift.

   "Where are you going ?" asked my friend. "Wherever you want to go", replied the owner of the yellow eyes.”

   So, the adventure begins! Where will they go? Alpha, Omega or just the middle? After all, it was a long summer - especially the middle! Take a closer look at this - you might find something a little more strange and a little more hidden that you have noticed before. Intrigued? Well you should be with Faffenburger's Odyssey!

46. Which story is more well-received by young girls?

   A. Trevor The Taxi                                     B. Faffenburger's Odyssey

   C. The Wise Old Woman                            D. The Girl Who Believed In Fairies

47. You can find the description of a night scene in _______?

   A. The Envious Kings                                 B. The Girl Who Believed In Fairies

   C. The Wise Old Woman                            D. Faffenburger's Odyssey

48. According to the passage, the kings in “The Envious Kings” can be described as_______?

   A. Jealous              B. powerful                         C. rude                       D. ugly

49. Who will most probably find the passage useful?

   A. parents with children                              B. children who love to surf the Internet

   C. teachers in high school                             D. experts who concern children

       Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors（流星） but also because of rays from the sun and other stars．The atmosphere again acts as our protective blanket on earth．Light gets through, and this is essential（不可缺少的） for plants to make the food which we eat．Heat, too, makes our environment endurable（能持久的）, Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space, but enormous（巨大的） quantities of radiation from the sun are screened off（用屏幕隔开）．As soon as men leave the atmosphere they are exposed to this radiation but their spacesuit or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage．

       Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space．The unit of radiation is called “rem”．Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more than 0．1 rem without being damaged; the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on．The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about radiation damage – a person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her sex organs may be damaged, and this will not be discovered until the birth of deformed（畸形的） children or even grandchildren．Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and, during the outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew accumulated（积累） a large amount of rems．So far, no dangerous amounts of radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quite short．We simply don’t know yet how men are going to get on when they spent weeks and months outside the protection of the atmosphere, working in a space laboratory．Drugs might help to decrease the damage done by radiation, but no really effective ones have been found so far．

1．According to the first paragraph, the atmosphere is essential to man in that ______．

       A．it protects him against the harmful rays from space．

       B．it provides sufficient（充分的） light for plant growth．

       C．it supplies the heat necessary for human survival．

       D．it screens off the falling meteors．

2．We know from the passage that___________．

       A．exposure（揭露） to even tiny amounts of radiation is fatal（致命的） ．

       B．the effect of exposure to radiation is slow in coming．

       C．radiation is avoidable in space exploration．

       D．astronauts in spacesuit needn’t worry about radiation damage．

3．The harm radiation had done to the Apollo crewmembers ___________．

       A．is insignificant（不重要的）               B．seems overestimated

       C．is enormous                                    D．remains unknown

4．It can be inferred from the passage that ___________．

       A．the Apollo mission was very successful．

       B．protection from space radiation is no easy job．

       C．astronauts will have deformed children or grandchildren．

       D．radiation is not a threat to well-protected space explorers．

5．The best title for this passage would be __________．

       A．The atmosphere and Our Environment

       B．Research on Radiation

       C．Effects of Space Radiation

       D．Importance of Protection Against Radiation

July 21st, 2007 was a typical English summer’s day — it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I lift work at 5 pm, however, the road into our village was flooded. Our house bad never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of water greeted me. Thank God the kids weren’t with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs. And the plaster had to be torn off the walls, ceilings pulled down.

 At first we tried to push on through. We didn’t want to move the children out of home, so we camped upstairs. we put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we moved to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community（社区）.We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbours, and I’d never thought how much I’d miss that.

 Although-our situation was very bad, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what’s happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought , “We didn’t have a straw hut（茅草房）that was swept away , and our house is still sanding . We’re lucky .”

 We moved back home in August. With December coming, there’s reconstruction work to be done, so it’s difficult to prepare for Christmas. But I can’t wait — I’m going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year , I won’t need any gifts — living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions . Although we are replacing things, there’s really no rush — we have our home back, and that’s the main thing.

What does the underlined word “amiss” in the first paragraph mean?

A. Wrong.   B. Missing.   C. Right.    D. Found.

It can be inferred from the text that the author                    .

A. was sick of staying upstairs

B. cared much about her children

C. could not stand living a wooden house

D. did not deal well with her family affairs during the flood

Why does author say that they were lucky in the third paragraph?

A. Because her situation was not serious.

B. Because many other places were flooded.

C. Because she had been to Northern India.

D. Because some others suffered even more.

What does the author mainly want to express by telling her story?

A. She valued human feelings more than before.

B. She realized she almost didn’t need possessions.

C. She found Christmas gifts no longer badly needed.

D. She thought her own home was the most important.

July 21st, 2007 was a typical English summer’s day ― it rained for 24 hours! As usual, I rushed home from work at midday to check on the house. Nothing was amiss. By the time I lift work at 5 pm, however, the road into our village was flooded. Our house bad never been flooded but, as I opened the front door, a wave of water greeted me. Thank God the kids weren’t with me, because the house was 5 feet deep in water. We lost everything downstairs. And the plaster had to be torn off the walls, ceilings pulled down. ks5u

At first we tried to push on through. We didn’t want to move the children out of home, so we camped upstairs. we put a sheet of plastic across the floor to protect us from the damp. But after three months, we felt very sick, so we moved to a wooden house in a park. The house was small, but at first we were all just delighted to be in a new place. Unfortunately, things took longer than expected and we were there for 10 months. The life there was inconvenient. What surprised me most was how much I missed being part of a community（社区）.We had lived in a friendly village with good neighbours, and I’d never thought how much I’d miss that. ks5u

Although-our situation was very bad, it’s difficult to feel too sorry for yourself when you look at what’s happening elsewhere. I watched a news report about floods in Northern India and thought , “We didn’t have a straw hut（茅草房）that was swept away , and our house is still sanding . We’re lucky .” ks5u

We moved back home in August. With December coming, there’s reconstruction work to be done, so it’s difficult to prepare for Christmas. But I can’t wait ― I’m going to throw a party for our friends in the village to say thanks for their support. This year , I won’t need any gifts ― living away from home for months has made me realize how little we actually need or miss all our possessions . Although we are replacing things, there’s really no rush ― we have our home back, and that’s the main thing. ks5u

45. What does the underlined word “amiss” in the first paragraph mean?

  A. Wrong.             B. Missing.            C. Right.            D. Found.

46. It can be inferred from the text that the author          .

A. was sick of staying upstairs

  B. cared much about her children

  C. could not stand living in a wooden house

  D. did not deal well with her family affairs during the flood

47. Why does the author say that they were lucky in the third paragraph?

  A. Because her situation was not serious.

B. Because many other places were flooded.

  C. Because she had been to Northern India.

  D. Because some others suffered even more.

48. What does the author mainly want to express by telling her story?

  A. She valued human feelings more than before.

  B. She realized she almost didn’t need possessions.

  C. She found Christmas gifts no longer badly needed.

D. She thought her own home was the most important.