Toys oddly remain the same

HERE'S a passage from the CET-4 test of June 1999. Read it over and try to find the correct answers to the questions.


There seems never to have been a civilization 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 in today's world, most boys played with some form of toy and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are rigidly determined, boys imitate their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers. 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 how they changed over the centuries, but how they remained the same. Changes have come mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology.

It is the universality of toys in their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the Americas, China, Japan and among the Arctic (北极的) peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys imitate their surroundings. Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles.

Because toys can be regarded as an art form, they have not been subjected to technological leaps that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the oxcart to the automobile is a direct line of ascent (进步). 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 available materials.

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

A) their social roles are rigidly determined.

B) most boys would like to follow their fathers' professions.

C) boys like to play with their fathers and girls with their mothers.

D) they like challenging activities.

2. One aspect of "the universality of toys" lies in the fact that ______

A) technological advances have greatly improved the durability of toys.

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

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

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

3. Which of the following is the author's view on the historical development of toys? ______

A) The craftsmanship in toy making has remained essentially unchanged.

B) Toys have remained basically the same all through the centuries.

C) The toy industry has witnessed great leaps in technology in recent years.

D) Toys are playing an increasingly important role in shaping a child's character.

4. Regarded as a kind of art form, toys______.

A) follow a direct line of ascent.

B) also appeal greatly to adults.

C) are not characterized by technological progress.

D) reflect the pace of social progress.

5. The author uses 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 reflect 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

Answers: A, D, B, C, D



Now let us see how the correct answers can be found and what problems students may have in reading comprehension.

Question 1 tests the ability to make generalizations. To get the correct answer, you have to read paragraph 2 carefully and get the main idea of it. The first sentence of this paragraph tells the fact that boys and girls play with different kinds of toys. Why? The next two sentences give an account of the reason: their social roles are pre-determined and they are learning to step into the roles and responsibilities of their adulthood. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is A).

Question 2 is a global question. A thorough understanding of paragraphs 3 and 4 will help you find the correct answer. An important clue was provided in the question stem, ie. "the universality of toys". You can pinpoint the third sentence in paragraph 3 as the key sentence, which says: "It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their persistence to the present that is amazing". That is an emphatic sentence structure: It is... that... . Once you grasp the meaning of the key sentence, you can easily get the correct answer D). However, about 39 per cent of the students chose the wrong answer partly due to their poor mastery of vocabulary. Perhaps, they mixed up "universality", "university" and "universe".

Question 3 is another general question. It chiefly tests the understanding of the third paragraph, which discusses the universality of the development of toys from the perspectives of both time and space. Question 2 deals with the universality from the perspective of space, and Question 3, from the perspective of time. So B) is the correct answer.

Question 4 is a local question. It tests the understanding of the first sentence in paragraph 4. Obviously the correct answer to this question is C). But only about half the students got the correct answer. What's wrong with the other half? Perhaps "they (toys) have not been subject to technological leaps" in the first sentence, paragraph 4, is a pitfall for them. They don't know "be subject to" means "likely to be affected by", and "have not been subject to" means "are not likely to have been affected by".

Question 5 asks the students to guess the author's intention in including the example of a rattle. This question can be treated as a local question as well. If you understand the last two sentences correctly, you can hardly miss the answer to question D) because the other three can be easily excluded. About 60 per cent of the students got the correct answer.