2010年6月大学英语四级考试听力预测试题(17)

　　Section B

　　Directions:

　　In this section, you will hear 3 short passages.

　　At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions.

　　Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once.

　　After you hear a question,

　　you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).

　　Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2

　　with a single line through the centre.

　　Passage One

　　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

　　Boys and girls are being prepared, even in play,

　　and girls after the tasks of their mothers.

　　to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world.

　　What is remarkable about the history of toys,

　　but how they remained the same.

　　is not how they changed over the centuries,

　　Changes have come mostly in terms of craftsmanship, mechanics, and technology.

　　Generally the same kinds of toys appeared around the world.

　　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.

　　Toys can be regarded as an art form,

　　as 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 way up.

　　The progress from a doll used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by an infant today,

　　however, is not characterized by invention.

　　Each doll is the product of the artistic tastes of the times

　　and subject to the limitations of available materials.

　　Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.

　　26. Why are the toys most boys play with different from those that girls play with?

　　27. What is remarkable about the history of toys?

　　28. Why can toys be regarded as an art form?