How do children play? Do kids today play differently from the ways I used to play?

When I was a child, I didn’t have many toys. A dollhouse that I once got for Christmas was the greatest gift I could imagine. My siblings(兄弟姐妹), my friends and I played “Mom and Dad” with the dollhouse and our dolls again and again, never getting tired of it. The first Lego blocks came up replacing the traditional wooden building blocks. The lack of ready-to-use-toys inspired us to create our own using many kinds of material like paper to fold into ships or hats, or wood to carve toys.

If I compare the ways I used to play with the ways my children play now, there are many differences. Their rooms are filled with toys, and nevertheless they sometimes have no idea what to play. Having too many choices makes them feel overwhelmed, unable to take advantage of each single one.

Also, the toys themselves have changed dramatically. I see many plastic toys ready to use; there is no need for children to create their own ideas and invent their own toys. Electronic toys are on the rise, displacing classical toys. Children don’t need to be creative; playing does not involve much imagination. Now they expect some kind of simulation and entertainment. Electronic toys require more passive reactions and logical thinking. Playing outdoors has become less interesting as this would keep them away from their video games and play stations.

8. According to the writer, what he played in his boyhood was________.

A. boring B. simple C. easy D. creative

9. The underlined sentence in the first paragraph probably means “_________”.

A. the desire to play has bad effects on a child’s personality

B. the desire to play is the nature of all children

C. the desire to play limits the development of a child

D. the desire to play becomes stronger as a child grows

10. Which of the following is NOT true about the author’s childhood?

A. They had few toys to play with.

B. They made some toys by themselves.

C. It was a hard time for them for lack of toys.

D. They often played the “Mom and Dad” game.

11. Which of the following may the author agree with?

A. Modern toys ought to be abandoned.

B. Toys should encourage creativity.

C. Today’s children consider playing outdoors more interesting.

D. Modern toys are more advanced than old ones.

D

A cancer-stricken British teenage girl said Thursday she had been moved by messages of support from around the world after writing an online “Bucket List” of things she wanted to do before dying.

Alice Pyne, l5, created an Internet blog in which she described her fight against a cancer of the white blood cells. “I’ve been fighting cancer for almost four years and now I know that the cancer is gaining on me and it doesn’t look like I’m going to win this one,” she wrote.

For her list, the teenager took inspiration from the 2007 film “The Bucket List” in which two men who are badly ill, draw up a list of things they wish to do before they die.

On her list, at the site www.alicepyne.blogspot.com, she has included making everyone sign up to be a bone marrow donor (骨髓捐赠者, swimming with sharks, meeting boy band Take That and getting a purple iPad computer.

Messages of support and offers of help quickly flooded her webpage and it became one of the most talked about subjects on Twitter.

“Oh, dear, and I thought that I was just doing a little blog for a few friends!” she wrote after her site attracted huge attention. “Thank you so much for all your lovely messages to me.”

Pyne, who lives with her family in the northwest English town of Ulverston, revealed the management of Take That had arranged for her to see the band after reading her blog. A group of local lawmakers have also joined forces with the Anthony blood cancer charity to encourage people to join its stem cell register.

12.What happened after Alice Pyne wrote her “Bucket List”?

A.People around the world sent messages to support her.

B.People sent gifts to her from all over the world.

C.A lot of people offered to donate bone marrow to her.

D.The media called on people to help her.

13.Alice Pyne wrote her “Bucket List” to .

A.catch people’s attention

B.say goodbye to a few friends

C.give comfort to two terminally ill men

D.express her last few wishes

14.It can be inferred from the second paragraph that Alice Pyne .

A.is unaware of her own conditions

B.is very sad to know that she will die

C.is calm to know that death is approaching

D.is still quite confident in fighting against cancer

15.Which of the following is NOT on Alice Pyne’s “Bucket List”?

A.To ask people to donate bone marrow.

B.To get a cool computer.

C.To swim with sharks.

D.To meet a boy.