Question

    When you use crayons, you can color things any way you want. Life wasn’t always so colorful, though. A hundred years ago, all crayons were black. They were used in factories and shipyards. Kids couldn’t use them because they were toxic.

Then a company called Binney & Smith had an idea. They decided to make Crayola crayons for kids and teachers to use in schools. They figured out a formula（配方）that was safe, and they also decided to add colors. The first box of eight Crayola crayons included black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow, and green. The box cost five cents. The crayons were a huge hit!

Today, many companies make crayons, but Crayola is still the biggest. They take crayons very seriously especially when it comes to colors.

For example, Crayola has a team of seven chemists and chemical engineers who do nothing all day but develop new crayon colors. Their laboratory adds the unique, secret formula to every crayon color. They blend（混合）different colors to come up with new shades（色度）. Once the engineers discover a new color they like, they test it on hundreds of kids and parents to make sure it’s really useful. Only then is a crayon ready for the box.

Then comes the hard part——figuring out what to name a new color. In 1993, Crayola introduced 16 new colors for its “Big box” of 96 crayons. More than two million kids and adults wrote in to advise on the names of the colors. Some winners were tickle me pink (bright pink), timber wolf (gray), purple mountains majesty (purple), tropical rainforest (bright green), granny smith apple (light green), and mauvelous (light pink).Over the years, Crayola has changed the names of some colors.

Around the globe, kids still say that red and blue are their favorite crayon on colors.

根据短文内容选择最佳答案。

1.The underlined word “toxic” in the passage means  “___________” in Chinese.

A.昂贵的 B.多彩的 C.有毒的

2.The second paragragh tells us _______.

A.the first box of Crayola crayons

B.the colors of Crayola crayons

C.a company called Binney & Smith

3.What do the engineers do when they discover a new color they like?

A.They throw away all the other colors.

B.They test it on kids and parents.

C.They draw pictures with it.

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.Colorful crayons existed a thousand years ago.

B.Crayola is the biggest crayon company.

C.Red and brown are kid’s favorite colors.

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A.Some new color names suggested by kids.

B.The colors developed by engineers.

C.The making and naming of Crayola crayons.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.B

5.C

【解析】

本文介绍了“绘儿乐”蜡笔的制作和命名。

1.词句猜测题。根据下文They decided to make Crayola crayons for kids and teachers to use in schools. They figured out a formula（配方）that was safe“他们决定制造绘儿乐蜡笔给学校的孩子和老师使用。他们想出一个安全的配方”，可知，之前的蜡笔孩子不能使用，是因为蜡笔的配方对孩子有害。结合所给选项，可知，toxic表示“有毒的”。故选C。

2.主旨大意题。根据第二段Then a company called…The first box of eight Crayola crayons included black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow, and green，可知，这家公司决定制造一种能给孩子和老师使用的蜡笔，所以他们想出了一个安全的配方，在这个基础上添加了颜色，第一盒“绘儿乐”蜡笔包含了8种颜色。由此可知，本段介绍了第一盒“绘儿乐”彩色蜡笔的诞生。故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据Once the engineers discover a new color they like, they test it on hundreds of kids and parents to make sure it’s really useful，可知，一旦工程师发现了一种他们喜欢的新颜色，他们对数百名的孩子和家长进行测试，来确保它真的有用。故选B。

4.推理判断题。根据A hundred years ago, all crayons were black，可知，一百年前，所有的蜡笔都是黑色的，所以A选项是错误的。根据Today, many companies make crayons, but Crayola is still the biggest，可知，如今许多公司生产蜡笔，但是“绘儿乐”仍然是最大的，所以B选项是正确的。根据kids still say that red and blue are their favorite crayon on colors，可知，红色和蓝色是孩子们最喜欢的蜡笔颜色，所以C选项是错误的。故选B。

5.主旨大意题。本文第一段和第二段主要讲述了“绘儿乐”蜡笔诞生的原因，第三段至最后一段讲述了“绘儿乐”蜡笔制作和命名的过程，由此可知，本文主要讲述的就是“绘儿乐”蜡笔制作过程和命名。故选C。