The Lego Group had a very humble beginning in the workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Denmark. Christiansen began creating wooden toys in 1932. Two years later, he stumbled on the Lego name by putting together the first two letters of the Danish words Leg and Godt, which mean “play well.” The name could be interpreted as “I put together” in Latin; it also corresponds to the Greek verb meaning “gather” or “pick up.”
In 1947, the company expanded to making plastic toys. At first, the use of plastic for toy manufacture was not highly regarded by retailers and consumers of the time. Many of the Lego Group’s shipments were returned, following poor sales. However, Christiansen’s son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, saw the immense potential in Lego bricks to become a system for creative play. As the junior managing director of the Lego Group, he spent years trying to improve the “locking” ability of the bricks and made the bricks more versatile. In 1958, the modern interlocking brick design was finally developed and patented.
Today Lego is sold in more than 130 countries. Every minute 33,824 Lego bricks are made, and kids around the world spend 5 billion hours a year playing with Lego. There will be more than 400 million people playing with Lego bricks this year. On average, every person in the world owns 62 Lego bricks, and about seven Lego sets are sold every second.
This year Lego fans all over the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tiny building blocks. Though already 50 years old, Lego is still the same product it was in the 1950s. Bricks bought then are still compatible with current bricks and that is probably the reason the toy has never fallen out of favor.
65. Which of the following is true about the name Lego?
A. It is a combination of Greek and Latin words.
B. It was created by Ole Kirk Christiansen’s son.
C. It was created in 1947 for naming the plastic toys.
D. It came from Danish words meaning “play” and “well.”
66. When did the Lego brick become as a creative form of toy?
A. 1958 B. 1947 C. 1934 D. 1932
67. Which of the following is true in describing the popularity of Lego?
A. More than 5 billion people in the world own Lego sets.
B. Children spend an average of 62 dollars on Lego bricks each year.
C. People in the world spend 400 million hours playing with Lego every year.
D. The Lego Group now produces more than 30 thousand toy bricks every minute.
68. What is the main reason that Lego remains popular up to now?
A. Old Lego bricks may still be connected to new ones.
B. The company hasn’t changed its name since 1947.
C. The material for the bricks has proved to be safe.
D. The price of the toy is relatively reasonable.
For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Until I took Dr. Offutt’s class, I was an underachieving student. But I left that class
50 _never to underachieve again. He not only taught me to think, he convinced me, as much by examples as words, that it was my _51 obligation to do so and to serve others.
Neither of us could know how our relationship would 52 over the years. When I first came back to DeMatha to teach English, I worked for Dr. Offutt, the department chair. My discussions with him as he mentored me were like graduate seminars in adolescent (青少年) 53 , classroom management and school leadership.
After several years, I was 54 department chair, and our relationship shifted again. I thought that it might be 55 to chair the department, since all of my former English teachers were 56 there, but Dr. Offutt supported me 57 . He knew when to give me advice about curriculum, texts and personnel, and when to let me 58 my own course.
In 1997, I needed his 59 about leaving DeMatha to become principal at another school. 60 he had asked me to stay at DeMatha, I might have. 61 , he encouraged me to seize the new opportunity.
Five years ago, I became the principal of DeMatha. 62 , Dr. Offutt was there for me, letting me know that I could 63 him as I tried to fill such big shoes. I’ve learned from him that great teachers have an inexhaustible wealth of lessons to teach. Even if his students don’t know it yet, I know how 64 they are: I’m still one of them.
50. A. anxious B. eager C. determined D. worried
51. A. family B. legal C. academic D. moral
52. A. evolve B. stay C. remain D. worsen
53. A. process B. procedure C. development D. movement
54. A. called B. appointed C. entitled D. offered
55. A. awkward B. uneasy C. unnatural D. insensitive
56. A. once B. already C. still D. never
57. A. through B. throughout C. at the beginning D. in the end
58. A. chart B. head C. describe D. manage
59. A. opinion B. request C. permission D. promise
60. A. Even if B. Although C. If D. When
61. A. Naturally B. Instead C. Consequently D. Peacefully
62. A. Once again B. Now and then C. Hopefully D. Surprisingly
63. A. count on B. account for C. call on D. appeal to
64. A. earnest B. worried C. fortunate D. desperate
Complete the passage by choosing the proper words in the box.
Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
|
A．political |
B．supported |
C．gossip |
D．set E. contemporary |
F. literary G. alive H. significance I. enterprises J. figures
It is impossible to imagine Paris without its cafés. The city has some 12,000 cafés varying in size, grandeur, and 41 . The cafés are like an extension of the French living room, a place to start and end the day, to __42_ and debate.
When did the cafés in France start? The oldest café in Paris is Le Procope. It was opened in 1686 by Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, the man who turned France into a coffee-drinking society. Le Procope attracted Paris’s political and 43 elite, and in this way played an important part among the upper class. By the end of the 18th century, all of Paris was intoxicated with （沉醉在）coffee and the city 44 some 700 cafés. These were like all-male clubs, with many functioning as centers of 45 life and discussion. By the 1840s the number of cafés had grown to 3,000. The men who gathered in these cafés and 46 the theme of the times included journalists, playwrights and writers. Around the turn of the 20th century, the sidewalk cafés became the meeting halls for artists and literary 47 .
Nowadays in Paris cafés still play the role of picture windows for observing 48 life. The artists gathered at the café may not be as great as those of the past, but faces worth watching are just the same. Linger a bit and you will see that the Parisian stereotypes are still_49 and well. You’ll see the old men in navy berets; ultra-thin, bronzed women with hair dyed bright orange; and schoolchildren sharing an afternoon chocolate with their mothers. The café in Paris has always been a place for seeing and being seen.
In a typical business situation, women, _______, find themselves bumping their heads on
“glass ceiling”, a barrier to their career which is not obvious to the observer, impossible to
break through.
|
A．as they might try |
B．try as they might |
|
C．hardly as they try |
D．as they try very hard |
It’s suggested that vehicle taxes should be set ____ on how dirty the car’s exhaust is, with
no tax ___________ on the most environmentally friendly one.
|
A．depending… imposing |
B．depended…imposed |
|
C．depending…imposed |
D．depended…imposing |
Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840, _____ the evening meal was served fashionably late at 8 o’clock, thus _____ a long period of time between lunch and dinner.
|
A．in her household… leaving |
B．in whose household…leaving |
|
C．in her household…left |
D．in whose household…left |
