Question

A jigsaw is a power-driven saw (锯) used to cut sharp curves (急弯曲线) in pieces of wood.

A jigsaw is also a puzzle. It is made up of a large number of small, interlocking pieces. Each piece has a small part of a picture on it. A completed puzzle produces a picture or design.

Jigsaw puzzles were first created by producing a picture on a flat, rectangular (矩形) piece of wood, then cutting that picture into small pieces with a jigsaw – that’s where the name comes from!

Pictures found on jigsaw puzzles mainly include scenes from nature, city life and similar designs. Castles, mountains and water scenes are traditional subjects. However, any kind of picture can be used to make a jigsaw puzzle. Cartoon-styles are popular. There are companies that create puzzles from personal photographs. Completed puzzles can also be glued onto a piece of wood to make a wall hanging.

The first jigsaw puzzles were designed as geography teaching tools by John Spilsbury in 1767. His “jigsaw” was a map puzzle. It was a hand-painted map of England on a piece of wood. It was a successful teaching method. He went on to make over thirty other map puzzles. The pieces were not interlocking.

With the invention of power tools more than a century later, jigsaw puzzles with fully interlocking pieces came into being. The jigsaw machine could cut sharp curves. Then the name jigsaw puzzles came into being. Jigsaw puzzles became very popular in the United States in the early 1930s, when people had difficulty in finding jobs and making money.

Today puzzles of all sizes are a standard item in toy shops and supermarkets. However, they usually come in 300-piece, 500-piece, 750-piece, and 1,000-piece sizes. The largest one even has 24,000 pieces.

Some jigsaws are quite tricky. Try doing one with all pieces without pictures on it. A few puzzles are made double-sided, so they can be solved from either side. This increases the difficulty, because the puzzle solver cannot be certain which way up each piece goes. Some jigsaws do not have straight edges (边缘). The edge pieces could be any interlocking piece. Solving these jigsaws requires more effort than doing those straight-edged ones. Others designedly have a piece or two missing. Jigsaws are no longer educational toys but are used for entertainment or a hobby.

1.What can we learn about jigsaw puzzles?

A.Cartoon-style pictures are traditional subjects of jigsaw puzzles.

B.People can choose any photo they like to use in a jigsaw puzzle.

C.The smallest jigsaw puzzle in the world has three hundred pieces.

D.There are many small, interlocking pieces in all the jigsaw puzzles.

2.Which of the following can most probably be made by John Spilsbury?

A. B. C. D.

3.Which of the following jigsaws is the most difficult to solve?

A.A double-sided jigsaw with straight edges.

B.A one-sided jigsaw with straight edges.

C.A double-sided jigsaw with curved edges.

D.A one-sided jigsaw with curved edges.

4.What can we infer (推断) from the passage?

A.Puzzles are cheap entertainment that can be replayed or passed on to others.

B.By 1767, students began to learn geography by putting the puzzles back together.

C.Spilsbury continued to build more puzzles with different area maps and sell them.

D.Early wooden puzzles had pictures printed to the front and lines for cutting on the back.

Answer 1