阅读理解

　　Play is the basic business of childhood, and in recent years research has shown the great importance of play in the development of a human being．From earliest infancy(婴儿), every child needs opportunity and right materials for play, and the main tools of play are toys．The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and play．To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back again and again．Therefore, it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of a child’s development．

　　In recent years, research on baby development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited(遗传的)abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life．So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated．A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully．

　　In the next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds．Every type of suitable toys should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability：Bricks and jigsaws(七巧板)and construction toys; painting, scribbling(涂鸦)and making things; sand and water play; toys for imaginative and pretending play－the first social games for learning to play and get on with others．

　　But at the third stage of play development－from five to seven or eight years old－the child is at school．But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school．It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys．

　　Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child．But once reading has been mastered, then books become the main source of learning．Toys are still interesting and valuable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun．

阅读理解

　　We often forget that people in other countries eat different things from us．In some countries．for example, rice is a staple food(主食)．In others, such as Britain and America, bread made from wheat is the most important food．In many African countries a kind of corn called maize(玉米)is the most important food．

　　Most countries have dishes that were first created there．In China such dishes as sweet and sour pork, shark's fin soup, and flied rice are very common．In Thailand and India people eat 111any different curries．They like their food hot and spicy．In England, a favorite dish is roast beef The Italians eat pasta, which is a kind of noodle made from wheat．French food is very famous everywhere．It is often very rich．

　　In recent years fast food－sometimes called‘junk food'－has become very popular all over the world．It was invented in the USA, and the first fast food was the hamburger．Interestingly, a hamburger does not actually contain ham．It's made from ground beef There are restaurants and takeout places selling hamburgers in most cities of the world．

　　The most international food, however, is Chinese．There probably isn't a city anywhere that does not have at least one Chinese restaurant．This is because there are so many different dishes from so many different parts of China that there is something for everyone, whatever their favorite kind of food．