【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 the age of automationDThere is a change of attitude toward the pink and blue divide in toys. Target, the secondlargest discount retailer (折扣零售店) in the US, announced in 2015 that it would get rid of signs labeling toys for boys or for girls. A UK campaign called Let Toys Be Toys seeks to get retailers to stop dividing toys and books for one gender (性別) only. Researchers have worried about the effect of having toys that were so segregated (分開的)by gender for some time, says Lisa Dinella, associate professor at Monmouth University. Clearly divided pink and blue toys — with dolls and tea sets on one side and trucks and building blocks on the other — are actually a pretty recent development. As recently as the 1970s, toys sold in the US were not always marketed with clear gender distinctions. By the 1980s and 1990s, however, toys started to bee more gender segregated, though it was still not so sharply divided as today, says Elizabeth Sweet, a lecturer in sociology at the University of California, Davis. While it may seem like a small issue, toys help children to develop new skills, says Dinella. Dolls and pretend kitchens are good at teaching kids early language skills. Building blocks like Lego and puzzles teach skills related to space, which help set the groundwork for learning math. “Both genders lose out if we put kids on one track and they can39。t explore,” says Dinella. Some parents try to introduce other types of toys and get away from the strictly pink and blue divide. But it39。s difficult for parents to ignore the marketing and get their kids toys or costumes meant for the other gender, says Dinella. While some parents try to broaden the toys their children are exposed to, there is often a social cost to the child for crossing gender boundaries. “So it is hard for parents to throw out the rules,” she says. Researchers hope that one day, toys will stop being broken up by gender and will instead be categorized (分類) by type, like puzzle toys, dolls or children39。s bikes. Toy choices, Sweet says, should be based on kids39。 personal interests, and not on their gender. 12. What trend is described in the first paragraph?A. Offering different toys to boys and girls. B. Giving kids more time to play with toys. C. Making more colorful toys for kids. D. Ending the gender divide in toys. 13. How will the pinkandblue toy divide affect kids according to Dinella?A. Helping them develop in a quite normal way.B. Making them better municate with others.C. Urging them to master more knowledge and skills.D. Causing them to miss many opportunities to learn.14. What is hard for the parents mentioned by Dinella? A. Buying kids toys at relatively low prices. B. Buying kids toys aimed at the other gender. C. Buying kids new types of toys. D. Buying kids highquality toys. 15. What might be Sweet39。s attitude to Target39。s decision? A. Supportive. B. Doubtful. C. Uncaring. D. Curious. 第二節(jié)(共5小題；每小題2分，滿分10分) 根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。Some people say volunteering abroad is unaffordable for ordinary people． 16 Volunteering isn’t so expensive that it’s only an option for the welloff．Last year I spent 10 weeks volunteering in Arizona，helping to preserve America’s natural beauty．Altogether，it cost me around￡1，000 —a sum which I covered mostly by working in my student bar．I spent my time maintaining trails，building fences and caring out revegetation projects in some of the national parks and national monuments of America. Summer temperatures in Arizona stay well above 35℃，not ideal if you’re carrying 50kg of concrete for 10 hours at a time． 17 One afternoon I was taking a nap when suddenly I realized that a snake was resting only 3 meters from me．The experience，needless to say，improved my strength o