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Toys have formed part of human culture since the earliest times. Every society has provided its children with imitation of human beings or animals, and dolls are probably the oldest form of toy. No dolls have been found in prehistoric graves¹, but this may be because they were made of materials like wood or cloth that have perished. Nevertheless, a doll with movable arms has been found in a Babylonian grave, and there were certainly dolls in Egypt over six thousand years ago.

Other ancient toys include balls and sticks, and it is clear that most games requiring physical action were originally introduced to train boys in the art of warfare². Sometimes the result went beyond the inventors' intention. Football was banned³ in England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I because it became too violent. But boys continued to play with toy soldiers and weapons. We have examples dating from the Middle Ages. Moving toys also have a long history. The Chinese developed explosive toy weapons from the use of fireworks, and many early toys employ wheels. Modern technology has made possible the production of sophisticated moving toys like model railways, aircraft controlled by radio, and dolls that can walk.

Children need toys because many adult skills are developed from playing with them. Children who learn to construct model aircraft are using their hands to a purpose; children who solve jigsaw puzzles are using their minds. Above all, children's imagination is stimulated by playing with objects.

But it is not clear that giving children particular toys changes the nature of their games, or that the most elaborate toys will be the ones they like most. Many parents are upset to find that two or three days after Christmas or a child's birthday, the expensive presents they bought have been broken or are lying in a corner of the room, and the child is once again happily building an imaginary castle with a few pieces of wood or playing with an old teddy bear the parents think is ugly and should be thrown away.

¹ grave —могила

² warfare — война, боевые действия

³ to ban—запрещать

Test № 26

I. Определите, верны (True) или неверны (False) сле­дующие утверждения.

1. The oldest form of toy is an imitation of human beings.

2. People have found toy soldiers dating from Middle Ages.

3. At one time playing football was not allowed in most of the European countries.

4. According to the author, giving children particular toys changes the nature of their games.