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.