Barbie(芭比娃娃)，believe it or not，is 50 this year and she's still as popular as ever.A doll is a doll，but Barbie illustrates how，over the last five decades，women have become a standard for judging what freedom really means. How women are treated in different countries tells you a lot about the politics and culture of where they live.
The doll that every little girl wants enables young children to test their possibilities in role playing，giving them a glimpse of what they might be when they grow up，whether to be frivolous or serious (or both)．
But in many countries that's not an option. In Saudi Arabia，where woman can't drive or go out publicly unless covered，Barbie is banned. They think Barbie dolls are offensive to Islam(伊斯兰教) and a threat to morality.
In America，she represents the swiftly changing roles of women. Barbie is fun to tease 
but she's as American as miniskirts_and_pantsuits in her flexible identities and her “growth” from model to astronaut.
Barbie inspired a dollrevolution movement. When a Teen Talk Barbie was programmed electronically to say “Math class is tough”，she was criticized by a national women's group and was regarded as a bad stereotype. Some of her critics also say she's a bad influence because she's too thin and encourages anorexia，that she has run through too many stereotypes(固定模式)，and that she lends too much significance to the fantasy stages of child's play.
In some Muslim countries, substitute Barbie dolls have been developed that promote traditional values，with their modest clothing and profamily backgrounds. They are wi
dely seen as an effort to resist the American dolls that have flooded the market.
Toy seller Masoumeh Rahimi welcomed the dolls，saying Barbie was “foreign to Muslim culture” because some of the dolls have little clothing. She said young girls who play with Barbie，could grow into women who reject Muslim values. “I think every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile，”Ms. Rahimi said.The writer mentioned “miniskirts and pantsuits”(in Paragraph 4) to imply that ________.
| A．these are the only clothes a doll should wear |
| B．these are very traditional American clothes for women |
| C．there are a range of different life options available for women |
| D．readers should wear these clothes more often |
The underlined word “anorexia” (in Paragraph 5) most probably means“________”．
| A．an illness of refusing to eat |
| B．giving up math study |
| C．the wearing of inappropriate clothes |
| D．a decrease in people's imagination |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．children who like Barbie dolls won't be so serious when they grow up |
| B．Muslim Barbies are the same as American Barbies |
| C．Muslim societies are generally more conservative than western societies |
| D．Americans have no worry about Barbie's influence on children |
It’s parents’ worst nightmare. Their child doesn’t come home one evening and is missing for several days.
When a 14-year-old boy from Atlanta, Georgia disappeared earlier this year, his mother turned to her Smartphone for clues using an app（应用程序） called Family Tracker that helped track his location.
“You can see where your loved ones are without having to call or bother them. ”said Roberto Franceschetti of LogSat, the creators of the Family Tracker, which has more than 100,000 users and is available worldwide.
Parents can track the location of their child on a map, send messages, and even sound an alarm on the phone in a long distance.
“We have an option for the sender to make a very unpleasant, noisy sound. It’s a loud alarm and we repeat that sound every two minutes until the person picks it up, ”he said.
Parents don’t need to own a Smartphone to track their children. The service is also accessible through the web, as long as the phone that is being tracked is running the app.
Family Tracker has an additional service that keeps records of all data from the app for a two-week period, which the company calls GPS breadcrumbs.
“With a subscription（预定）, we keep all the locations where people have been on our servers. You can see where your kid has been for the past two weeks. You can find out where someone was at a certain time or when that person was at a specific place, ”Franceschetti explained.
“When somebody gets abducted（劫持）, usually whoever does this throws the phone away or takes the battery out. We were hoping that our app would at least provide information on where the person was abducted or where they had been in the past. ”
But will these types of apps let out personal secrets?
“The advantages are huge compared to the disadvantages. Let’s not forget that the person always has to give initial permission—no one can be tracked unless they allow someone to do it. ”said Franceschetti. According to the passage, all of the following about “Family Tracker” are true EXCEPT that __________.
| A．it can help parents know where their children are |
| B．all parents don’t need to own a Smartphone to track children |
| C．parents can use all the services of the app for free |
| D．it has little to do with letting out personal secrets |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The app will enjoy a great popularity in the future. |
| B．The loss of children won’t be a nightmare for parents any more. |
| C．The app will repeat the loud alarm continuously whenever parents track children. |
| D．The app can keep records of information for more than half a month. |
Which belong to the functions of the new app?
a. track location b. detect criminals c. send messages
d. protect privacy e. send remote alarm f. record information
| A．a, b, c, e | B．a, c, e, f | C．a, c, d, e | D．a, d, e, f |
Like every other Olympics, the London 2012 Olympics will depend upon thousands of volunteers to help with the smooth running of the event. To show the importance of the role, London 2012 volunteers are to be called ‘Game Makers’. Lord Coe has said recently: “London 2012 is relying on brilliant Game Makers to help us create a great Olympic and Paralympic Games. ”
London 2012 Olympics volunteers will provide the face of London 2012, working behind the scenes and making sure the games are as well organized, efficient and, most importantly, as enjoyable as possible.
Despite the hard-work and often unsociable hours required of volunteers, applications to be considered as a Game Maker were unprecedented（空前的） with all the 70, 000 available positions applied within days. But, for those still interested in helping out during 2012 and being in the middle of the action, there are still a lot of opportunities available.
If you were one of those who missed out on the chance of becoming London 2012 volunteers, you can now apply to be one of the 8, 000 London Ambassadors（大使）. This important role involves greeting fans from all over the world, welcoming them to the fantastic capital city of London and providing a friendly face as well as help, advice and a good old traditional warm British welcome. The view of London most visitors take away with them after the 2012 Olympics will mostly be down to the volunteers and ambassadors, so these roles play a very important part in the process of making the UK a great place to travel to.
Becoming a London Ambassador is a brilliant way to be involved with the London 2012 volunteers scheme and become a part of what should be an historic summer. Why are London 2012 volunteers called “Game Makers”?
| A．They’ll decide whether the London 2012 Olympics are a success. |
| B．They play an important role in the London 2012 Olympics. |
| C．The London 2012 Olympics won’t be organized without them. |
| D．They will work hard and effectively. |
Which of the following can replace the underlined part “be down to” in Paragraph 4?
| A．be the responsibility of |
| B．be under the control of |
| C．be in harmony with |
| D．be in charge of |
What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To appeal to more volunteers. |
| B．To introduce the London 2012 Olympics. |
| C．To show the importance of volunteers. |
| D．To guide how to spend the historic summer. |
Zhu Haoyu, 18, a history major, wears his iPod everywhere on campus. The freshman has it going out for a walk, visiting the library or lying in bed. However, he found that his habit is like displaying a big “Do not disturb ”sign for himself.
As time slips away, he has begun to regret not having conversed much with his peers around . “As I put the little buds (耳机) into my ears, I’m immersed in a universe of my own, forgetting all troubles in the real world,” said Li.
The MP3 player is one of a number of gadgets (小玩意)—starting with the Sony Walkman, which led to the iPod, iPhone and iPad —that give people the ability to shut themselves off from world around them.
Youngsters delight in handset (手持的) technology. In public, students chat on their cell phones, stopping only to talk briefly to friends. On buses or trains it’s common to see youngsters with PlayStations instead of playing poker or sharing jokes or games. And during airline flights, people watch episodes (连续剧) of US TV dramas on their iPads, rather than talking.
The BBC News magazine recently published an article saying that headphone wearing culture is making us anti-social. “Half of humankind is wired to a parallel universe that leaves them ignoring their surroundings and fellows,” wrote Tom de Castella.
Actually, it’s a decade since Apple unveiled the iPod, which promised “1,000 songs in your pocket”. In 2007 more than half of Western residents were using an iPod or MP3 player.
Entertainment is on offer in all surroundings, not just at home. But in the meantime, it has created barriers between us. Many people subscribe to the view that the headphone culture is creating a “spoilt, selfish generation that lacks civic（公民的）culture”.
However, many users of portable MP3 players argue that the device, as a mind drug, helps them relieve stress by escaping for a while. It is also said to be able to help some students concentrate on work or study. “If you want to get away from the hucksters (小贩) on the way, just start listening to your player,” said Liu, a freshman. “They do not approach people with headphones on.” This might also mean he’s blocking those who want to ask him for the directions.
Experts, however, say that short contacts or mini conversations with strangers are helpful to our mind. Many experts warn that it is dangerous to lose touch with people in our lives.Zhu Haoyu found that his wearing the iPod .
| A．disturbed others |
| B．made it easy for him to keep in touch with others |
| C．made it easy for him to visit the library |
| D．made others unwilling to talk to him |
The underlined word “immersed” can be replaced by .
| A．lost | B．involved | C．engaged | D．interested |
What is the main idea of the fourth paragraph?
| A．Students are always busy chatting on their cell phones in public. |
| B．Young people are fond of portable listening or visual devices. |
| C．Young people like to watch US TV dramas on their iPads. |
| D．People like to enjoy the networking. |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．Headphone wearing culture makes people ignore their surroundings and fellows. |
| B．Apple released the iPod ten years ago. |
| C．There are still many people support the headphone culture. |
| D．It’s dangerous to have conversations with strangers. |
What is the writer’s attitude towards the headphone culture ?
| A．Agreeable. | B．Critical. | C．Doubtful. | D．Neutral. |
It takes less than six seconds to leave a first impression. It is said that we ought not judge a book by its cover, but come on, isn’t it the color, the design, the layout, and the title that draw us to pick up a book we’ve never heard of before? Notice what your assumptions are about a person when you are first introduced to her or him.
Something that most of us don’t take notice of is how we stand or walk. Let’s say you are going for a job interview. Within seconds you have already said a lot about yourself by the way you walk. The majority of us walk around everyday without paying any attention to what we are saying even though we are not uttering a word. There is a lot that can be said about body language from the clothes you wear to the gestures you make.
I took notice of this topic recently as I recalled something about changing my posture to improve my level of confidence. I was about to venture on a new project, which would take me out of my comfort zone. My gremlins (小精灵) were having a field day with me uttering all kinds of reasons why I couldn’t do a good job with this new opportunity. I tucked in my tummy (收缩肚子) , put my shoulders back , held my head high , and took a walk. Soon thereafter, I felt so much better. I approached the project with new possibility. Wow, what a difference ! Try it !
The ability to capture your audience when you walk into a room is sure to start you off on the right foot when going on an interview. Non-verbal signals have five times the impact of verbal (言语的)signals. So you can count on losing your audience when you walk in with head down dragging your feet regardless how much you try to change it.In the first paragraph the author intends to tell us .
| A．we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover |
| B．a person’s appearance can be misread |
| C．the first impression really means a lot |
| D．we should focus more on a person’s qualities |
The author approached his project with new possibility after .
| A．his gremlins stopped talking |
| B．he got rid of all his negative thoughts |
| C．he walked out of his comfort zone |
| D．he changed his posture to improve his confidence |
According to the author , when we go for a job interview , we .
| A．shouldn’t say a lot about ourselves |
| B．shouldn’t walk with our head high up |
| C．should pay enough attention to our body language and gesture |
| D．should only pay attention to the way we walk within the first few seconds |
The author probably believes that .
| A．non-verbal signals are more important than verbal signals |
| B．non-verbal signals are not so easy to catch |
| C．we mainly rely on verbal signals during an interview |
| D．we shouldn’t pay too much attention to our non-verbal signals |
What is mainly talked about in the passage?
| A．How to prepare for a job interview |
| B．The way we walk says a lot about us. |
| C．How to read a person from the way he walks. |
| D．How complicated body language is. |
Many women write to me perplexed(困惑的)about why they can’t form close friendships. They try new approaches, put themselves in all the right places, see therapists, and read relevant self-help books. They consider themselves interesting, loyal, kind and friend-worthy people. But for reasons unknown to them, they have a tough time forming intimate relationships. Many admit to not having even one close friend.
A recent study published in the Journal of personality and Social Psychology offers some clues as to how both nature (personality) and nurture (experience) impact our friendships. Researchers at the University of Virginia and University of Toronto, Mississauga studied more than 7,000 American adults between the ages of 20 and 75 over a period of ten years, looking at the number of times these adults moved during childhood. Their study, like prior ones, showed a link between residential mobility and adult well-being: The more times participants moved as children , the poorer the quality of their adult social relationships.
But digging deeper, the researchers found that personality—specifically being introverted (内向的) or extroverted (外向的) — could either intensify of buffer (缓冲) the effect of moving to a new town or neighborhood during childhood. The negative impact of more moves during childhood was far greater for introverts compared to extroverts.
“Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to maintain long-term close relationships,” stated Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, the first author of the study, in a press release from the American Psychological Association, “This might not be a serious problem for outgoing people who can make friends quickly and easily. Less outgoing people have a harder time making new friends.”
Families often have to relocate — across town, across the country, or across the globe. Yet, in many cases, their kids and young adolescents haven’t yet built up a bank of friendships. So the conventional wisdom is to try to minimize moves for the sake of your child, whenever possible , and to move at the end of the academic year.The passage is written mainly to .
| A．offer advice to women on how to form intimate relationships . |
| B．explain how nature and nurture impact our friendships. |
| C．explain how moves during childhood affect children. |
| D．tell us how to help children make friends. |
Which of the following is true according to the second paragraph?
| A．People who moved less during childhood have better social relationships. |
| B．The more people moved during childhood, the more friends they have. |
| C．The more people moved during childhood, the better they adjust to society. |
| D．There is no link between residential mobility and adult well-being. |
In order for children to maintain long-term close relationships , parents .
| A．should not relocate their homes |
| B．should relocate their homes within the town |
| C．had better move at the end of school year |
| D．had better move when their children couldn’t build up a bank of friendships |
We learn from the fourth paragraph that moves during childhood .
| A．have a bigger impact on an introverted person compared to extroverts. |
| B．have no impact on an outgoing person |
| C．are a big problem for both introverts and extroverts |
| D．help children better adapt to new environment |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．our friendships are mainly affected by our nurture |
| B．we can move when children have made a lot of friends |
| C．the impact of moves will disappear when one reaches adulthood |
| D．there is some way to minimize the impact of moves during childhood on children |
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