Question

A lot of toys have come and gone over the past 60 years, but Barbie (芭比娃娃) - short for Barbara - has always had a home on toy store shelves. According to The New York Times, however, “she” is more than just a toy. Barbie is watching the society’s changing attitudes (态度) toward women.

When Barbie was first introduced by Ruth Handler (1916-2002), one of the starters of US toy company Mattel, she had good plans. “Barbie has always shown the fact that a woman has choices,” according to a book, Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story.

But the earliest Barbie wasn’t offered too many choices at all. Barbie appeared either in a swimsuit or a housewife’s dress.

A good point is that the following years showed some progress, as Mattel introduced Barbie dolls with different skin colors and clothing for different jobs and hobbies. A new turning point came on International Women’s Day of 2018, when the company started a line of “Inspiring Women”. The dolls came out as famous women from history, including great US pilot Amelia Earhart and UK boxer (拳击手) Nicola Adams, which encouraged all other women.

But even though Mattel seemed to have good purposes, these new dolls weren’t safe from bad words. Unlike the real Nicola Adams, for example, the doll has no muscles (肌肉). Instead, it’s designed with a slim body, just like every other Barbie. According to the reporter Grace Kang, this exactly reflects the world’s present attitude toward women. “We’re allowed to be fit, but we’re not supposed to have too many muscles. We’re allowed to be clever, but smart women are meant to look like models with glasses on. We’re allowed to be creative and artistic, but quickly become ‘crazy’ if we start to look too messy,” she wrote.

No, Barbie isn’t perfect. But she’s slowly changing people’s views. Maybe that’s one thing real women can do.

1.According to Paragraph 1, we know Barbie has always been __________.

A.expensive B.popular C.changeable

2.Which of the following sentences could be added to describe the process in Barbie’s role changing?

Barbie used to be a housewife.

→

→

Barbie is a boxer who won the gold medal.

A.Barbie took care of babies at borne.

B.Barbie became a great pilot in history.

C.Barbie with dark skin worked as a nurse.

3.The underlined word “Inspiring” means __________ in the passage.

A.鼓舞人心的 B.启发灵感的 C.多愁善感的

4.What might be the world’s present attitude toward women according to Grace Kang?

A.Women are supposed to be fit and strong.

B.Women should be like a crazy artist

C.Women are expected to be perfect.

5.What is the purpose of the writer?

A.To make people change views toward women.

B.To help women to be more creative and artistic.

C.To encourage women to be perfect like Barbie.

Answer 1