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,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 widely
seen as an effort to resist the American dolls that have flooded the market.
     Toyseller Masounmen 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.

1．Barbie is forbidden in some Muslim countries because ________.

A．she is more deadly than a missile
B．toys are not allowed there
C．she looks 1ike an American
D．she sets a poor example to children

2.Thewritermentioned"miniskirtsandpantsuits"(Paragraph4)toimplythat________.

A．thesearetheonlyclothesadollshouldwear
B．theseareverytraditionalAmericanclothesforwomen
C．therearearangeofdifferentlifeoptionsavailableforwomen
D．readersshouldweartheseclothesmoreoften

3.Theunderlinedword"anorexia"(Paragraph5)mostprobablymeans"________"．

A．anillnessofrefusingtoeat
B．givingupmathstudy
C．thewearingofinappropriateclothes
D．adecreaseinpeople'simagination

4．WhichofthefollowingstatementsisTRUEaccordingtothepassage? ______

A．Peopleallovertheworldunderstandwhatfreedomreallymeans.
B．HowBarbieistreatedseemstoreflectacountry'spoliticsandculture.
C．WomeninSaudiArabiahavenooptionsindecidingwhattowear.
D．BarbiedollshavecontributedmuchtoMuslimculture.

5．Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethat________.

A．childrenwholikeBarbiedollswon'tbesoseriouswhentheygrowup
B．MuslimBarbiesarethesameasAmericanBarbies
C．Muslimsocietiesaregenerallymoreconservativethanwesternsocieties
D．AmericanshavenoworryaboutBarbie'sinfluenceonchildren

     There is a very famous traditional Chinese story that has a close connection to the Dragon Boat
Festival.Once upon a time on Emei Mountain there lived two __1__ spirits,White Snake and Green
Snake.These snakes,being magical,turned themselves into beautiful maidens and set off on a journey to the West Lake of Hangzhou.
     When they arrived at the West Lake they met a man __2__(name)Xu Xian.White Snake quickly fell in
love with Xu Xian and they were soon married.A Buddhist monk,named Fa Hai,warned Xu Xian __3__
his wife's deceptive(欺骗性的)appearance and suggested to him a plan.
     On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival,White Snake wished to stay home so as to avoid the Ay Tsao(艾草),used for protection from spirits,__4__(hang) on the doors of people's houses.Her husband
prepared,according to Fa Hai's __5__(instruct),some realgar wine(雄黄酒),as this was a tradition during
the Dragon Boat Festival.White Snake,thinking her magic __6__(protect)her from the effects of the realgar wine,accepted a cup.__7__ she drank the wine she became very ill and was barely able to get to her bed.
When her husband came to her side,he found not his wife but a huge white snake.So great was Xu Xian's
shock that he fell to the floor __8__.
     After recovering from the realgar wine and regaining her human form,White Snake was griefstricken to
find her husband dead.She set off on a journey to obtain a potent(有效力的)medicinal herb,__9__ could
revive her husband.After returning and reviving her husband with the medicine,she explained to Xu Xian
that the white snake he saw was __10__(actual)a dragon and that this vision was indeed a very good
omen(预兆)．Xu Xian's fears were put to rest for the moment by his wife's story.

      During the twentieth century there has been a great change in the lives of women. A woman marrying
at the end of the nineteenth century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely
to have seven or eight children, of whom four or five lived till they were five years old. By the time the
youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further
twenty years, during which chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women
marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman's youngest child will be fifteen when she is
fortyfive and can be expected to live another thirtyfive years and is likely to take paid work until sixty.
     This important change in women's life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women's
economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school and took a fulltime job. However, when
they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the schoolleaving age is
sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women marry younger, more married women
stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards return to full
or parttime work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with the husband accepting a
greater share of the duties and satisfactions of family life.
1.  We are told that in a family in about 1900 ________.
A.  a few children died before they were five
B.  seven or eight children lived to be more than five
C.  the youngest child would be fifteen
D.  four or five children died when they were five
2.  One reason why the woman of today may take a job is that she ________.
A.  is younger when her children are more enough to look after themselves
B.  does not like children herself
C.  needn't worry about food for her children
D.  can be free from family duties when she reaches sixty
3.  According to the passage, it is now quite usual for women to________.
A.  stay at home after leaving school  B.  marry men younger than themselves
C.  start working again later in life  D.  marry while still at school
4.  Many girls are more likely to ________.
A.  give up their jobs for good after they are married
B.  leave school as soon as they can
C.  marry so that they can get a job
D.  continue working until they are going to have a baby
5.  Now a husband probably ________.
A.  plays a greater part in looking after the children
B.  helps his wife by doing much of the housework
C.  feels dissatisfied with his part in the family
D.  takes a parttime job so that he can help in the home

                                 The Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement
     In 1955, bus seats for African Americans and whites were separated in parts of the U. S.. On
December 1,1955, in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, a conflict, or disagreement, started when an
African American woman named Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white man and go to the
back of the bus. The police took 42yearold Parks to jail.
     The African American community was extremely angry. They had a meeting and decided to work
together to protest discrimination. They agreed to boycott(抵制) the buses on the day that Parks went
to court. The day was a success. Empty buses drove through the streets. The city lost money. The
community decided to continue the boycott. They elected a man named Martin Luther King, Jr. to be
the leader.
     The boycott continued. It was difficult for African Americans to get to work without buses, but they
didn't stop the boycott. The city continued to lose money. Finally, the U. S. Supreme Court decided that Montgomery's bus laws were unfair and gave the African American community equal right. On December 21,1956, the bus boycott ended.
     The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The movement
eventually led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964, a set of laws that made discrimination a crime. During the
Montgomery Bus Boycott, people worked together to change the government. Today, people in the
U. S. continue to work together for a change. Now hundreds of organizations and community groups
work to protect the rights of U. S. citizens and residents.

1. How is the situation for the black in the U. S. in 1955?
A. They were treated equally.
B. They were treated unfairly.
C. They had no rights to take a bus.
D. They were not allowed to take the same bus with the white.

2. What is the cause of the Civil Rights Movement?
A. Bus seats for African Americans and white were separated in parts of the U. S.
B. Rosa Parks was sent to jail for she refused to give her bus seat to a white man.
C. The African American community had a meeting to protest discrimination.
D. A man named Martin Luther King, Jr. was elected to be the leader.

3. How long did the boycott continue?
A. Less than a year.   B. Less than a month.
C. More than a year.   D. More than a month.
4. How did the black people fight for the civil rights?
A. By refusing to take buses.
B. By refusing to talk to the white.
C. Through fights with the white people.
D. By doing nothing.

5. What is the final result of the Civil Rights Movement?
A. The U. S. Supreme Court decided that Montgomery's bus laws were unfair and gave
     the African American community equal right.
B. They elected a man named Martin Luther King, Jr. to be the leader.
C. Black people and white people can take the same bus.
D. The movement eventually led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964, a set of laws that made
     discrimination a crime.