Fifty-three years ago Barbie Millicent Roberts first appeared in the world of toys.
Since then, Barbie doll, as everyone called her,has become the most successful toy doll in history. Her parent,the Mattel Company,said that 90% of all Ame”rican girls between 3 and 10 have at least one Barbie at home.
However, Barbie is facing some trouble at present (现在). There are many similar dolls on the market in competiotion with her. Another doll named Bratz, for example, come to life thirteen years ago. She looked more like today’s pop stars with heavy makeup(浓妆) and miniskirts. And her company offers more kind of clothes too.
It seems that Barbie has lost her magic among older girls. “ For younger girls, playing with a Barbie is much fun. But when you get older, you want something smarter and more modern,” says Vera Shepherd, a shop assitant in a New York toy store.
It is good news that on the international market. Barbie is still No. 1. although Mttel is selling ferwer Barbies int the United States three years, sales in other countries are still going up.in January 2009, Mattel openee its first Barbie store in Shanghai, where girls can shop, eat, drink or even become fashion designers for their own Barbies.
Mattel is planning big celebration for Barbie’s 53^rd birthday. Fashion designers from all over the world have been called to make new dresses for Barbie. How long will Barbie stay popuplar in the world of toy dolls? It is hard to say, but 【小题1】is surely not the age to retire(退休)。
61. Barbie’s family name is______.

American and British people use different greetings. In the USA the commonest greeting is “Hi”. In Britain it is “Hello!” or “How are you?” “Hi!” is creeping（不知不觉地进入）into British, too. When they are introduced to someone, the Americans say, “Glad to know you. ” The British say, “How do you do?” or “Pleased to meet you. ” When Americans say “Good-bye”, they nearly always add, “Have a good day. ” or “Have a good trip. ” etc. to friends and strangers alike. Britons are already beginning to use “Have a good day. ”

The British usually use “got” in the sense of “have”. The Americans hardly ever do. AmE: Do you have a car, room, etc. ? Yes, I do. BrE: Have you got a car, room, etc. ? Yes, I have.

There are a number of differences between American and British English in the spelling of words, e. g. check（US）/cheque（UK）. Many American words ending in “or”, e. g. honor, labor are spelt in British English with an “our,” e. g. honour, labour. Many verbs in American English with “ize” or “izing” forms, e. g. organize, realizing are spelt in BrE with “ise” or “ising”, e. g. organise, realising. In American English, “practice” is used both for the verb and noun. In BrE, the verb is spelt “practise”, and the noun “practice. ” In AmE, one writes “traveler,” while in BrE, one writes “traveller”.

It was once predicted that British and American English would become separate (各自的)languages finally. But the opposite has happened. The links（联系）between the two countries are so strong that linguistically（语言上）,and probably culturally（文化上）too, they are closer together than ever before.

AmE—— American English   BrE——British English

1.The Americans hardly say “_____”

A．Good-bye. Have a good day!

B．Glad to know you!

C．Hi!

D．Have you got a car?

2.What does the 3^rd paragraph talk about?

A．There are lots of differences in spelling between AmE and BrE.

B．Why do the Americans and the British use different spellings.

C．There are few differences in spelling between AmE and BrE.

D．The different usages of words in AmE and BrE.

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The two languages will become separate languages.

B．American English will be used more and more.

C．The two languages will be closer and closer.

D．British English will be used more and more.

4.The underlined word “predicted” means ______ in Chinese.

A．解释             B．预言             C．考虑             D．证明

阅读理解

Jack London was a famous American writer. He was born on January 12, 1876, in America.His family was very poor, and Jack had to leave school to make a living when he was twelve. He worked very hard.

Later Jack returned to school. He was strict with himself and worked hard at every subject, especially (尤其) literature(文学) .

In 1897, he went to Alaska to look for gold(黄金). Instead of getting gold, he found material for his books and stories. He returned home and started to write. His writings were so successful that he became rich and famous in his twenties.

But Jack London was not a happy man. He took his own life in 1916 when he was only 40 years old.

1.Jack London was from ________.

2. He was a famous ________.

3. In Alaska, he________.

4. He became famous for________ .

5. He began to work in________ and died in ________.

American and British people use different greetings. In the USA the commonest greeting is “Hi”. In Britain it is “Hello!” or “How are you?” “Hi!” is creeping（不知不觉地进入）into British, too. When they are introduced to someone, the Americans say, “Glad to know you. ” The British say, “How do you do?” or “Pleased to meet you. ” When Americans say “Good-bye”, they nearly always add, “Have a good day. ” or “Have a good trip. ” etc. to friends and strangers alike. Britons are already beginning to use “Have a good day. ”
The British usually use “got” in the sense of “have”. The Americans hardly ever do. AmE: Do you have a car, room, etc. ? Yes, I do. BrE: Have you got a car, room, etc. ? Yes, I have.
There are a number of differences between American and British English in the spelling of words, e. g. check（US）/cheque（UK）. Many American words ending in “or”, e. g. honor, labor are spelt in British English with an “our,” e. g. honour, labour. Many verbs in American English with “ize” or “izing” forms, e. g. organize, realizing are spelt in BrE with “ise” or “ising”, e. g. organise, realising. In American English, “practice” is used both for the verb and noun. In BrE, the verb is spelt “practise”, and the noun “practice. ” In AmE, one writes “traveler,” while in BrE, one writes “traveller”.
It was once predicted that British and American English would become separate (各自的)languages finally. But the opposite has happened. The links（联系）between the two countries are so strong that linguistically（语言上）,and probably culturally（文化上）too, they are closer together than ever before.
AmE—— American English   BrE——British English
【小题1】The Americans hardly say “_____”

Thomas Edison lost the first job. For the next five years he went around the country from job to job. At last Edison went to New York. He had little money. He could not buy enough food to eat. He had no place to sleep.

For many days Edison looked for work. He was hungry. At last he found work fixing  machines. He could fix the old machines. He also made new ones. The head man liked Edison’s new machines. He was going to give Edison $ 40,000 for them. Edison would now have money to do what he wanted.

Thomas Edison was then 23. He used the money to build a shop in New Jersey. He had many people working for him. But he worked more than any of them. He rested very little. Soon he was making more than 40 new things at one time.

In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell made a telephone. But it could carry voices only a little way. Edison wanted to make a better telephone. He soon made one. It could carry voices a long way.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。

1．After he lost his first job, Edison ________.

A. found no jobs in the next five years 

B. lived in New York for the next five years

C. had a bad time in the next five years

D. had no food and no sleep during the next five years

2．In New York ________.

A. Edison was always hungry

B. Edison began to have good luck after he found the work fixing machines

C. Edison got $ 40,000 by fixing machines

D. Edison made more money by fixing old machines

3．The head man was interested in ________.

A. Thomas Edison himself      B. The old machines

C. the new machines           D. Edison’s telephone

4．Edison made a telephone. It ________.

A. was the first one in the world    B. carried more voices

C. carried voices more clearly      D. carried voices much farther

5．The best title for this passage might be “________.”

A. The First Telephone            B. Thomas Edison’s Shop

C. Thomas Edison’s New Job       D. Thomas Edison—An Inventor