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 American 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 competition with her. Another doll named Bratz, for example, came to life thirteen years ago. She looks more like today's pop stars with heavy makeup(浓妆) and miniskirts. And her company offers more kinds 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 assistant in a New York toy store.

It is good news that on the international market, Barbie is still No. 1. Although Mattel is selling fewer barbie in the United States these years, sales in other countries are still going up. In January 2009, Mattel opened 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 celebrations for Barbie's 53rd birthday. Fashion designers from all over the world have been called to make new dresses for Barbie. How long will Barbie stay popular in the world of toy dolls? It is hard to say, but 53 is surely not the age to retire(退休).

1.Barbie's family name is_______.

A. Roberts B. Millicent C. Shepherd D. Bratz

2.Barbie's trouble is that_______.

A. it wears heavy makeup and miniskirts

B. other dolls are more popular with little girls

C. other dolls are trying to beat her in the market

D. it has become less popular in the international market

3.Girls can do the following in the first Barbie shop in Shanghai except_______.

A. going shopping B. having food

C. drinking juice D. taking photos

4.What's the meaning of the underlined words 'fashion designers' in the passage?

A.珠宝设计师 B.发型设计师

C. 舞台设计师 D. 服装设计师

5.What is the best title of the passage?

A. First Barbie shop in Shanghai

B. Barbie's past and present

C. Barbie's 53rd birthday party

D. Barbie lost her magic

When you are learning English, you find it not clever to put an English sentence, word for word, into your own language. Take the sentence “How do you do?” as an example. If you look up each word in the dictionary, one at a time, what is your translation(翻译)?It must be a wrong sentence in your own language.

Languages do not just have different sounds, they are different in many ways. It’s important to master(掌握) the rules for word order in the study of English, too. If the speakers put words in a wrong order, the listener can’t understand the speaker’s sentence easily. Sometimes when the order of words in an English sentence is changed, the meaning of the sentence changes, But sometimes the order is changed, the meaning of the sentence doesn’t change. Let’s see the difference between the two pairs of sentences.

“She only like apples.” “Only she likes apples.”

“I have seen the film already.” “I have already seen the film.”

When you are learning English, you must do your best to get the spirit(精神实质) of the language and use it as the English speaker does.

1.From the passage we know that when we are learning English.

A. we shouldn’t put every word into our own language

B. we should look up every word in the dictionary

C. we need to put every word into our own language

D. we must read word by word

2.We can learn from the passage that .

A. the meaning of an English sentence always changes with the order of the words

B. the order of words can never change the meaning of an English sentence

C. sometimes different order of words has a different meaning

D. if the order of words is different, the meaning of a sentence must be different

3.“She only likes apples.” means .

A. is the same as “Only she likes apples.”

B. is different from “Only she likes apples.”

C. means “She likes fruit except apples.”

D. means “She doesn’t like apples.”

4.Which is the best title for this passage?

A. Different Orders, Different Meanings.

B. How to Speak English?

C. How to Put English into Our Own Language?

D. How to Learn English?

When you walk into the small Australian town of Coober Pedy, you may be surprised by what you can see. It’s just barren (荒芜的) land there!

So why even call it a town? There are more than 4,000 people of 48 nationalities. However, all of the people live underground!

Coober Pedy was established(建立) in 1915, following the discovery of opals (猫眼石). The town is sometimes called the “opal capital of the world,” because it is the largest opal mining area in the world.

Due to a desert climate (沙漠气候), people came to realize that while working under the ground was easy, living above it was not. The solution was to move underground, by changing old mines into homes and establishing the world’s first and most likely, only underground town.

As years have gone by, the homes have become bigger. There are now also some hotels for tourists. They come from all over the world just to see this unusual town. Coober Pedy is probably best known for its unique style (独特风格)of underground living.

While the structures (结构)may be located underground, they are in no way worse than those that lie above. Not only do their walls have the color of beautiful red, but also the structures have all the modern equipment like walk-in closets, modern kitchens and televisions. And the town also has gift shops selling opal jewelry, a couple of museums and even a church!

Besides, Coober Pedy is also a favourite among filmmakers. And it has appeared in a series of movies such as Pitch Black, Red Planet and Opal Dream.

1. This passage tells us that Coober Pedy is a(an) ________ .

A .world famous person B. underground town

C. film-making company D. precious stone

2. We know from the passage that Coober Pedy ________ .

A.is a small town with 400 people

B. was established before the year 1915

C.is famous for its desert climate

D. was established after opals were discovered

3. People moved to live underground because________ .

A. there were large opal mines there

B. living above the ground was not easy

C. it was the opal capital of the world

D. it was the world’s first underground town

4. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. People in Coober Pedy changed old mines into homes.

B. The underground homes have all the modern equipment.

C. Tourists come to Coober Pedy just to buy opal jewelry.

D. The underground homes are as good as those that lie above.

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

A.Opal Mining in Australia

B. The Desert Climate in Coober Pedy

C. Gift shops in Coober Pedy

D. World’s First Underground Town

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