1 . In 1959, Handler changed how toy dolls were made when she introduced “Barbie” to the world. With her mature figure, Barbie was one of the first “grown-up” dolls to hit the retail market.
Handler wanted to create a toy that was different from the baby dolls that dominated little girls’ toy boxes. She wanted a doll that girls could project their future dreams upon and allowed for limitless clothing and career choices. Inspired by paper dolls of the time, Handler, to much disagreement, made sure Barbie had the body of a grown woman.
“My own philosophy of Barbie,” Handler wrote in her autobiography, “was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman had choices.”
There’s even a Barbie for cancer patients — Brave Barbie — a partnership between Mattel and CureSearch that sends a bald (光头的) Barbie to families affected by cancer. “Gifting my daughter a Barbie who suffered from cancer was tremendous,” Michelle, a cancer survivor said, “We would play with that Barbie together and I’d heartbreakingly watch her pretend to take the doll to the hospital for chemo (化疗), or place its long wig on top of its head and tell the doll ‘It’s time to be beautiful again.’”
Bald Barbie was super brave and went on awesome adventures after chemo. Sometimes she felt sick and needed to sleep, but would feel much better after a rest. Bald Barbie always beat the cancer and went on to live a long and happy life with her family. That Barbie became so much more than a plastic doll — she was a means of communication and a coping mechanism during an extremely distressing time for little families.
1. Why did Handler create Barbie?| A．To make a hit in the retail market. | B．To appeal to girls with her diverse outfits. |
| C．To do a project on women’s career choices. | D．To inspire girls to make choices as they wish. |
| A．Sad yet comforted. | B．Envious yet proud. |
| C．Overwhelmed and ashamed. | D．Heartbroken and regretful. |
| A．A reliable emotional support. | B．A glue for broken relationships. |
| C．An effective practical treatment. | D．A secret medium of negotiation. |
| A．A medical journal. | B．A charity brochure. |
| C．A financial report. | D．A story collection. |
4 . Putonghua is the official language on the mainland, but if history had played out differently, most of the people could have been speaking Cantonese.
In 1912, shortly after the end of the Qing dynasty, the founding fathers of the republic met to decide which language should be spoken in the new China.
Mandarin - now known as Putonghua - was just a northern dialect spoken by the hated Manchurian officials at that time. While it had served as China’s lingua franca(混合语) for centuries, many saw it as an “impure form” of Chinese.
Many of the leaders, including Sun Yat-sen, were from Guangdong - where people are open to new ideas. A great debate started and eventually led to a formal vote. Cantonese lost out by a small margin to Putonghua and the rest is history.
While historians today still argue about whether this story is real, it is something Guangdong people love to tell. Many Cantonese speakers feel proud of their native language, saying it has more in common with the classical Chinese than Putonghua - which is a mix of northern dialects heavily influenced by Manchurian and Mongolian.
Linguists agree to some degree. “Cantonese is closer to classical Chinese in its pronunciation and some grammar,” Jiang Wenxian, a Chinese language scholar, said. “Using Cantonese to read classical poetry is a real pleasure,” he said. “Many ancient poems don’t rhyme(押韵) when you read them in Putonghua, but they do in Cantonese.”
“Cantonese keeps a flavor of ancient Chinese. Nowadays few people understand classical Chinese, so Cantonese should be protected as a type of language fossil helping us study ancient Chinese culture.” Cantonese is spoken by about 70 million people in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau and communities abroad.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Guangdong was the only Chinese province allowed to trade directly with foreigners. Many Westerners at the time learned Cantonese. Up till very recently, there were more Cantonese speakers in overseas Chinese communities than Putonghua speakers. In Canada, for example, Cantonese is the third most commonly spoken language after English and French.
1. What’s the function of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To attraction people’s attention. |
| C．To summarize the whole passage. |
| D．To show the importance of Putonghua. |
| A．Most of the leaders are in favor of Putonghua. |
| B．Most of the leaders came from Guangdong at that time. |
| C．Guangdong people are more likely to accept new ideas. |
| D．Sun Yat-sen suggested having a debate to decide on the new language. |
| A．Because it’s as important as Putonghua. |
| B．Because it is an ancient language with a long history. |
| C．Because nowadays few people can understand Cantonese. |
| D．Because it is very helpful when studying Chinese culture. |
| A．New language, New China. |
| B．How Putonghua defeated Cantonese |
| C．The development of an official language |
| D．Cantonese almost became the official language |
