In every little girl's toy box. there might be a Barbie Doll. Barbie is 50 years old this, year. It was designed(设计)in 1959 by an American businesswoman named Ruth Handler. She and her husband Elliott started the toy company Mattel. She named the new doll after their daughter Barbara. The first Barbie Doll appeared at the toy fair（交易会）New York on March 9th, 1959. This date is used as Barbie's birthday.
Mattel sold three hundred thousand Barbie Dolls in the first year at a price of three dollars. Today, a fifty-year-old Barbie in good condition might cost more than twenty-seven thousand dollars. Mattel says 90% of the girls in the United States aged from three to ten own at least one Barbie Doll. And girls aged three to six own an average（平均）of about twelve.
When Mattel created Barbie Dolls half a century ago, they never thought this doll would become a legend. Now Barbie Dolls are famous all over the world. They are sold in one hundred and fifty countries, and every second three Barbie Dolls are sold around the world.
【小题1】Who designed the first Barbie Doll in 1959?

A．Mattel.

B．Elliott.

C．Barbara.

D．Ruth Handler.

【小题2】A Barbie D011 cost _______dollars in the first year after it appeared.

A．3

B．50

C．90

D．27,000

【小题3】What does the underlined word “legend” mean in the passage?

A．传播

B．传奇

C．传承

D．传达

【小题4】The writer doesn't tell us _______.

A．Barbie Dolls are very popular with girls	B．Barbie Dolls sell well around the world
C．what the first Barbie Doll was based on	D．the doll Barbie was named after Barbara

【小题5】What's the best title of the passage? ______.

A．Barbie's birthday	B．Barbie Dolls
C．A lovely girl named Barbie	D．Why are Barbies popular

A lot of teenagers are good at art at school, but how would you feel if people called you “the new Picasso(毕加索)” or if presidents and other famous people collected your paintings?
Alexandra Nechita was ten when her paintings became famous all over the world. She visited Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and her family’s native place (祖籍) Romania where 5,000 fans came to see her at the airport. Alexandra said, “When it all started, I was moved. It was very exciting and I loved the traveling, but I got very tired. And I missed home.”
Alexandra is a good student. Her studies always come first. She only starts painting after she’s done her homework. She works on two or three paintings at a time. The paintings sell for thousands and Alexandra’s parents have given up their jobs to work for their daughter. Life for the Nechita family is very different from what it was like a few years ago.
Alexandra’s father Niki left Romania for political reasons in 1985. At first he tried his best to learn English and had different kinds of low-paid jobs. In 1987, he brought his wife and Alexandra, who was then 18 months old, to America. The family was very poor. Alexandra began to draw at the age of three.
She was drawing for four or five hours a day. Soon people offered to buy her paintings and she had her first art show at the age of eight. Stories about this child appeared in the newspapers and television. They now live in a large house with a swimming pool. Her mother said, “We started without anything, but thanks to Alexandra, we have everything we ever dreamed of.”
【小题1】Alexandra became well-known all over the world for her paintings at the age of _______.

A．18months

B．three

C．eight

D．ten

【小题2】Which country does Alexandra live?

A．America.

B．Britain.

C．Romania.

D．France.

【小题3】 Alexandra’s painting _________.

A．took her a lot of time at school

B．made her drop out of school

C．didn’t influence her studies at school

D．made her fall behind others in studies at school

【小题4】 When her family arrived in America in 1987, _________.

A．their life was very hard

B．they lived by selling Alexandra’s paintings

C．Alexandra began to draw her painting

D．her parents left their jobs and worked for her

【小题5】 From the passage, we can learn ________.

A．Alexandra was not interested in travelling

B．Alexandra’s success changed her family’s life

C．Alexandra’s parents were good at English

D．Alexandra’s stories appeared often on the radio and TV

In the deep blue Indian Ocean, there’s a beautiful island (岛) country called Maldives(马尔代夫). It’s the smallest in population and area of all the Asian countries. It has an area of 90,000 km², but 99% of the area is covered by the sea. It has 1,190 islands and is about 820 km from North to South. People live on no more than 200 islands, while another 87 are visited by tourists. Some of the islands are only used for fishing or farming. The capital Maléis is on one of the middle islands, and about 75,000 people live there. The people there are friendly and welcoming. They use their traditional games to welcome people from all over the world. It is sunny on the islands almost every day, and makes them look so beautiful. People can enjoy lots of things in Maldives.
【小题1】How many people live in the capital Maléis?

A．75,000.

B．90,000.

C．1,190.

D．200.

【小题2】What does the writer mean “Some of the islands are only used for fishing or farming”?

A．There are no people living on some islands in Maldives.

B．Tourists are everywhere in Maldives.

C．People in Maldives like traveling very much.

D．People in Maldives can do nothing except fishing or farming.

【小题3】What does the writer think of the people in the Maldives?

A．He thinks they’re boring.

B．He thinks they’re poor.

C．They are friendly and welcoming.

D．He doesn’t like them.

On a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged ,rich white South American lady found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin stewardess(机舱乘务员)over to complain about her seating.
“What seems to be the problem, Madam?” asked the stewardess.
“Can’t you see?” she said. “You’ve sat me next to a black man. I can’t possibly sit next to this kind of human. Find me another seat!”
“Please calm down, Madam,” the stewardess replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do---I
Will go and check to see if we have any free seats in Club(商务舱)or First Class.”
The lady had an unfriendly look at the outraged(被激怒的)black man beside her.
A few minutes later the stewardess returned and said to the lady with a self –satisfied smile, “I’m sorry, Madam, this Economy(经济舱)is full, and Club is also full. However, we do have one seat in First Class.”
The lady could not help looking at the people around her. But before she had a chance to get up or make any answer, the stewardess continued , “ We seldom make this kind of upgrade(升级),however, and I had to report it to the captain(机长).When the captain heard this,he said that it was not proper to make someone sit next to such an obnoxious(令人讨厌的)person.” Having said that, the stewardess turned to the black man sitting next to the lady, and said, “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have a seat ready for you…”
At this time, the people around stood up and clapped their hands. The black man walked up to the front of the plane.
That was an unforgettable flight for me, for I was the black man who had never flown First Class before.
【小题1】Where did this story happen?

A．At the booking office.	B．In the Economy cabin.
C．In the Club cabin.	D．In the First Class cabin.

【小题2】The black man was finally upgraded to the First Class cabin because _____________.

A．the stewardess loved him	B．he was angry with the white lady
C．the captain knew him	D．the white lady was too impolite

【小题3】What might be the correct order of the cabins from the front to the back on this plance?

A．Club→Pilots’→Economy →First Class	B．Pilots’→Club→Economy →First Class
C．Club→Economy→ First Class→ Pilots’	D．Pilots’→ First Class →Club→ Economy

【小题4】What can be the best title of this article?

A．Flying First Class	B．On a British Airways Flight
C．Sitting Next to a Lady	D．An Unforgettable Free Flight