I feel it enormous responsibility, as a mother of two little girls, to lead you down a path that is relatively healthy when it comes to beauty and self-image.

????????????? In a lot of women’s eyes I’ve probably already failed in that respect due to the amount of pink princess Barbie (芭比娃娃) mess cluttering up (堆满) Vera’s room. But I will say something about Barbie: I played with that stuff for a solid decade when I was growing up and here I am now at a healthy weight with a healthy outlook on my body and image. I have a successful career. If Barbie was really so damaging to my femininity (女性气质) and self-image I highly doubt I could list all of the accomplishments.

But I get it too. It’s hard for women to maintain a healthy self-image. I have girlfriends around whom I have to brace myself to see, because just being around them makes me self-conscious. I look at old pictures of my mother and wonder why I’ve never been able to be as skinny as she was. And then I have friends who are thinner than their mothers ever were. We women go round and round in circles, holding hands and trying to be one another sometimes. Men like to think we dress and style ourselves for them, but why would we when they hardly notice? I’ve never tried so hard to look good when I know I’m about to meet up with a stylish girlfriend. It’s she who will notice my slimmed-down waist or the thinnest, little bracelet on my arm.

And I have no doubt that the two of you, Veronica and Juliette, will endlessly compare yourselves to each other. You will wonder why one of you got longer legs or shinier hair. The thing I’ll tell you is this: not even the prettiest of us feel settled. The girl you think looks the most perfect in the world is probably the girl who wants to change herself more than anyone else.

Don’t take these on. You are not worthless. You are so full of love and light and you should let it shine through your every second. If someone pushes you down for standing tall then just push yourself back up and stand even taller. And know that the reason they push you down in the first place is just because they’re scared.

1.From the second paragraph, we can infer that the author _____.

A. regrets buying so much Barbie stuff for her daughters

B. thinks loving Barbie makes her not confident about her self-image

C. owes her beauty and success to playing with Barbie

D. thinks playing with Barbie caused no damage to her beauty and success

2.In the third paragraph, the author intends to show that _____.

A. women tend to be proud of their beautiful friends

B. she cares much about her appearance

C. she feels proud of her mother’s beauty

D. women tend to admire others and compare with each other

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The author is disappointed that few men take notice of her slim figure.

B. The author cares more about looking good before her girlfriends.

C. Girls should constantly compare themselves with others to improve their beauty.

D. Only the prettiest girl can feel confident about her beauty.

4.The author advises her daughters that _____.

A. they should be cautious not to be pushed down by others

B. they should care much about their strong points instead of appearances

C. they should try to grow taller than others

D. they should care more about others’ opinions

Throughout the world, clothing has many uses．It is used to provide protection from the elements．It is also worn to prevent others from seeing specific parts of one's body．However, the parts of the body that must be covered vary widely throughout the world．Some clothing is worn to

provide supernatural protection．Wearing a lucky shirt to take an exam is calling for supernatural assistance．

People in all cultures use clothing and other forms of bodily decoration to communicate status, intentions and other messages．In North America, we dress differently for business and various leisure activities．North American women usually are much more knowledgeable of and concerned

with little difference in messages communicated by clothes than men．At times, this leads to silly mistakes of interpretation（解释）of female intentions on the part of men．Of course．clothing styles also are intended to communicate messages to members of the same gender（性别）．

Long before we are near enough to talk to someone, their appearance tells their gender, age, economic class, and often even intentions．We begin to recognize the important cultural clues at an early age．The vocabulary of dress that we learn includes not only items of clothing but also hairstyles, jewelry, and other body decoration．In most cultures, however, the same style of dress communicates different messages depending on the age, gender．and physical appearance of the individual wearing it．

Putting on certain types of clothing can change your behavior and the behavior of others towards you．This can be the case with a doctor's white lab coat, or an army uniform．Most uniforms are clearly symbolic so that they can rapidly and unmistakably communicate status．For instance, the strange hairstyle and clothing of the English "punks" are essential aspects of their uniforms．

There are many forms of body decoration other than clothes that are used around the world to send messages．These include body and hair paint, and even body deformation．When doctors put braces on teeth, they are actually doing the same thing - deforming or reforming a part of the body

to make it more attractive．

1．What is the passage mainly about?

    A．Clothing and Culture                     B．Communication through Clothing

    C．Clothing and Social Behavior               D．Ways of Sending Messages

2．In North America men sometimes misunderstand women's intention because        .

    A．men are more careless than women

    B．women spend more time on their clothes

    C．men and women have different views on clothing styles

    D．men care less about the different messages communicated by clothes

3．From the passage．it can be inferred that__________.

    A．messages communicated by clothes are the same in different cultures

    B．words of dress are not enough to communicate different messages

    C．dress is better than language in communicating messages

    D．clothing plays an important role in social activities

4．What does the underlined word "essential" mean in this passage?

      A．beautiful         B．necessary        C．unimportant         D．common

                              C

    Throughout the world, clothing has many uses. It is used to provide protection from the elements. It is also worn to prevent others from seeing specific parts of one's body. However, the parts of the body that must be covered vary widely throughout the world. Some clothing is worn to

provide supernatural protection. Wearing a lucky shirt to take an exam is calling for supernatural assistance.

    People in all cultures use clothing and other forms of bodily decoration to communicate status,intentions and other messages. In North America, we dress differently for business and various leisure activities. North American women usually are much more knowledgeable of and concerned

With little difference in messages communicated by clothes than men. At times, this leads to silly mistakes of interpretation（解释） of female intentions on the part of men. Of course. clothing styles also are intended to communicate messages to members of the same gender（性别）．

    Long before we are near enouth to talk to someone, their appearance tells their gender, age,economic class. and often even intentions. We begin to recognize the important cultural clues at an early age. The vocabulary of dress that we learn includes not only items of clothing but also

hairstyles, jewelry, and other body decoration. In most cultures, however, the same style of dress communicates different messages depending on the age, gender. and physical appearance of the individual wearing it.

   Putting on certain types of clothing can change your behavior and the behavior of others towards you. This can be the case with a doctor's white lab coat, or an army uniform. Most uniforms are clearly symbolic so that they can rapidly and unmistakably communicate status. For instance. the

strange hairstyle and clothing of the English "punks" are essential aspects of their uniforms.

   There are many forms of body decoration other than clothes that are used around the world to send messages. These include body and hair paint, and even body deformation. When doctors put braces on teeth, they are actually doing the same thing - deforming or reforming a part of the body

to make it more attractive.

49. What is the passage mainly about?

    A. Clothing and Culture          B. Communication through Clothing

    C. Clothing and Social Behavior  D. Ways of Sending Messages

50. In North America men sometimes misunderstand women's intention because

    A. men are more careless than women

    B. women spend more time on their clothes

    C. men and women have different views on clothing styles

    D. men care less about the different messages communicated by clothes

51. From the passage. it can be inferred that__________

    A. messages communicated by clothes are the same in different cultures

    B. words of dress are not enough to communicate different messages

    C. dress is better than language in communicating messages

    D. clothing plays an important role in social activities

52. What does the underlined word "essential" mean in this passage?

     A. beautiful       B. necessary      C. unimportant     D. Common