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?

For many years, artists have flocked（聚集）to Paris, France, to paint or to learn to paint. Perhaps artists first went there because of the city's beauty. They went to paint pictures of the broad tree-lined streets, the great churches, and the graceful river bridges. The artists felt comfortable in Paris because the people of the city had always enjoyed art.  Paris had great art museums, filled with famous paintings and statues from many countries. And the people of Paris had always welcomed new ideas. In this city, artists felt free to experiment with new ways of painting. As soon as famous artists painted in Paris, students came to learn them. People came to buy paintings.  Men called art dealers（商人） set up galleries where paintings could be bought and sold.  Others kept shops that sold artists' paints and supplies. Students and the artists who were not yet famous could live in Paris for very little money. They learned by studying great art in the museums, and they learned from one another.  They held art fairs, hanging their paintings outdoors along the streets.

 Today, New York City and Florence, Italy, are also famous art centers.  But the world's principal art exhibits are still held in Paris.  Important judges of art live there.  Most of the new ways of painting that have started in the last hundred years began in Paris. So artists and art dealers still go to Paris because it is the world's leading art center.

（     ）6. Artists first went to Paris because _____.

A. it was very beautiful

           B. it was cheap to live there

C. there were a lot of streets, bridges and churches

 D. there were a lot of art museums

（     ）7. Artists still go to Paris now because _____.

      A. it is still very beautiful

      B. it is still cheap to live there

      C. there are more art museums

 D. it is the leading art center of the world

（      ）8. The main idea of the story is about _____.

      A. the world's most famous art center

     B. how to buy a painting in Paris

      C. the famous art centers of New York and Florence

 D. art museums and art dealers

（       ）9. The story leads us to believe _____.

 A. all artists who go to Paris will become famous

 B. the people of Paris have never liked new ideas

 C. people can buy fine paintings in Paris

 D. Paris is the most beautiful city in the world

（       ）10. The story makes us think _____.

 A. that Paris is famous for its artist's paints

B. that there is more than one way to paint

 C. that art fairs are held in galleries

 D. that few artists will go to Paris in the future

In China, water is used in many different ways. Farming takes 60 percent of China’s water use. Personal use, like drinking water, takes only 12 pencent. Fifty- three countries and regions (地方) in the world have water shortages. About one fifth of the world’s population was suffer(遭受) from water shortage.
Tips for saving water
Saving water is as easy as turning off a tap! Here are some simple things you can do at home.
² Turn off the water while you’re brushing your teeth.
² Take shorter showers. Can you get your showers down to three minutes?
² Fill a liter (升) plastic bottle with water and put it in your toilet tank. It will take up the same space as the water usually does, but in a year, it will keep 20,000 liters of water.
² When you wash dishes and clothes, don’t let the water run.
² Use the washing machine only when it’s full of clothes.
² 根据短文内容，填写下面表格。