英語(yǔ)四級(jí)閱讀練習(xí)附答案-120 芭比不僅是玩具

　　created Barbie in 1959 was inspired by this desire amongst girls for a confident female role model. Handler probably didn't expect the hostile reaction her doll initially received from the American public. Because Barbie had breasts she was accused of giving young girls a negative body image and making them obsessed with their looks.

 

　　Those in the anti-Barbie camp say that if Barbie were human, she would be 1.68m tall, weigh 54kg and measure an impossible 38 - 18 - 34. Young girls, who play with Barbie, according to her critics, will grow up wanting to have big breasts and slim waists.

　　They will grow up starving themselves so as to achieve that perfect, but impossible, figure.

　　In my post-Barbie teen years, as I was trying to develop my own personality and find my place in the world, I started to believe such pseudo -feminist arguments. I started to distance myself from my Barbie -playing childhood, and would look down upon anything that was colored pink like Barbie's clothes. Pink was evil, I thought. It signified silly and pretty things of little consequence — it signified Barbie.

　　Luckily enough, this crazy phrase didn't last long. Feminism goes much deeper than hating Barbie, I quickly realize. I have long reclaimed the color pink for myself. I declare proudly that I love Barbie and all she represents.

　　Indeed, it is not wrong for a child to want to be beautiful and wear nice clothes, as long as these aren't the only things they aspire to. Educational toys are well and good — they are necessary to feed the brain — but a child's fantasy life also needs to be nurtured.

　　Yes, Barbie does let young girls dream they can be supermodels and princesses. But that's not all. Since 1959, Barbie has had over 80 different careers — doctor, lawyer, pilot, presidential candidate, and even astronaut. Contrary to popular belief, she is not a passive creature. She held the spotlight for women long before feminism began in the 1970s.

　　練習(xí)題：

　?、? Find reasons for the following facts according to the passage :

　　1. The mother sent back the Barbie doll. ( )

　　2. Ruth Handler created Barbie. ( )

　　3. The author asserted Barbie was not passive . ( )

　?、? Question:

　　What's your opinon about Barbie? Will toy have effect on children's mental development?

　　答案：

　?、? 1. The mother thought that it was not an appropriate present for girl.

　　2. She was inspired by this desire amongst girls for a confident female role model.

　　3. Barbie held the spotlight for women long before feminism began in the 1970s.

　?、? (Open discussion)

　　譯文：

　　芭比—不僅是玩具

　　有個(gè)朋友告訴我, 她送給一個(gè)女孩做生日禮物的芭比娃娃被她母親退了回來(lái)。她母親說(shuō), 對(duì)一個(gè)將來(lái)要有所成就而又處在成長(zhǎng)中的女孩來(lái)說(shuō), 這個(gè)禮物不合適。

　　不喜歡芭比娃娃的母親并非絕無(wú)僅有。我在朋友中間( 其中一些已為人父母) 作的一個(gè)隨機(jī)調(diào)查顯示, 許多人都不喜歡芭比娃娃。

　　“ 芭比給女生灌輸?shù)氖且环N消極的價(jià)值觀。”

　　“ 她只知道怎么花錢。這可不是我要鼓勵(lì)我的孩子去做的。”

　　為什么芭比會(huì)受到這樣的批評(píng)? 一個(gè)噴漆塑料做的東西真的如我朋友所想的這么邪惡, 會(huì)有損孩子們的身心健康, 把她們變成沒(méi)有頭腦消費(fèi)至上的女人?

　　我童年時(shí), 芭比是每個(gè)女孩子渴望的玩具。她美麗, 有漂亮衣服, 最重要的是她很自信, 不是平胸的尷尬女孩。我長(zhǎng)大了要像她一樣。其實(shí), 我們長(zhǎng)大后都想像她那樣。實(shí)際上, 美國(guó)女人露絲·亨德利1959年設(shè)計(jì)芭比的靈感源于女孩們渴望一個(gè)自信的榜樣。亨德利最初可能沒(méi)預(yù)料到會(huì)遭到美國(guó)民眾的非議。因?yàn)榘疟韧尥藓茇S滿, 所以她被指責(zé)給年輕女孩負(fù)面印象, 使她們過(guò)于在意自己的外表。

　　那些反對(duì)芭比娃娃的人說(shuō), 如果芭比娃娃是真人的話, 她應(yīng)該身高1 米68, 體重54 公斤, 三圍分別是38 、18 、34 英寸。玩芭比娃娃的年輕女孩子長(zhǎng)大后也想要豐滿的胸脯和纖細(xì)的腰身。她們會(huì)渴望那種完美, 卻可望不可及的身材。

　　長(zhǎng)到十幾歲以后, 當(dāng)我試著發(fā)展自己的個(gè)性, 尋找自己在這世界上的位置時(shí), 我開始相信這種女權(quán)主義的觀點(diǎn)。我開始遠(yuǎn)離玩芭比娃娃的童年時(shí)代, 對(duì)那些像芭比娃娃衣服一樣粉紅的東西, 我都不屑一顧。我認(rèn)為粉紅是邪惡的, 它代表愚蠢和瑣碎, 代表芭比娃娃。

　　所幸的是這種近乎瘋狂的時(shí)期沒(méi)有持續(xù)多久。我很快意識(shí)到女權(quán)主義遠(yuǎn)比憎恨芭比娃娃更為深刻。我早就找回了粉紅色。我驕傲地宣布我愛(ài)芭比娃娃和她所代表的一切。

　　實(shí)際上, 孩子愛(ài)美, 喜歡穿漂亮衣服并沒(méi)有錯(cuò), 只要不把這些當(dāng)成唯一的追求。有教育意義的玩具對(duì)培養(yǎng)孩子的智力很重要, 但是孩子的想象力的培養(yǎng)也不可忽視。

　　芭比娃娃的確讓年輕的小女孩夢(mèng)想成為名模和公主, 但這并非所有的意義。自1959 年以來(lái), 芭比娃娃從事過(guò)80 種不同的職業(yè)——醫(yī)生、律師、飛行員、總統(tǒng)候選人甚至宇航員。和人們普遍的看法相反, 她并非是個(gè)消極的角色, 早在20 世紀(jì)70 年代女權(quán)主義運(yùn)動(dòng)開始以前她就已經(jīng)使女性變得讓人矚目了。