2015考研英语阅读理解精读P3历史学Passage 3To date, over 1 billion Barbie dolls have been sold. The average American girl aged between three and 11 owns a staggering ten Barbie dolls, according to Mattel, the American toy giant. An Italian or British girl owns seven; a French or German girl, five. The Barbie brand is worth some $2 billion-a little ahead of Armani, just behind the Wall Street Journal-making it the most valuable toy brand in the world, according to Interbrand, a consultancy. How is it that this impossibly proportioned, charmless toy has endured in an industry notorious for whimsical fad and fickle fashion?Part of Barbies appeal is that she has become, according to Christopher Varaste, a historian of Barbie, the face of the American dream. Barbie is not a mere toy, nor product category: she is an icon. Quite how she became one is hotly debated among the Barbie sorority. Some think she answers an innate girlish desire for fantasy, role-playing and dressing-up. Others believe that Mattel has simply manipulated girls aspirations to that end.Either way, wrapped up in her pouting lips and improbable figure-buxom breasts, wafer-thin waist and permanently arched feet waiting to slip into a pair of high heels-is an apparently enduring statement of aspiration and western aesthetic. She is, according to M.G. Lord, who has written a biography of Barbie, the most potent icon of American popular culture in the late twentieth century.Officialdom has recognised Barbies iconic status. The Americans included a Barbie doll in the 1976 bicentennial time capsule. Earlier this year, the American government buried her in a womens health time capsule, alongside a pair of forceps and a girdle. As an emblem of Americana she is subject to pastiche, derision and political statement. Andy Warhol made a portrait of Barbie, the Campbells soup of toy brands. An exhibition in London earlier this year displayed Suicide Bomber Barbie by Simon Tyszko, a British artist. Her hair was blonde, her hair ribbon red, and around her slender waist was wrapped a belt of explosives, attached to a detonator held daintily in her hand.Barbie has not colonised girls imaginations by accident. Mattel has dedicated itself to promoting Barbie as a lifestyle, not just a toy. In addition to selling the dolls, Mattel licenses Barbie in 30 different product categories, from furniture to make-up. A girl can sleep in Barbie pyjamas, under a Barbie duvet-cover, her head on a Barbie pillow-case, surrounded by Barbie wall-paper, and on, and on. There are Barbie conventions, fan clubs, web sites, magazines and collectors events.Shes so much more than a character brand, enthuses a Mattel publicity person, shes a fashion statement, a way of life. (449 words)1. Which of the following statements is true according to the text?A The average American girl aged between three and 11 owns 10 staggering Barbie dolls.B Wall Street Journal is the most valuable toy brand in the world.C The Barbie brand is the most valuable toy brand in the world.D The Barbie brand is worth more than $2 billion.2. How did Barbie become an icon according to the text?A Barbie has the face of the American dream.B She answers an innate girlish desire for fantasy, role-playing and dressing-upC It is Mattel that manipulated girls aspirations to that end.D Different people have different explanations.3. Barbies iconic status is shown in all the following EXCEPT_.A Barbie doll in the 1976 bicentennial time capsuleB She was buried in a womens health time capsuleC She is subject to pastiche, derision and political statementD Barbie has colonised girls imaginations4. It can be inferred from the text that Mattel is_.A a man who created Barbie dollB the name of a toy manufacturerC an individual organizationD a sorority5. The best title for the text may be _.A Barbie dolls in USAB Barbies appealC Barbies appeal and iconic statusD Barbie, the most valuable toy brand答案与解析1. C 细节题。本题的问题是“根据本文，下面哪项说法正确?”A“3到11岁的普通美国女孩都令人惊讶地拥有10个芭比娃娃玩具”与第一段第二句话的意思不符，文中说的是3到10岁的普通美国女孩;B“华尔街期刊是世界上最有价值的杂志”与第一段第四句话的意思不符;D“芭比这个品牌值20多亿美元”与第一段第四句话的意思不符，文中是说值大约20亿美元，不是说20多亿美元。文章第一段提到，芭比这个品牌值大约20亿美元，这使得它成为世界上最有价值的玩具品牌。C“芭比这个品牌是世界上最有价值的玩具品牌”是对该句话的改写，为正确答案。2. D 细节题。本题的问题是“芭比成为世界上的一个偶像，因为 ”。题干中的“an i. con”出自文章第二段第二句话中，表明本题与第二段有关。第二段在解释芭比这种现象的原因时指出，有人认为芭比已经成为“美国梦想的表现”，有人认为芭比是一个偶像，有人认为芭比满足了少女对幻想、追星以及穿着打扮的天生渴望，其他人认为，墨泰尔只是巧妙地满足了少女们对那个目标的渴望。这说明，对于芭比成为一个偶像这一点，人们的观点不同。D“不同的人们有不同的解释”是对第二段的概括，为正确答案。A “芭比有美国梦想的表现”、B“她满足了少女对幻想、追星以及穿着打扮的天生渴望”和C“正是墨泰尔巧妙地满足了少女们对那个目标的渴望”都只是部分原因，不全面。3. C 细节题。本题的问题是“下面所有选项都体现了芭比的偶像地位，除了 ”。题干中的“iconic status出自文章第四段第一句话中，表明本题与第三段有关。第三段提到，美国人把芭比娃娃玩具放入“200周年纪念的时代文物储放器”中，美国政府把她随同一把钳子和一个腰带一起放入一个“女性健康”时代文物储放器中;第五段提到，芭比并不是偶然俘获少女们的幻想的。这些都是芭比产生的正面效应，说明A“芭比玩具被放入1976年的200周年纪念的时代文物储放器