Recently a couple in New Zealand were forbidden from naming their baby son 4 Real. Even though New Zealand has quite generous rules about naming children, names beginning with a number are not allowed. They decided to call him Superman instead.
In many countries around the world, unusual names for children are becoming more popular, especially since the increasing trend for celebrities to give their children wacky names. In Britain, you can call a child almost anything you like – the only restrictions on parents relates to offensive words such as swear words.(脏话)
Some parents choose names which come from popular culture. For example, there have been six boys named Gandalf after the character in the Lord of the Rings novels and films. Equally, names related to sport are fairly common – since 1984, 36 children have been called Arsenal after the football team.
Other parents like to make up names, or combine names to make their own unique version, a method demonstrated by Jordan, the British model, who recently invented the name Tiaamii for her daughter by combining the names Thea and Amy (the two grandmothers). She was quoted as saying that the accent and double letters were added to make the name “more exotic”.
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Other countries have much stricter rules when it comes to naming children. Countries including Japan, Denmark, Spain, Germany and Argentina have an approved list of names from which parents must choose. In China, there are some rules about what you may call a child – no foreign letters or symbols are allowed. As a result a couple were recently banned from calling their baby @.
In Britain, some names which were previously thought of as old-fashioned have become more popular again, such as Maisie or Ella for a girl, or Alfie or Noah for a boy. But the most popular names are not the odd ones. The top names are fairly traditional – Jack, Charlie and Thomas for boys and Grace, Ruby and Jessica for girls.
1.According to the first paragraph, in New Zealand .
A.there are many rules about naming children
B.no people are willing to use 4 Real as names
C.people have much freedom to name their children
D.traditional names are losing their popularity
2.The underlined part “wacky names” in Paragraph 2 refers to names that are .
A.strange B.admirable C.traditional D.popular
3.Which of the following names is best accepted according to the passage?
A.Arsenal. B.Charlie. C.Tiaamii. D.Noah.
4.The two couples in China and in New Zealand have something in common that .
A.their preference is foreign names B.their attempt goes against rules
C.they hope their child grows healthily D.they show no interest in tradition
5.What can be concluded from the passage?
A.Parents have no right to name their children in Spain.
B.Tiaamii will soon be a popular name among the British.
C.No parents speak bad language to their child in Britain.
D.Popular culture has an influence in naming children.
CABBD
A. Profits enlarging B. Technology developing C. Education investing D. Benefits transferring E. Dominance disappearing F. A nation rising |
The following is an imaginary diary entry written by US president. This diary is part of Global Trends 2025, which was written by the US National Intelligence Council
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The
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Global wealth and economic power will shift from West to East.
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The transition from old fuels to new will be slow, as will the development of new technologies that present feasible alternatives to fossil fuels or help eliminate food and water problems. All current technologies are inadequate, and new ones will probably not be commercially possible by 2025