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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: The Barbie doll first appeared at the toy fair in New York in 1959. Its creator was Ruth Handler, an American businesswoman. She and her husband Elliott along with Harold Matt Matson started the toy company Mattel. She based the design of the new doll on a German doll named Bild Lilli and named her after their daughter Barbara. The first Barbie wore a black and white swimsuit and had her hair in a ponytail . She looked very grown-up. But any concerns that parents would not want to buy it for little girls were soon proved wrong. Mattel sold 300,000 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 27,000 dollars. Barbie dolls have represented 50 different nationalities and are sold in 150 countries. Mattel says 90% of girls in the United States between the ages of three and ten own at least one Barbie doll. It says girls between the ages of three and six own an average of about 12. Barbie also faced her share of critics. A well-known example was when women's education groups objected to a talking Barbie doll that declared, among other things, "Math class is tough!" Mattel agreed to change it. Saudi Arabia has banned Barbie dolls. And a lawmaker in the American state of West Virginia would like to do the same. Last month, he proposed banning sales of Barbie and other dolls that influence girls to put too much importance on physical beauty. Some people say Barbie is an unhealthy role model for young girls. Robin Gerber disagrees. She wrote a book about Barbie. She points out dolls like scientist Barbie and race car driver Barbie. She says people who criticize Barbie should tell girls the story of the businesswoman who created her. She says Ruth Handler wanted the dolls to help girls think about what they wanted to do with their lives. Question: From the passage we know that Mattel _ . Options: A: is one of the world's largest toy companies B: is the director of an American toy company C: was the woman who originally created Barbie D: was a salesman who was good at selling Barbie dolls
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A

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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: Along with the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Sphinx is one of the most studied ancient monument of mankind's history. The whole complex of Giza, composed of the Sphinx, the Great Pyramid, other pyramids, and distinct structures, definitely holds the key to understanding advanced past civilizations. In the examination of the mystery of the great Sphinx we run into a similar situation. The Egyptians wrote very little about the construction of the Sphinx. However, the Egyptians, Romans, and Arabs did write accounts concerning its numerous restorations, which will be discussed later in this article. In addition, it should be said that other cultures had their form of a Sphinx. For example, the Greek Sphinx was a female with a human head, breast, and the body of a feminine lion. Now there are basically two schools of thought on the origin, the age and the builder of the Sphinx in Egypt. The traditional view of Egyptologists is that Pharaoh Khafre of the Fourth Dynasty built the Sphinx along with the Great Pyramid around 2,500 BC. The evidence is that the face of the Sphinx is thought to look like Pharaoh Khafre. This theory makes the Sphinx about 5,000 years old according to Dr Zahi Hawass, director of Giza Saqqara of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization. The other school of thought doesn't believe that the Egyptians built the Sphinx, but thinks that it was built by an advanced civilization before the Egyptians. The Egyptians came later and built their tombs and temples along the sides of these great structures. This school of thought has been around for hundreds of years, but new buildings give it more _ . Recently, Graham Hancock , the author of the famous book Finger-prints of the Gods and some American scholars have presented certain evidence that challenges the traditional thought on the Sphinx. They present proofs that may cause a rethinking of the so-called fact used to determine who built the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza and for what purpose. Their proofs consist of basically two pieces of... Question: The surface of the Sphinx was destroyed by _ . Options: A: water B: wind C: sand D: sunshine
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A

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Read the article and select the best answer. Article: When someone says "well, I guess I'll have to face the music", it doesn't mean that he is planning to go to hear a singer. It is something far less happy, as you are called in by your leader to explain why you did this and did that or why you did not do this or that. At some time or another, every one of us has to "face the music", especially as children. We can all remember father's angry word "I wasn't to talk to you" and only because we did not listen to him. What a bad thing it was ! In the middle or at the end of every term, we students have to "face the music". The result of the exam will decide whether we will face the music or not. If ...that means parents' cold faces and the contempt of the teachers and classmates. "To face the music" is well known to every American, younger or old. It is at least 100 years old. It really means that you have to do something, no matter how terrible the whole thing might be, because you know you have no choice. Question: Before the exam, we'll have to "face the music". That's why _ . Options: A: we like to take the exam B: we are afraid of taking the exam C: the exam is very important D: we are afraid to pass the exam
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B