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Ruth Handler invented something in 1959 which became so quintessentially American as to be included in the official " America’s Time Capsule" buried at the celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976: the Barbie doll. In the early 1950s, Handler saw that her young daughter, Barbara, and her girlfriends enjoyed playing with adult female dolls as much or more than with baby dolls. Handler sensed that it was just as important for girls to imagine what they themselves might grow up to become as it was for them to focus on what caring for children might be like. Inspired by her daughter’s fascination with adult paper dolls, Ruth Handier suggested making a three-dimensional doll through which little girls could act out their dreams. In 1959, Mattel introduced the Barbie doll (named after the Handlers’ daughter), a pint-sized model of the "girl next door. " Soon enough Barbie sprouted a coterie of friends and family. Ken (named for the Handlers’ son) , Barbie’s boyfriend, appeared in 1961. Meanwhile, the longtime Southern California resident defied prevailing trends in the toy industry of the late 1950s when she proposed an alternative to the flat-chest baby dolls then marketed to girls. "I believed it was important to a little girl’s self-esteem," Handler has said, "to play with a doll that has breasts. " Barbie, a teenage doll with a tiny waist, slender hips and impressive bust, became not only a best-selling toy with more than 1 billion sold in 150 countries, but a cultural icon analyzed by scholars, attacked by feminists and showcased in the Smithsonian Institution. "My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be," Handler wrote in her 1994 autobiography. "Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices. " Ruth Handier undeniably invented an American icon that functions as both a steady cynosure for girls’ dreams and an ever-changing reflection of American society. By 1966, Handler was 50 and Mattel ruled the highly competitive toy world: It controlled 12% of the $2-billion toy market in the United States. By 1970, however, her world began to unravel. Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. New corporate managers began to diversify Mattel away from toys, and their machinations ultimately resulted in the Handlers’ ouster from the company they had founded. Although best known for her pivotal role as Barbie’s inventor, Handler devoted her later years to a second, trailblazing career: manufacturing and marketing artificial breasts for women who had undergone mastectomies. Herself a breast cancer survivor, she personally sold and fitted the prosthesis and crisscrossed the country as a spokeswoman for early detection of the disease in the 1970s, when it was still a taboo subject. The Nearly Me prosthetic breast was made of liquid silicone enclosed in polyurethane and had a rigid foam backing. Her goal was to make an artificial breast so real that "a woman could wear a regular brassiere (=bra) and blouse, stick her chest out and be proud." she said of" the prosthetics business. "It sure rebuilt my self-esteem, and I think I rebuilt the self-esteem of others." By 1980, sales of the Nearly Me artificial breast had surpassed $1 million. In 1991, Handler sold the company to a division of Kimberly-Clark. She died on April 27th, 2002. The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the Stop Cancer Organization. Which is CORRECT according to the last paragraph

A. Ruth Handler died of breast cancer
Before 1970s it is forbidden to talk about breast cancer
C. Before 1970s people are reluctant to do the early detection of breast cancer
D. The Nearly Me prosthetic breast is a famous brand

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FTP协议是Internet常用的应用层协议,它通过 (1) 协议提供服务,它是基于Client/Server结构通信的,作为服务器一方的进程,通过监听 (2) 端口得知有服务请求,在一次会话中,存在 (3) 个TCP连接。另一个简单的文件传输协议是 (4) ,它的特点是使用UDP协议,而且 (5) 。

Bonfires can cause localized air pollution and annoy neighbours. Follow the bonfire guidelines to reduce nuisance to others. There are no specific laws governing the use of bonfires although under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1990, a statutory nuisance includes "smoke, fumes or gases emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance". If bothered by smoke, approach your neighbour and explain the problem. You might feel awkward, but they may not be aware of the distress they are causing and it will hopefully make them more considerate in the future. If this fails, contact your local council’s environmental health department. The National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NSCA) factsheet "Pollution, Nuisance and the Law" explains the situation in more detail. If the fire is only occasional it is unlikely to be considered a nuisance in law. Under the Highways Act 1980, anyone lighting a fire and allowing smoke to drift across a road faces a fine if it endangers traffic. Contact the police in this case. What’s wrong with bonfires Burning garden waste produces smoke, especially if it is damp and smouldering. Burning plastic, rubber or painted materials not only creates an unpleasant smell but also produces a range of poisonous compounds. Your bonfire will also add to the general background level of air pollution. Bonfire smoke may cause problems for asthmatics, bronchitis sufferers, people with heart conditions and children. The smoke, smuts, and smell from bonfires are the subject of many complaints to local councils. Smoke prevents your neighbours from enjoying their gardens, opening windows or hanging washing out, and reduces visibility in the neighbourhood and on roads, Allotments near homes can cause particular problems if plot holders persistently burn waste. Fire can spread to fences or buildings and cans are a hazard when rubbish is burned. Piles of garden waste are often used as a refuge by animals, so look out for hibernating wildlife and sleeping pets. If a bonfire is the best practicable option for disposing of garden waste, follow these guidelines from the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NCSA) to avoid serious nuisance: 1) only burn dry material; 2) never burn household rubbish, rubber tyres, or anything containing plastic, foam or paint; 3) never use old engine oil, meths or petrol to light the fire or encourage it; 4) avoid lighting a fire in unsuitable weather conditions—smoke hangs in the air on damp, still days and in the evening; 5) if it is windy, smoke may be blown into neighbours, gardens and across roads; 6) avoid burning when air pollution in your area is high or very high—check the weather forecast, or the air quality website. All of the following are included in the bonfire guidelines offered in the passage EXCEPT ______.

A. avoiding burning when air pollution in your area is very high
B. only burning dry material
C. never using old engine oil, meths or petrol to light the fire
D. only burning in a place which is far away from the neighbourhood

When the United Nations and world leaders made universal primary education one of their eight millennium development goals, more than 100 million children were not in school. They aimed to bring that number down to zero by 2015. This week, marking the halfway point, ministers, donors, and others are meeting in Dakar to assess their progress. Ronald Siebes is co-president of the US-based Fast Track Initiative, an organization aimed at channeling extra funding from partners including the World Bank, the United Nations, and the European Union to the poorest countries to help them achieve the education goals. "We are really making progress," he said. "There are huge challenges, but progress is being made to achieve this important goal." After a slow start in the 32 countries funded by the Fast Track Initiative, their annual report says by 2010 most will have 100 percent of kids starting first grade. An official with the same organization, Desmond Bermingham, says countries in West Africa, whether funded by the Fast Track Initiative or not, are making progress. "I would say the most critical issue is that the governments are making education a priority," he said. "It is a political will issue and they are really making very rapid progress. They have got a lot of catching up to do. They are moving faster than any region has ever moved before." But he says part of the reason is that West Africa had the farthest to go. In some countries in the region, more than three-quarters of school-age children do not attend school. Bermingham says several countries are putting measures in place to block corruption in the education sector, rampant in many African countries. "Where it is working really well is where there is a very short accountability line between the school and the parents," he noted. "They have a really strong interest in making sure the money is used properly. Several countries are now introducing systems of publishing the school budget in the newspapers or even on the door of the school. Uganda is one of them, Kenya is one of them, and Niger has introduced a similar system." But Lucia Fry, of the South Africa-based Global Campaign for Education, says if progress continues at the current pace, it will be impossible to meet the development goals by 2015. She says aid fails far short of what is needed. "Overall, we need another $6 billion US per year just to get every child to complete a primary cycle of education," she explained. And she says too much emphasis is being put on enrolling kids in school without ensuring that they stay long enough to finish. "Although primary enrollment has risen we have also got in 50 countries worldwide, less than half of all children worldwide complete primary school," she added. And she says there is still a long way to go to address the needs of children on the margins, including those with handicaps, who live in conflict zones, or who work to support their families. What can we learn from the passage

A. Corruption contributes to the underdevelopment of education in West Africa as well as the lack of funding.
B. Most parents don’t care about the education budget in Africa.
C. The most important task at present is to enroll all school-age children into schools.
D. West African countries call for financial supports to aid children to go to school until completing higher education.

The word "open" is really used a lot. You’ve probably heard" open up" in many ways over the years. Probably most people would like to be more open than they are right now. We know it feels good to share with others. If feels good to talk to somebody about things we’re concerned about. It’s good to be able to trust somebody. What do we really mean by becoming open Well, trying to talk about yourself in such a way that something of the inner person, that is you, is communicated to others might be one way of being open or at least thinking about being open. That inner person is a complex person who has a variety of thoughts and also feelings. So, wanting to share with other people these inner feelings and these inner thoughts is one way of becoming open. Being open is a kind of invitation to others. What you share about yourself should encourage others to come in, so to speak and make contact with you. To involve themselves with you. Being open is difficult. It makes us feel vulnerable, psychologically naked and usually anxious. But it also is important in terms of really letting others get to understand how we think, how we feel and what we believe. We often hide our inner thoughts and feelings because we’re concerned how well excepted they’ll be by other people. But we also shut out other people from knowing and accepting us by not being open. We’re denying ourselves that chance to speak out, to declare our inner thoughts and feelings. It’s up to you to decide just how you’re going to talk about yourself and what you’re going to say. Telling somebody that school or work is awful. However, it might be more meaningful to share why you’re saying that about school or work. That’s at a little deeper level. There are probably more risks attached to sharing that. Probably most important is an immediate here and now honesty that goes along with being open. For instance, telling someone that you’re bored is risky, but it takes courage to say, "I’m bored, why don’t we do such and such", or "Let’s change topics. "For me, declaring your boredom or resentments also means I’m responsible for suggesting alternatives to change my mood. You have the power to change things by being open and sharing things. Keep in mind also that being completely open with everyone in every situation may be very inappropriate. You may want to be more open with your spouse or close friends, but not with your boss or people you don’t know as well. You may choose not to be open with people you don’t fully trust, because to be open is to share vulnerable information about yourself. And if you don’t fully trust how someone else will use that information about you, you may choose not to share it. Also, some people may be very uncomfortable with too much openness and you may not want to be as open with them. A caution about being open is that sometimes we can be too open. In the name of being open we say everything we feel or think to others. But fail to be sensitive to others feelings about our openness. We may make them feel very uncomfortable or say something that hurts them. Being open also carries a responsibility with it and that is to be aware of others’ reactions to us and to respect their reactions. Which of the following is NOT the consideration when being open

A. Paying attention to others’ reactions when being open.
B. Not talking about something your partners are not interested in.
C. When you feel the topic uninteresting, you should suggest some other ones.
D. Avoiding to hurt others when we tell our feelings about them.

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