Directions: The passages in this section are meant to be read through quickly. Try to finish them within 8 minutes. Don’t preview.

Questions 1 to 3 are based on the following passage.
How did your parents arrive at the sound symbol that names you.9 They might name you as they randomly pointed to a Bible page, or they might deliberately name you after a favorite ancestor. Not surprisingly, the process of choosing names varies widely from culture to culture. The custom of several tribes of Indians, for example, was to name a baby for a memorable event in one of the parent's lives. In China, an elder dictates names for the next seven generations. As children are born into the family the parents select a name from the list, Even within a culture, names may go through distinct trends. Prudence or Agatha —once as stylish for girls as the current Michelle or Lisa -- now seem very old-fashioned. Interestingly, girls' names fall in and out of fashion more rapidly than do those of boys, who are often named after fathers or grandfathers -- keeping the same names in the family for generations of males.

1. The main idea of this passage is about
A. how parents use a Bible to name their children
B. how parents use their generation name lists to name their children
C. the different ways parents name their children in different cultures
D. the different names parents chose for their children at a particular time.
2. The custom of several tribes of Indians was to name a baby after
A. an animal or a plant in the neighborhood
B. an honored relative or friend of one of the parents
C. a tribal chief
D. an important event in one of the parents' lives
3. Compared with girls' names which fall in and out of fashion rapidly, boys' names remain quite stable because
A. there are fewer boys' names than there are girls' names
B. boys are often named after fathers or grandfathers
C. girls are more often named after movie stars and celebrities than boys
D. parents tend to treat sons more conservatively than they do daughters

Questions 4 and 5 are based on the following passage.

Your name can tell much about you. If you're named Debbie or Sherry, for example, you're probably in your mid-twenties. In the mid-fifties, these two names rose to the top of the popularity lists like hit songs   and faded just as fast.
In the sixties, babies were given imaginative names meant to reflect their parents' spirituality, individuality, or life style. Day care centers were full of little Sunshines, Trees, Moons, Chastitys, and Geminis. One child I know announced upon arriving the first day of school, "My real first name is Tree, but I'd like to be called George, if you don't mind.
Currently, names beginning with J are in fashion! Jennifer or Jessica for girls; Jason or Jeremy for boys. Despite recent innovations, however, one of the most common female names among all age groups is still Mary; over three and a half million women answer to that well-loved choice, more than twice as many as were christened with the runners-up, Elizabeth and Barbara.

4. According to the author, names like Tree, Sunshine, Chastity, and Gemini reflect parental attitudes of the decade of the
A. 1940s
B. t950s
C. 1960s
D. 1970s
5. The order of favorite female names is
A. Jennifer, Mary, Elizabeth
B. Mary, Elizabeth, Barbara
C. Jennifer, Jessica, Mary
D. Elizabeth, Jennifer, Jessica

Questions 6 and 7 are based on the following passage.
"Names have always been symbols of power," says Constance Ahrons, a researcher at the University of Southern California. "To a modern woman, keeping her name is a symbol of her independence. But a man may feel that implies a lack of commitment to him and to the marriage." Thus when a San Diego woman told her fiance she had decided to keep her name, he was hurt. "Aren't you proud to be my wife's?" he asked. Most men are more understanding. When Maureen Pooh, a journalist, married Russell Fear, her English-Irish husband sympathized with his wife?" desire to preserve her Chinese-Japanese heritage, especially since she was an only child. "We began married life as Peon-Fear," says Maureen. "I've since dropped the hyphen -- it just confuses too many people -- but Russell continues to use it when we're out together. He feels that we are 'Poon-Fear,' that we are one."

6. According to Constance, what may a man think if his wife wants to keep her   name ?
A. He may think that his wife wants them to be one.
B. He may think his wife doesn’t want to commit herself to their marriage.
C. He may think that his wife wants to be totally independent of him.
D. He may think that his wife wants to be equal to him.
7. One reason why Maureen stopped using her hyphenated name was that her   hyphenated name
A. was too long for computers to handle
B. sounded strange
C. created confusion
D. symbolized a link between husband and wife

Key: 1.T 2.F 3.F 4.T 5.B 6.B 7.C 8.C 9.T 10.F 11.F

Topics for Discussion and Reflection
①What would your life have been if your parents had given you a different name?
②Why do Chinese often feel uncomfortable calling Westerners by their given names?