首页
登录
职称英语
Baby-Naming Trends [A]Over the last fifty years, American parents have r
Baby-Naming Trends [A]Over the last fifty years, American parents have r
游客
2023-08-16
40
管理
问题
Baby-Naming Trends
[A]Over the last fifty years, American parents have radically increased the variety of names they give their children. In the 1950s, the 50 most popular names accounted for 63.4 percent of all boys born, and 52.1 percent of all girls. But by 2004, the top 50 names covered only 34.6 percent of the boys and 24.4 percent of the girls. As more people move to the United States and use popular or traditional cultural names, the variety of names increases. Also, parents from all ethnic backgrounds are now more likely to search out less common names for their children
Common and Unusual Baby Names
[B]Is it better to have a name common to your age group, one that everyone has heard, or an unusual name, one that may cause comment when people first hear it? Psychologists and sociologists have studied this question for years and still cannot agree on the answer.
[C]On the one hand, a great deal of evidence shows that when people hear a particular name, they have strong and specific stereotypes about what sort of person bears that name. For example, most Americans expect a woman named Courtney to be attractive and successful but one named Bertha to be loud and obese. Research has found that teachers may give a higher grade to a school paper by a student named Michael than to one by Hubert, even though the papers are identical.
[D]On the other hand, research that compares actual people with common first names to those with unusual names often shows the latter having an advantage. People with unusual first names are more likely to be listed in Who’s Who and are more successful as psychologists. College women with uncommon first names score higher on scales of sociability and self-acceptance; they are also more likely to have a positive sense of individuality, which helps them to resist peer pressure.
[E]Why do these different studies seem contradictory? Part of the answer is that the first set of studies forced people to form impressions based on the name alone. In contrast, recent research shows that if a name includes information about an actual person, then it will compensate for most of the negative effects of stereotypes, and creates a different context in which to view a name.
[F]Another reason for the conflicting results from this research is that uncommon names and names with negative images are not necessarily the same. Boys called Derry or Quinlan and girls called Gosima or Prairie will have a chance to create their own first impressions, free from established stereotypes. They can develop a positive, individual self-concept unhampered by the negative images that go along with names such as Adolf, Ethel, Myrtle, or Elmer.
[G]In the final analysis, of course, your choice of a common or unusual name depends on what you believe is best for your child. After all, there are many occasions in life, such as submitting a job application or seeking admission to College, where a name does have a chance to create a positive image on its own. Having a popular name such as Emily or Jacob might be an advantage. If, on the other hand, individuality and creativity are especially important to you, a more unusual name might be better.
Cultural and Ethnic Influences on Baby Names
[H]Throughout the world, each child is assigned a sound or series of sounds that will be his or her name. Because that name is a part of the language of the child’s parents, it immediately identifies the child as belonging to a particular society. So our names identify us both as individuals and as members of at group.
[I]In many parts of Africa, a child’s naming day is a festive occasion that usually occurs a week or so after the birth. Girls are named sooner than boys, but only by a day or two. An older person bestows the name, first by whispering it to the baby, because a newborn should know his or her name before anyone else does, then by announcing the name to everyone attending the ceremony.
[J]Many Native Americans developed naming systems in which a person’s individual name included the name of his or her clan(宗族). For example, all the members of a clan that has the bear as its totem animal have names relating to bears, such as Black-Bear Tracks and Black-Bear Flashing Eyes.
[K]In some groups, children are given secret names that are not revealed until the child reaches puberty(青春期)or another important stage of life. In other Native American nations, an event that occurs at a child’s birth may become the child’s name. Today, a person living on a reservation may have one name at home but a different name when he or she is off the reservation.
[L]Jewish names are some of the oldest names in use today. A Jewish boy is named officially when he is circumcised(行割礼)on the eighth day after his birth. A girl is named as soon as possible after her birth. Traditionally, an Ashkenazic Jewish child is not named for a living person for fear that the Angel of Death will mistake the child for the older person if their names are the same.
Media Influences on Baby Names
[M]Many names that suddenly become popular are inspired by figures in the media, whether they are real actors or athletes, such as Ashton Kutcher or Jalen Rose, or fictional characters such as the mermaid Madison in the film Splash.
[N]Of course, modern parents are not the only ones affected by the media of their day. Thelma, for example, became a popular name for English and American girls after British author Marie Corelli invented it for the beautiful heroine of her bestselling novel Thelma, published in 1887.
[O]But since the 1950s, television has been the most effective medium for creating new name fashions. Mallory, for example, became popular for girls when the character called Mallory appeared on Family Ties in the 1980s. Although a few American parents had named sons Dylan after Welsh poet Dylan Thomas or perhaps musician Bob Dylan in the 1960s, the name exploded in popularity in the 1990s after the character Dylan McKay appeared on Beverly Hills, 90210.
[P]People often assume that when parents take a name from the media they want to honor the star or character who has the name. This is rarely the case. Most parents today don’t want their children to have common names, but at the same time they want the names they choose to "fit in" . They are therefore always on the lookout for "different but not too different" names, and when such a name gets a lot of exposure in the media, many parents discover it at the same time.
[Q]Even horrific characters can have a positive impact on a name’s use if the name itself fits in with fashionable sounds. Gage, Peyton, and Samara are examples of scary film characters who nevertheless inspired namesakes(同名的人). Names in the news can also have an effect. The number of American girls named Camille increased by 50 percent in 1969 and 1970 after Hurricane Camille hit the Gulf Coast. And the number of girls named Katrina increased in 2006 in spite of the name’s association with a huge natural disaster.
[R]Any media popular with people in their 20s and 30s can create a fashion for a name. Popular music inspires names both through songs, such as Rhiannon, and singers, such as Shania. Today’s young parental generation is now starting to discover baby names like Raiden and Rinoa through video and computer games. Some parents are still inspired by novels, as shown by names such as Arya and Novalee. Science fiction and fantasy books, video games, and films are particularly noticeable as name sources, probably because these stories often require writers to create brand-new names. [br] Parents take names from the media mainly because such names are considered different but not too different.
选项
答案
P
解析
根据parents take names from the media和different but not too different定位到P段。该段讨论了家长喜欢使用出现在媒体上的名字的原因:大多数父母都不想给孩子取一个普通的名字,但同时,他们又想选一个“合适”的名字。他们总是留心着那些“与众不同但又不是太离格”的名字。本题句子概括了原文意思。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/2932156.html
相关试题推荐
Manyparentsworrytheirchild’sbadbehaviorisaresultoftheirparenting
Manyparentsworrytheirchild’sbadbehaviorisaresultoftheirparenting
Manyparentsworrytheirchild’sbadbehaviorisaresultoftheirparenting
Manyparentsworrytheirchild’sbadbehaviorisaresultoftheirparenting
Manyparentsworrytheirchild’sbadbehaviorisaresultoftheirparenting
Americannewspapersarereportingwhatsomepeoplefearistheslowdeathof
Americannewspapersarereportingwhatsomepeoplefearistheslowdeathof
Americannewspapersarereportingwhatsomepeoplefearistheslowdeathof
Americannewspapersarereportingwhatsomepeoplefearistheslowdeathof
Americannewspapersarereportingwhatsomepeoplefearistheslowdeathof
随机试题
EachofQuestions1to7presentstwoquantities.QuantityAandQuantityB.Com
Bob:Wow,look,allthethingsareonsale.Jane:Yes,lookathere,thisis50
最早的金属期货交易诞生于()。A、德国B、法国C、英国D、美国C最早的金属期货交易诞生于英国1876年成立的伦敦金属交易所(LME),开金属期货
关于火灾报警控制器之间几种联网方式的说法不正确的是()。A.总线型联网拓扑布线
公元752年,法兰克宫相矮子丕平在教皇的帮助下当上了国王,结束了旧的墨洛温王朝的
关于建设工程设计发包与承包,以下做法正确的是:()A.经主管部门批准,发包方
在引导学生欣赏一幅世界名画时,第一阶段是()。A.直觉与感知 B.体验与想象
男性,62岁,咳嗽30年,近日咳大量脓痰,气憋,下肢水肿下肢水肿应考虑何故 A
A.新药申请B.仿制药申请C.进口药品申请D.补充申请E.再注册申请对已批准上市
对于一些经常重复发生的经济业务,可以根据同类原始凭证编制()。A、记账凭证 B
最新回复
(
0
)