2009年真题 Passage Three-英语听力

[00:00.70]Recently, a couple in New Zealand were forbidden from naming their baby son 4Real. [00:07.51]Even though New Zealand has quite liberal rules about naming children, names beginning with a number are not allowed. [00:16.05]They decided to call him Superman instead. [00:19.71]In many countries around the world, unusual names for children are becoming more popular, [00:25.89]especially since the increasing trend for celebrities to give their children unusual names. [00:32.85]Some parents choose names which come from popular culture. [00:37.22]For example, there have been six boys named Gandalf after the character in the Lord of the Rings novels and films. [00:46.26]Equally names related to sport are fairly common --- since 1984, 36 children have been called Arsenal after the football team. [00:57.74]Other parents like to make up names, or combine names to make their own unique version, [01:03.79]a method demonstrated by Jordan, the British model, [01:07.50]who recently invented the name Tiáamii for her daughter by combining the names Thea and Amy (the two grandmothers). [01:16.22]She was quoted as saying that the accent and double letters were added to make the name 'more exotic'. [01:23.26]Other countries have much stricter rules when it comes to naming children. [01:27.98]Countries including Japan, Denmark, Spain, Germany and Argentina have an approved list of names from which parents must choose.