A
A group of foreign residents married to Japanese talked about their children’s names.
Nicole Despres
Students services manager, 40 (American)
We have no intention to live outside Japan so it made sense for the kids to take my Japanese husband’s family name. However, we did want to have a Western name too, so all three of them now have both a Western and Japanese name. We agreed there would be no strange names, spelling or unusual kanji (Chinese characters in the Japanese language). All names had to be easy to say and familiar in both Japanese and English.
John McCracken
Company general manager, 27(American)
My son’s name is Aiden. In part because my wife and I met in university and as she was studying Irish history and I have some links to Scotland and Ireland, I wanted a unique Gaelic (盖尔族的) name. We settled for Aiden as we found kanji that can be used in Japan that means “legendary hero”
Paula Murakami
College women’s Association of Japan, 53(American) My husband was very excited about choosing names, so I decided to let him choose. He wanted their first names to be Japanese and camp up with names that included the kanji character in his own name. Our boys, Hiroki and Kenta, never had any problems while living on the U. S. West Coast with Japanese names, and I think both as children and as adults, they love their names.
Jeff Ruiz
Recording engineer, 42 (Mexican)
My son’s name is Lenny. My wife chose it together with me as we were looking for a name that works in both worlds—mine in Mexico, and hers in Japan—and the name Lenny is common everywhere. In Japanese we write the name in katakana as that is easy for Japanese people who seem to like names in two or three characters.
1. What do we know about the people mentioned in the passage?
A. Nicole and her husband had an agreement on how to name the children.
B. Jeff will remain in Japan as his wife is not used to Mexican life.
C. The four couples have decided to live with the children in Japan forever.
D. Paula and her family would love to live on the U. S. West Coast.
2. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Nicole and her Japanese husband have a daughter and two sons.
B. Paula has little say in making a decision at home.
C. John’s wife is Irish and the couple have only one child.
D Lenny is a name familiar to Japanese when written the Japanese way.
3. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Is a western name better than a Japanese name?
B. Why does your child have two names?
C. How do you choose your child’s name?
D. Do you settle differences in naming your child?
【答案】1. A 2. D 3. C
【解析】
【分析】这是一篇说明文。文章主要说明了外国居民和日本人结婚后告诉我们他们 都是怎么给孩子起名字的。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据Nicole Despres段中We have no intention to live outside Japan so it made sense for the kids to take my Japanese husband’s family name. However, we did want to have a Western name too, so all three of them now have both a Western and Japanese name. We agreed there would be... 可以得知，主语都是“we”说明夫妻俩就取名字这件事情持有一致的看法，故选A。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。根据Jeff Ruiz段中and the name Lenny is common everywhere. In Japanese we write the name in katakana as that is easy for Japanese people who seem to like names in two or three characters.可知，Jeff Ruiz 和妻子选择了“the name Lenny is common everywhere”一个世界各地都普遍使用的名字，那么写成日语后按理也应该是一个很普遍常用的名字，故选D。
【3题详解】
主旨大意题。根据文章第一段A group of foreign residents married to Japanese talked about their children’s names及全文内容可知，文章主要说明了外国居民和日本人结婚后告诉我们他们 都是怎么给孩子起名字的。故选C。
【点睛】考查阅读理解选择最佳标题时，需要注意排除绝对化或片面的选项，要放眼全文，从首段和末段寻找文章的主旨大意。小题3就是根据文章第一段A group of foreign residents married to Japanese talked about their children’s names及全文内容可知，文章主要说明了外国居民和日本人结婚后告诉我们他们 都是怎么给孩子起名字的，从而概括出标题。
