In
the mid 1940's, the young ambitious duo Ruth and Elliot Handler, owned a company
that made wooden pictures frames. It was in 1945 that Ruth and Elliot Handler
joined with their close friend Harold Mattson to form a company that would be
known for the most famous and successful doll ever created. This company would
be named MATTEL, MATT for Mattson and EL for Elliot. In the mid
1950's, while visiting Switzerland, Ruth Handler purchased a German Lilli doll.
Lilli was a shapely, pretty fashion doll first made in 1955. She was originally
fashioned after a famous cartoon character in the West German
Newsletter, Build. Lilli is the doll that would inspire
Ruth Handler to design the Barbie doll. With the help of her technicians and
engineers at Mattel, Barbie was born. Ruth then hired Charlotte Johnson, a
fashion designer, to create Barbies wardrobe. It was in 1958 that the patent for
Barbie was obtained. This would be a fashion doll unlike any of her time. She
would be long limbed, shapely, beautiful, and only 11.5 inches tall. Ruth and
Elliot would name their new fashion doll after their own daughter,
Barbie. In 1959, the Barbie doll would make her way to the New
York Toy Show and receive a cool reception from the toy buyers.
Barbie has undergone a lot of changes over the years and has managed to keep up
with current trends in hairstyles, makeup and clothing. She is a reflection of
the history of fashion since her introduction to the toy market.
Barbie has a universal appeal and collectors both young and old enjoy
time spent and memories made with their dolls.
单选题
When Ruth and Elliot Handler was young, they had a strong desire
______.
A. to go to school
B. to take photos
C. to make frames
D. to be highly successful
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 由文章开头ambitious(有野心的，有抱负的)一词可知，他们是想在经营公司方面取得较大的成功。D项to be highly successful和ambitious的意思接近，因此选择D项。