我很讚同京北的這個主攻方向。你以前讀的，我老公和一個好朋友聽到過，都說發音很棒，很地道，有一點兒他倆說的共同的是，你讀得時候，尤其是詩歌，有點兒trying too hard，可能是太注意單個字的發音了，顯得不夠effortless，所以你練快讀，我覺得是正確的。這篇裏，我注意到你的弱讀很棒，我羨慕，英文裏的輕重把握得很好。快了可以連讀的地方，我用黃的標出來了。
What is in a baby name. a bit off, sounds like watch
So many end-of-the-year lists detail something trivial. But sometimes, those（a bit off） lists can help us appreciate something obvious. BabyCenter.com has just released their list of the most popular names for American babies in 2011. The most popular girls' names: Sophia, Emma, Isabella, Olivia and Ava, which sound like they could be lifted, letter by letter, from 1960s movie marquees.
The most popular boys' names: Aiden, Jackson, Mason, Liam and Jacob, which could be the name of a Boston or Chicago law firm. Lily, Chloe and Madison follow in the girls' names. You know the 21st century is well under way when Ashley is no longer even in the top 100, but Brooklyn is 21. There is no Bronx or Queens. Jayden, Ethan, Noah, Lucas and Logan follow on the boys' list.
What used to be considered signature American names still sound familiar, but maybe a touch plain. The most popular names for girls in 1955 were Mary, Deborah, Linda, Susan and Patricia. Mary is 137 now. Maria is higher, at 84. The most popular boys' names in 1955 were Michael, David, James, Robert and John. David and John are still popular, but rank lower now than Zachary, Grayson, Ryan, Connor and Dylan.
Despite all the airing they get, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney with a K, as in Kardashian, are not especially popular names. Parents seem to appreciate that naming your child is not voting for "American Idol," but a lifetime choice. They choose(not chose) names to last, which may be why biblical names - including Sarah, Hannah, Gabriel, Joshua and Elijah - are among the most popular.
Madison has been among the top 10 girls' name since 2000. But its popularity doesn't trace back to the fourth president of the United States or the capital of Wisconsin, but the mermaid Darryl Hannah played in the 1984 film "Splash," who saw it on a New York street sign. Real Madisons growing up today can make new stories for that name.
A lot more 2011 baby names seem to have a stamp of ethnicity, but not necessarily their own ethnicity. I wonder how many American girls named Sophia are from Greek or Italian families; how many Isabellas are Spanish or Italian; and how many Aidens, Ryans and Conners are even a scintilla Irish. Family names are still passed between generations, but a lot of Americans pointedly give names to their children that aren't tied(sounds like tiened) to their past or taken from their family.
They mix, they invent and come up with names that ring with new hopes and dreams. That's why lists like this change and are worth reading. They remind us that Americans name their children for the people they hope they'll be.
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