專四真題:2009年真題 Passage Three

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