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Barbie turning 50 this year

It's been 50 years since Barbie was first introduced to TV.

"Barbie dressed for swimming fun is only three dollars."

It's been 50 years since Barbie was first introduced to television audiences. A half century later, the iconic doll kicked off her year-long birthday celebration at the International Toy Fair in Germany, an event that even included a debut of real-life Barbies.

"It's a global brand in 150 different countries and our sites are developed everywhere to make sure that we unite girls around the world through Barbie."

Barbie manufacturer Mattel says three dolls are sold every second and she's changed a lot since her debut. She's had over a hundred careers including art teacher, presidential candidate and astronaut.

"Wow. she is real like me!"

There was even 1992's Rappin' Rockin' Barbie which came with her own boombox.

"Barbie's constantly changing. She changes as fashion changes in the 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s through today. Any Barbie that you look at at anytime, you can mark that moment in time with style, fashion, beauty and culture."

The celebration comes amid tough times of Barbie's maker. Mattel reported Wednesday that its profit fell by almost half in the fourth quarter of last year. Sales of the Barbie line dropped by more than 20% in the last three months of 2008. The company plans to raise prices and cut spending. And don't think that the Barbie line includes only dolls, there are DVDs, clothing, accessories, cosmetics and even Barbiegirls.com.

While Barbie will celebrate her birthday in places like Paris, Milan and Tokyo, the true test for her enduring legacy is on the shelves of toy stores.

"You do loads of things with them. They're just really really fun."

Proving that as long as there are little girls, there will be fans of the famous doll.

"More gracefully and more glamorously."

Matt Freeman, the Associated Press.

文本参考中文翻译

“第一个穿泳装的芭比娃娃售价仅为3美元。”

自从芭比娃娃第一次介绍给电视观众，现在已经五十年了。半个世纪之后，这个成为美国文化符号的玩具参加了在德国举行的国际玩具展来庆祝五十岁生日。该展会上甚至还有真人芭比娃娃初次登场。

“这是一个国际性的品牌，世界上150多个国家都有芭比娃娃，我们在各地都有生产，目的是通过芭比娃娃将世界各地的女孩子联系起来。”

芭比娃娃制造商Mattel说，三美元的玩具没秒钟都有出售，自从初次登场以来已经改变了很多。芭比娃娃已经有了一百多种职业，包括艺术教师，总统候选人和宇航员。

“哇，这个娃娃很像我！”

甚至还有1992年版的Rappin' Rockin'芭比，还有内置扬声器。

“芭比娃娃一直在改变。从六十，七十，八十，九十年代一直到现在，她一直随着时尚在改变。你在任何时代看到的芭比娃娃都可以跟当时的风格，时尚，漂亮和文化相关联。”

该庆祝仪式在芭比娃娃制造商的困难时期进行。周三，Mattel报道说，去年第四季度的收益减少了接近一半。芭比娃娃的销量在去年最后三个月下降了20%以上。公司计划提高价格，减少支出。不要认为芭比娃娃行业只有玩具，还有DVD，服装，饰品，化妆品，甚至还有专门的网站Barbiegirls.com。

当芭比娃娃在巴黎，米兰和东京这样的地方庆祝五十岁生日的时候，玩具商店的货架却证明了这笔文化遗产的持久性。

“可以用芭比娃娃做很多事情。真的非常好玩。”

只要有小女孩，就会有这个著名的玩具。

“这种玩具会更加优美，更加迷人。”