一、高中英语阅读理解1．阅读理解Since we've headed into the snowy part of the year, it seems like a good time to solve a language puzzle that Eskimos have a huge number of words for snow. The idea was popularized by the now well-known expert Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s. His number was approximately five Eskimo words for snow, but somehow the story was so wide spread and romantic that it got out of control and grew bigger and bigger.There are two problems with the concept of Eskimos having tons of words for snow.First, Eskimos speak at least two different languages—Inuit and Yupik. Just as we have talked about how English and many other languages developed from a common language called Proto-Indo-European, Inuit and Yupik come from a different common language called Eskimo-Aleut. So saying Eskimos have 100 words for snow is like saying Europeans have 100 words for kings or queens. It might be telling you something broad about culture, but it isn't really telling you much about language.The second problem is "What is a word?” The Inuit and Yupik languages make words in different ways from how we make words in English. For example, the West Greenlandic word 'siku,' (sea ice), is used as the root for 'sikursuit (pack ice), 'Sikuliaq (new ice), and 'sikurluk (melting ice). But it's not that West Greenlandic has so many more words for describing snow than English, it's just that West Greenlandic expresses ideas by combining meaningful units of language together into one word while English uses more phrases and compounds. We express all the same ideas; we just do it a little differently because of the way our language is built.So you're probably still wondering, "If it's not 50 or 100 or 400 words, how many is it?" Well, Woodbury lists 15 that are present in a Yupik dictionary published in 1984, but he says that depending on how you look at it this is not an exact number. It could be 12; it could be 24. But it's certainly not 100.Sometimes, the "hundred words for snow" puzzle is used to argue that because Eskimos have so many words for snow, they think about snow in ways that we can't even begin to imagine—that your language decides or limits your thoughts. Languages are just different. They don't decide what we are able to think about or are not able to think about. I can think about snow floating on water even if we don't have a word for that in English.So when you're out skiing or snowboarding or just shoveling your driveway this winter, don't believe the people who try to tell you that Eskimos have 100 words for snow.（1）Why are Eskimos thought to have so many words for snow?A. Because snow is everywhere where Eskimos live.B. Because the story about it got enriched and believed.C. Because snow is of great importance to Eskimos.D. Because Eskimos have great affection for snow.（2）How does the writer explain the first problem?A. By presenting figures.B. By making comparisons.C. By quoting sayings.D. By adopting idioms.（3）The example of the west Greenlandic word 'siku' shows that .A. the making of words varies from language to languageB. the Inuit and Yupik languages have more words for snowC. the richness of words and phrases leads to different ideasD. more phrases about snow are found in the English language（4）What conclusion can we safely draw from the last two paragraphs?A. Eskimos better understand snow than other people.B. Languages deeply influence people's ability to think.C. There is no point counting Eskimo's expressions for snow.D. What comes into our mind is limited by our language.【答案】（1）B（2）B（3）A（4）C【解析】【分析】本文是一篇说明文，介绍了爱斯基摩人描述雪的词语虽然多但并非传言中的100多个。
出现这一想象的原因是1. 爱斯基摩人本身就说两种语言，不同的语言就会有不同的描述。
2. 词汇方面的融合也使得他们有很多能描述雪的词语。
（1）考查细节理解。
根据第一段中的“His number was approximately five Eskimo words for snow, but somehow the story was so wide spread and romantic that it got out of control and grew bigger and bigger.”可知，本身Benjamin Lee Whorf对于雪的词汇可能就只有5个，但是故事不断的传播，甚至带着浪漫主义气息，使得故事传播的越来越广泛，故事内容也越来越夸张。
故选B。
（2）考查推理判断。
根据第三段中的“Just as we have talked about how English and many other languages developed from a common language called Proto-Indo-European …”，作者将英语和从原始印欧语发展而来的其他语言进行了比较，由此可知采用了比较的方法。
故选B。
（3）考查细节理解。
根据第四段中的”We express all the same ideas; we just do it a little differently because of the way our language is built.“以及第四段的例子中，不同语言、不同词汇表达的都是同一个意思，唯一不同的是语言构建方式的不同而已。