A
文化习俗
(2010·全国卷Ⅱ·E)
How words came into being is unknown. All we
assume(推测) is that some early men invented certain sounds,
in one way or another, to express thoughts and feelings,
【语篇导读】文字是怎样产生的呢？这一直不被人所知。大 多数人士认为它与早期人类发明的某种发音有关。你了解文 字表达对我们人类的作用与意义吗？
1. We learn from the text that language might have begun
with ______.
A. expressions
B. actions
C. signs
D. sounds
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据第一段中的 “All we
assume is that some early men invented certain sounds. . . ”
可知，文字的起源可能最初来自于声音。
2. What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 2? A. The learning of new words. B. The importance of old words. C. The relation of human experience with words. D. The gradual change and development of words. 【解析】选C。主旨大意题。根据第二段中的“. . . lies in their associations—the things they bring up to our minds. ” 可知，文字是人们之间相互联系的主要方式。
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings. This clever use of words is what we call literary style (文体). Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can express his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them correctly, or they will make our speech silly and common.
3. In the last paragraph, what does the author suggest that we should do? A. Use words skillfully. B. Make musical speeches. C. Learn poems by heart. D. Associate with listeners. 【解析】选A。推理判断题。最后一段作者主要讲述了对文 字的应用。对它的使用应准确生动，否则会使我们的讲话普 通而可笑。
be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written
in letters, are called words.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations—the things they bring up to our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words bring back to us the happy and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.
actions and things, so that they could talk with each other.
Later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which
could be put together to show those ounds, and which could
It is called the hoatzin.
自然世界
B (2010·新课标全国·C)
Along the river banks of the
Amazon and the Orinoco there lives
a bird that swims before it can fly,
flies like a fat chicken, eats green
leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws on its wings
when young. They build their homes about 4. 6m above the
river, an important feature(特征) for the safety of the young.