Speech—the act of uttering sounds to convey meaning—is a kind of human action. L
题型：不详难度：来源：
Speech—the act of uttering sounds to convey meaning—is a kind of human action. Like any other
constantly repeated action, speaking has to be learned, but once it is learned, it becomes a generally
unconscious and apparently automatic process.
As far as we can determine, human beings do not need to be forced to speak; most babies seem to possess a
sort of instinctive drive to produce speech like noises. How to speak and what to say are another matter
altogetner. There actions are learned from the particular society into which the baby is born; so that, like all
conduct that is learned from a society—from the people around us—speech is a patterned activity.
The meandering(漫目无地的)babble(咿呀学语)and chatter of a young child are eventually channeled by
imitation into a few orderly grooves that represent the pattern accepted as meaningful by the people around
him. Similarly, a child’s indiscriminate(不加分辨的)practice of putting things into his mouth becomes limited to putting food into his mouth in a certain way.
The sounds that a child can make are more varied and numerous than the sounds that any particular language uses. However, a child born into a society with a pattem of language is encouraged to make a small selection of sounds and to make these few sounds over and over until it is natural for him to make these
sounds and not others.
小题1:For an adult, the process of speaking usually involves .| A．conscious selection of sounds | B．imitation of those around him | | C．a drive to make noises | D．unconscious actions |
小题2:The selection says that most babies have an instinctive drive to .| A．express ideas in words | B．make speech like noise | | C．convey meaning | D．imitate sounds around them |
小题3:Conduct that is learned from a society may be called .| A．instinctive drive | B．selection | C．automatic activity | D．patterned activity |
小题4:The sounds that a child is able to make are .| A．not as varied as those used in language | B．more varied and numerous than those in any language | | C．far fewer than those needed to form a language | D．completely different from the sounds of language |
小题5:We may say that a child has learned to speak if he .| A．makes varied sounds | B．carefully considers each sound he makes | | C．makes only certain sounds naturally | D．imitates people around him |
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答案
小题1:D
小题1:B
小题1:D
小题1:B
小题1:C |
解析
小题1:根据Like any other constantly repeated action, speaking has to be learned, but once it is learned, it becomes a generally unconscious and apparently automatic process.描述可知选D，说话过程通常包含无意识行为。
小题1:根据most babies seem to possess a sort of instinctive drive to produce speech like noises.描述可知选B。
小题1:根据like all conduct that is learned from a society—from the people around us—speech is a patterned activity.可知选D。
小题1:根据The sounds that a child can make are more varied and numerous than the sounds that any particular language uses.可知选B。
小题1:根据However, a child born into a society with a pattem of language is encouraged to make a small selection of sounds and to make these few sounds over and over until it is natural for him to make these sounds and not others.描述可知选C。 |
举一反三
There are over one million superstitions(迷信), and most people believe at least one or two of them.
Many people are superstitious about numbers. They think that there are lucky numbers and unlucky numbers.
The number 13 is often considered unlucky. In some parts of the world, buildings have no 13th floor and streets have no houses with the number 13. In Japan, "4" is considered unlucky because in Japanese the word "four" is pronounced the same as the word "death" .
Japanese never give gifts of four knives, four napkins, or four of anything.
What are the lucky numbers? Seven is a lucky number in many places, and "8" is considered a lucky number in Japan and China. In China, businesses often open on August 8, and many couples register to get married at eight past eight on August 8.
Superstitions about numbers are so widespread that some people--called numerologist--make a living by giving advice about numbers.
In 1937, when the Toyoda family of Japan wanted to form a car company, they asked a numerologist if "Toyoda" would be a good name for the company. The numerologist said it would not be. He explained that "Toyota" would be a better name for the company. The family took his advice. As a result, millions of people drive "Toyota" and not "Toyoda" .
There are many other kinds of superstitions. There are superstitions about eating, sleeping, sneezing and itching(抓痒). There are superstitions about animals and holidays and horseshoes.
There are even superstitions about superstitions. Those superstitions will tell people how to reverse bad luck.
When the Japanese bump heads, they immediately bump heads again. According to a Japanese superstition, the first-bump means their parents will die, but the second bump "erases" the first bump
To reverse bad luck in general, people turn around three times, turn their pockets inside out, or put their hats on backwards.
In the United States, baseball players sometimes wear their caps backwards when their team is losing. It looks silly, but the baseball players do not mind if it helps them win the game.
小题1:It can be inferred that superstitions about numbers are .| A．popular neither in Japan nor in China | | B．popular only in Japan and in China | | C．popular both in Japan and in China | | D．causing great troubles both in Japan and in China |
小题2:The underlined word " reverse " means .| A．change to bad luck | B．cause to go in the opposite direction | | C．change for the worse | D．exchange |
小题3:If a Japanese purposely bumps his head again after an accidental bump, we can be sure that . | A．he is mad | B．he is happy | C．he is superstitious | D．he is very sad |
小题4:The writer wrote this passage with the purpose of .| A．persuading us to believe superstitions | | B．showing us some facts of superstitions | | C．showing us the magic power of number | | D．showing us a numerologist |
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Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B,C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.
A
Food
British people like good food, and more than half of them go to a restaurant every month. Fast food is also very popular---30% of all adults have a hamburger every three months, but 46% have fish and chips!
Sports
British people don’t do a lot of sports. Only 17% of people go swimming every week, about 9% go cycling and 8% play golf--- and only 6% of people play football (but 32% go to watch it).
Cinema and TV
Films are very popular in Britain, and about 60% of the young people go to the cinema every month. At home, men watch TV for about three hours every day ---30 minutes more than women.
Holidays
British people love going on holiday, and have 56 holidays every year. Most of these holidays aren’t spent in the UK---27% are in Spain. 10% are in the USA, and 9% are in France. Maybe this is because the weather in Britain isn’t very good!
Presents
British people don’t send others expensive presents like other Europeans. They often send chocolates, wine and flowers of good quality.
小题1: Which food could be more popular among British adults, a hamburger or fish and chips?| A．A hamburger. | B．Fish and chips. | C．Both. | D．Neither. |
小题2:Those who are interested in movies are _____.| A．men | B．women | C．young people | D．old people |
小题3:How long do British women spend watching TV every day?| A．Three hours. | B．Three hours and a half. | C．Two hours. | D．Two hours and a half. |
小题4: British people’s favorite country for a holiday is _____.| A．Spain | B．France | C．America | D．Australia |
小题5: What present don’t British people often send? | A．Chocolates. | B．Wine. | C．Flowers. | D．Money. |
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The British people are among the world’s greatest readers of newspapers．It’s been the custom ever since most people could read．
But why do people want to do nothing but read while traveling to work in a train? Perhaps they are tired, or else they sit behind a newspaper to shut themselves off from the world．All the same, most men would notice a woman struggling with a heavy case and jump up to help her and a pretty girl sitting opposite wouldn’t escape their attention either．In this case a paper is useful because they can have a good look at her from behind it without her knowing．Perhaps they do nothing but read．There are stories of girls and young men who met in the rush hours, got married, and went on traveling in the same train hand in hand．
小题1:The main idea of this passage is that______．| A．people in Britain are great newspaper readers | | B．why people read newspaper when they travel by train | | C．people do nothing but read in a train | | D．when people go to work in a train, they do different things |
小题2:According to this passage, reading newspaper______．| A．is a custom just among men who can read | B．is something the British do only traveling in a train | | C．is a daily activity most people enjoy | D．can help people in many ways |
小题3:A man might be reading a newspaper in a train for the following reasons except that ______．| A．he is trying to get some business news | | B．he wants to have a rest | | C．he hopes to escape the attention of a pretty girl | | D．he doesn’t want to talk with other people around him |
小题4:The writer said that most men in the train would help a woman struggling with a heavy thing．The implication(含义) is that ______．| A．It is interesting for a man to help a woman in trouble | | B．it is considered a man’s duty to offer help to a woman in need | | C．the woman is too weak to carry a heavy case | | D．men are often more interested in other things than reading newspapers, especially when women are in trouble |
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Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.
Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste.
Pink is a lighter kind of color. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.
Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Someone who is blue is very sad.
The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick stomach may say he feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green. If a person is green at his job, he may be a newcomer and inexperienced. Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a new sports car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because their friend has more dollars.
The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day.
小题1:If a person feels blue, he is _____.| A．annoyed | B．depressed | C．stressed | D．encouraged |
小题2:If someone says “you are still green”, he probably means that _______.| A．you are very young | B．you are in a bad mood | C．you are inexperienced | D．you are in good health |
小题3:Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the passage?| A．After two days’ rest, the soldiers were all in the pink. | | B．They had a fierce quarrel so they all felt black about it. | | C．David got hurt by a bike so his face looked blue. | | D．When we meet something unfair, we feel very green. |
小题4:What’s the main idea of the passage?| A．Different colors have different meanings. | | B．What different colors stand for. | | C．The story about different colors. | | D．Colors used in American expressions. |
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Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another．Some societies, such as America and Australia, for example, are mobile and very open．People here change jobs and move house quite often．As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, and they need to get to know people quickly．So it’s normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal．
On the other hand there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long – term relationships are more important．A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business．But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society．
To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first．On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it’s no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don’t want to answer．
Cross-cultural differences aren’t just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them．All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different from place to place．This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with．
Some societies have ‘universalistic’ cultures．These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way．
‘Particularistic’ societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society’s unwritten ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person．So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person．
This difference can cause problems．A traveler from a particularistic society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a country which has a universalistic culture．The Indian traveler has two much luggage, but he explains that he has been away from home for a long time and the suitcases are full of presents for his family．He expects that the check – in official will understand his problem and will change the rules for him．The check – in official explains that if he was allowed to have too much luggage, it wouldn’t be fair to the other passengers．But the traveler thinks this is unfair, because the other passengers don’t have his problem．
小题1:Often moving from one place to another makes people like Americans and Australians _____．| A．like traveling better | B．easy to communicate with | | C．difficult to make real friends | D．have a long–term relationship with their neighbors |
小题2:People like Malaysians prefer to associate with those _________．| A．who will tell them everything of their own | | B．who want to do business with them | | C．they know quite well | | D．who are good at talking |
小题3:A person from a less mobile society will feel it _______ when a stranger keeps talking to him or her, and asking him or her questions．| A．boring | B．friendly | C．normal | D．rough |
小题4:The writer of the passage thinks that the Indian and the German have different ideas about rules because of different _______．| A．interests | B．habits and customs | C．cultures | D．ways of life |
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