Howmenfirstlearnttoinventwords-优题课

How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery． All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters． These letters could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down． Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words．
The power of words, then, lies in their associations---the things they bring up before our

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minds． Words become filled with meaning for us by experience, and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad 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． Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions． This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style． Above all, the real poet is a master of words． He can convey 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 accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar（粗俗的)．

Which is TRUE about the origin of language?

A．Men, as well as animals, in vented certain sounds to express thoughts．

B．The origin of language is a complicated question．

C．Words did not haven written form, at first．

D．Words were invented to represent meanings．

The power of words lies in ．

A．the fact that it can associate the things in the world with the ideas in our minds．

B．the fact that once word is connected with another

C．the fact that it can associate one person with another

D．the fact that it can recall to us the events of our past

The following statements are true EXCEPT that ．

A．the more we read and learn, the larger

our vocabulary will be

B．the longer we live, the number of words that mean something to us increases

C．words can be used to represent various meanings

D．literary style is usually very charming

What does this passage primarily concern?

A．The Meaning of Words．

B．The Characteristics of Words．

C．The Origin of Words．

D．The Power of Words．

科目英语题型阅读理解难度较易

知识点：日常生活类阅读

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son.
Suddenly a crow（乌鸦）perched on the tree near their window.
The father asked his son, “What is this? ”
The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son the 2^nd time, “What is this?”
The son said, “Father, I have just now told you It’s a crow’. ”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the 3^rd time, “What is this? ”
“It’s a crow, a crow, a crow.” said the son loudly.
A little after, the father again asked his son the 4^th time, “What is this?”
This time the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel annoyed; I rather felt affection for my innocent child. ”
In what tone did the son say to his Father “It’s a crow, a crow, a crow. ”?

Why did the Father ask the same question again and again?

A．Because he wanted to make his son angry.

B．Because he was too old to remember anything.

C．Because he couldn't understand what his son said.

D．Because he wanted to see how patient his son would be.

How old was the old man when his son asked him 23 times “What is this”?

What is the most suitable title for the passage?

An 11-year-old boy who has been compared to Spanish Impressionist (印象派画家), the great Pablo Picasso, is holding his first exhibition at Llangollen’s Gardening Show this weekend.
Hamad al-Humaidhan, who was born in Kuwait but now lives in Bath, Britain, had no previous knowledge of art history when he first picked up a brush.
But he began to paint his favourite football player, Cristiano Ronaldo, using Picasso’s trademarks (标志) —bright colours and impressionistic forms.
His father said, "I’ve got lots of books about Picasso and I showed them to Hamad but he didn’t know anything about Picasso —it’s just naturally the way he sees it and he just loves to paint."
His first painting of Ronaldo, done when he was just nine, was sold at auction (拍卖) in Bath for ￡650, which drew the attention of local art businessman Steve Turner. "A colleague sent me some pictures of Hamad’s work and I just couldn’t believe the size of it and how the colours blended (融合) together," he said. "He had talent and I thought Picasso had been reborn.""I’ve shown his work to private art collectors. They liked them very much and everyone was eager to buy, so the first six paintings have been snapped up. I bought two of them myself. The next set of his works will go on show for the first time at Llangollen, which will be the first opportunity for the public to see his amazing talent."
Hamad enjoys maths at school but ranks painting higher. "I think I prefer painting! It makes me relaxed and when I feel tired I just pick up a paint brush," he said. "I just close my eyes and see how it’s going to look and then I just paint it —I paint every day. I just love the colours and I want people to enjoy my paintings."
Now Hamad is nervously waiting for the opening of his exhibition.
What is the text mainly about?

A．Hamad’s painting exhibition.

B．Hamad and his talent for painting.

C．The popularity of Hamad’s works.

From the text, we can learn that Hamad ________.

A．began to learn painting when he was a boy

B．has read many books about art history

C．likes Cristiano Ronaldo very much

D．knows a lot about Picasso

According to the text, Hamad’s first painting of Ronal-do ________.

A．has bright colours and impressionistic forms

B．was bought by Steve Turner

C．was completed five years ago

D．is his favourite work

What does the underlined phrase "snapped up"in the fifth paragraph probably mean?

A．Shown to the public.

B．Bought very quickly.

C．Cleaned up.

D．Hung up.

What can we learn from the text?

A．Steve Turner speaks very highly of Hamad.

B．Hamad prefers maths to painting.

C．Hamad’s works will be sold after the show.

D．The public can see all Hamad’s paintings at the show.

My first full-time job after high school was selling vacation packages via the telephone for a well-known company. One day, I was put through to a man who sounded a bit out of breath. I started with my normal pitch (音高), expecting to hear the normal reply —"I don’t want any."
Instead, he spoke in a faint, weak voice and told me how he wished to take a vacation I was offering, but he couldn’t because he was dying of illness. He explained how he was lacking in oxygen then, and it took almost all his energy to answer the call. He asked if I smoked, which I did, and begged me to stop. He told me smoking was what was killing him. He told me to spend every day with my loved ones, and tell them how much I love them. At this point, I couldn’t control myself. We ended the call, but I held on my phone to prevent another call coming in so I could collect myself.
I wrote down his name and address, and sent him a card appreciating his advice and praying for him and his family. Shortly after, I received a letter from Frank, along with a picture of him and his wife. We continued to write back and forth over the next few months, and became very fond of each other. He was old enough to be my grandfather, and in many ways, I felt as if he was.
About a year later I received a letter from his wife. When I started to read, tears came to my eyes. She told me how Frank’s battle with the disease had finally come to an end, and he passed away shortly before the Christmas. She wanted to thank me for the letters to Frank, and explained how Frank touched many lives over the years. At his funeral, to show just that, they read the 1st letter I had written to Frank to show how he affected a 19-year-old he’d never met.
The author was then probably working for ______.

A．a travel agency

B．a cigarette company

C．an e-shopping store

D．a vacation school

The underlined part "collect myself" in the second paragraph probably means "_______".

What can we infer from the text?

A．Frank was in hospital while answering the phone.

B．Frank is actually the author’s grandfather.

C．There was something wrong with Frank’s lung.

D．The author asked Frank to travel and he took his advice.

We can learn from the text that the author ________.

A．took down Frank’s name and address to visit him in person

B．was warmly welcomed by her customers when she called them

C．didn’t stop smoking even though Frank asked him to

D．kept in touch with Frank through letters until he died

At Frank’s funeral the author’s 1st letter to Frank was read in order to ____.

A．encourage people to fight against disease and live bravely

B．indicate that Frank touched many people’s hearts

C．show the good relationship between Frank and the author

D．praise Frank and give thanks to the author

When 18th-century scientists first came across Australia’s platypus(鸭嘴兽), they thought it was a trick. It is not surprising that the platypus made people confused. This funny-looking animal has feet and is a kind of warm-blooded mammal.
While other mammals usually keep their blood at around 37 degrees, the platypus has a lower body temperature of 32 degrees. As to its appearance, the platypus’mouth is not really like ducks’at all; its mouth actually looks a bit soft. The platypus closes its eyes when swimming. It uses its mouth to pick up outside information made by the creatures underwater.
Strangest of all, the platypus is a mammal that can lay eggs. And there is only one other kind of mammal that can lay eggs, the echidna (针鼹鼠) of Australia. Both the platy-pus and the echidna lay soft-shelled eggs, and both feed their young with their own milk that comes out of their skin. These animals also walk in a way that is similar to crocodiles(鳄鱼), with legs on the sides of their bodies rather than under them.
Though pretty, in a special way, the platypus is actually one of the few mammals that are poisonous. A male platypus has knife-like bones on its back legs which have enough poison to kill a dog.
The platypus has the honor of being one of the oldest mammals in the world. Until the early 20th century, it was hunted for its fur, but the situation has changed. Although the platypus is easily affected by pollution, it is not under any immediate threat.
What can we learn about the platypus according to the text?

A．It has a lower body temperature than other mammals.

B．It only closes its eyes when underwater.

C．It’s the only poisonous mammal in the world.

D．It feeds its young on wild animal meat.

Which of the following is NOT used as a comparison with the platypus in the text?

The following characteristics of the platypus have been described in the text EXCEPT ________.

A．its natural enemy	B．its appearance
C．its walking pose	D．its daily diet

We can infer from the last paragraph that the platypus _______.

A．is hunted for its meat	B．is in danger of extinction
C．is endangered by air pollution	D．is well-protected now

Which of the following would be the best title for this text?

A．Platypus, a Trick?

B．Platypus, the Only Warm-Blooded Mammal

C．The Characteristics of Platypus

D．The Strange Mammal —Platypus。

It is really a happy thing to look back on the days I spent with Jennie. We met in night school. After Jennie and I had completed the required courses, we started teaching in the same school. For a time we were just casual friends, but one day, when I was telling Jennie about my problem son, we discovered we were kindred (同类的) spirits. "He’s a difficult little character," I explained. Jennie looked thoughtful. "Maybe you’re only seeing him with your eyes." She was silent for a moment and then added softly, "It is only with the heart that one sees rightly." I stared at her. "You’re quoting (引用) that! It’s from The Little Prince, Saint-Exupery’s book for children, one of my favorites. You know it, too?" Jennie nodded. "I love it. I’ve read it so often. I’ve practically memorized it."
Now, when I think of Jennie, I recall that book because Jennie —more than anyone I know —possessed the gift of seeing with the heart.
From that moment of a treasured book shared, our friendship grew steadily. It wasn’t that I didn’t have an excellent relationship with my husband and son, but my mother had died shortly after my marriage, and I had neither sisters nor daughters. I realize, now, how I needed someone to share those little, seemingly unimportant things that add so much to life —things that must be shared to be fully appreciated.
And it was Jennie who helped me with my fourth-grade problem child. One day I was at my wit’s end. "What he needs is a good beating!" I exploded.
"He’s probably had plenty of those," Jennie said. "Maybe he just needs sincere praise for anything he does right, and a hug or two each day." I followed this suggestion, and eventually, because of Jennie, I discovered a lovable little boy.
Looking back, I have to admit that she taught me so much. The days I spent with her has become one of my happiest memories.
What does the underlined part mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．I was unsure of how to treat my son.

B．I decided to give up my job.

C．I faced financial difficulties.

D．I was very disappointed with myself.

How did the author and Jennie’s friendship grow?

A．They both were interested in children’s education.

B．They both liked a novel, The Little Prince.

C．They often chatted together about their families.

D．They both worked in the same school.

We learn from the text that __________.

A．the author has the gift of seeing with the heart

B．the author had no friends before meeting Jennie