Language is the most astonishing behavior in the animal kingdom. It is the species-typical behavior that sets humans completely __1__ from all other animals. Language is a means of communication, __2__ it is much more than that. Many animals can __3__. The dance of the honeybee communicates the location of flowers __4__ other members of the hive (蜂群). But human language permits communication about anything, __5__ things like unicorn (独角兽) that have never existed. The key __6__ in the fact that the units of meaning, words, can be __7__ together in different ways, according to __8__, to communicate different meanings.
Language is the most important learning we do. Nothing __9__ humans so much as our ability to communicate abstract thoughts, __10__ about the universe, the mind, love, dreams, or ordering a drink. It is an immensely complex __11__ that we take for granted. Indeed, we are not aware of most __12__ of our speech and understanding. Consider what happens when one person is speaking to __13__. The speaker has to translate thoughts into __14_ language. Brain imaging studies suggest that the time from thoughts to the __15__ of speech is extremely fast, only 0.04 seconds! The listener must hear the sounds to __16__ out what the speaker means. He must use the sounds of speech to __17__ the words spoken, understand the pattern of __18__ of the words (sentences), and finally __19__ the meaning. This takes somewhat longer, a minimum of about 0.5 seconds. But __20__ started, it is of course a continuous process.
1, A) apart B) off C) up D) down
2, A) so B) but C) or D) for
3, A) transfer B) transmit C) convey D) communicate
4, A) to B) from C) over D) on
5, A) only B) almost C) even D) just
6, A) stays B) situates C) hides D) lies
7, A) stuck B) strung C) rung D) consisted
8, A) rules B) scales C) laws D) standards
9, A) combines B) contains C) defines D) declares
10,A) what B) whether C) while D) if
11,A) prospect B) progress C) process D) produce
12,A) aspects B) abstracts C) angles D) assumptions
13,A) anybody B) another C) other D) everybody
14,A) body B) gesture C) written D) spoken
15,A) growing B) fixing C) beginning D) building
16,A) put B) take C) draw D) figure
17,A) identify B) locate C) reveal D) discover
18,A) performanceB) organizationC) design D) layout
19,A) prescribe B) justify C) utter D) interpret
20,A) since B) after C) once D) until
1A 2D 3D 4A 5B 6C 7B 8D 9B 10A 11A 12B 13D 14D 15A 16B 17C 18A 19D 20C
作业:
1,Specialists in intercultural studies say that it is not easy to ________ (适应不同文化中的生活).
2,Since my childhood I have found that ________ (没有什么比读书对我更有吸引力).
3,The victim ________ (本来会有机会活下来) if he had been taken to hospital in time.
4,Some psychologists claim that people ________ (出门在外时可能会感到孤独).
5,The nation’s population continues to rise ________ (以每年1200万人的速度).
posted on 2008-05-08 15:17
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四级词汇