閱讀下列短文,從每題所給的四個選項A、B、C和D中,選出最佳選項。

Language as a System of Symbols

  Of all systems of symbols(符號),language is the most highly developed.It has been pointed out that human beings,by agreement,can make anything stand for anything.Human beings have agreed,in the course of centuries of mutual(相互的)dependency,to let the various noises that they can produce with their lungs,throats,tongues,teeth,and lips systematically stand for certain happenings in their nervous systems.We call that system of agreements language.

  There is no necessary connection between the symbol and that which it stands for.Just as social positions can be symbolized by feathers worn on the head,by gold on the watch chain,or by a thousand other things according to the culture we live in,so the fact of being hungry can be symbolized by a thousand different noises according to the culture we live in.

  However obvious these facts may appear at first glance,they are actually not so obvious as they seem except when we take special pains to think about the subject.Symbols and the things they stand for are independent of each other,yet we all have a way of feeling as if,and sometimes acting as if,there were necessary connections.For example,there are people who feel that foreign languages are unreasonable by nature:foreigners have such funny names for things,and why can't they call things by their right names?This feeling exhibits itself most strongly in those English and American tourists who seem to believe that they can make the natives of any countryunderstand English if they shout loud enough.Like the little boy who is reported to have said:“Pigs are called pigs because they are such dirty animals,”they feel that the symbol is inherently(內(nèi)在地)connected iff some way with the things symbolized.

(1)

Language is a highly developed system of symbols because human beings ________

[  ]

A.

have made use of language for centuries

B.

use our nervous systems to support language

C.

have made various noises stand for any events

D.

can make anything stand for anything by agreement

(2)

What can we conclude from Paragraph 2?

[  ]

A.

Different noises may mean different things.

B.

Our culture determines what a symbol stands for.

C.

The language we use symbolizes our social positions.

D.

Our social positions determine the way we are dresse.

(3)

In Paragraph 3,“take special pains”probably means“________”

[  ]

A.

try very hard

B.

take our time

C.

are very unhappy

D.

feel especially painful

(4)

The example of the little boy is used to show that ________

[  ]

A.

adults often learn from their young

B.

“pig”is a dirty word because pigs are dirty

C.

words are not connected with the things they stand for

D.

people sometimes have wrong ideas about how language works

答案:1.D;2.B;3.A;4.D;
解析:

(1)

解析:第一句和第二句。

(2)

解析:符號和它的意思之間并沒有必要的聯(lián)系,只有文化才能決定它代表的意思。

(3)

解析:try very hard非常努力的,由于大家普遍認(rèn)為符號和事物之間存在著必要的聯(lián)系,只有深入的思考才能發(fā)現(xiàn)其實符號和事物之間并沒有聯(lián)系。

(4)

解析:little boy的這個例子說明了有人認(rèn)為符號是事物與生俱有的。


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