It is one of the most annoying words in the English language and it seems there is no escaping it. The word “huh?” is in worldwide use, a study found.

Researchers discovered that languages spoken in countries from Ghana and Laos to Iceland and Italy all include “huh?”, or something that sounds very like it. They said that while the study may sound silly, the word is an absolutely necessary part of speech. Without it and similar words, it would be impossible to show that we haven’t heard or understood what had been said and this would lead to constant misunderstandings.

But while other words used in the same context, such as “sorry” or “what”, vary widely across languages, “huh?” remains unchanged.

The Dutch researchers carefully studied ten languages from around the world, including Siwu, which is spoken in Ghana, and an Australian Aboriginal language, as well as Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese.

They analysed tapes of recorded conversations for words that sounded like “huh?” and were used to request that whatever had just been said be repeated. All contained a version of “huh?”. The word was also found in another 21 languages. While there were subtle differences in each country, all sounded basically the same.

This is surprising because normally unrelated languages will use very different words to describe the same thing. For instance, the Japanese for “dog” is “inu”, while the French is “chien”. It is thought that languages around the world have developed their own version of “huh?” because the sound is quick and simple to form, as well as being easily understood.

The researchers, said that it might seem unimportant to carry out scientific research into a word like “huh?” but in fact this little word is an essential tool in human communication. They also have an answer for those who claim that “huh?” isn’t a word. They say that it qualifies because of the small differences in its pronunciation in different languages. It also can be considered a word because it’s something we learn to say, rather than a grunt or cry that we are born knowing how to make.

1. According to researchers, the word “huh?” is very important in speech because of ________.

A. its stable meaning in language development

B. its important function in communication

C. its simple and easy sound and spelling

D. its popularity in every language

2.What is the natural response if you hear the lady you’re speaking to say “huh?”?

A. You should ask her to repeat what she says before that.

B. You should apologize to her for speaking in a low voice.

C. You should invite her to share her different views politely.

D. You should try to repeat what you’ve just said in a clearer way.

3.The main method used in the research of “huh?” was ________.

A. interviewing language experts in universities

B. talking with people from ten different countries

C. analyzing the recorded conversations in different languages

D. comparing different words with the same meaning in different languages

4.According to researchers, “huh?” should be considered a word rather than a sound because ________.

A. it is listed in most dictionaries

B. it is something humans learn to say

C. there is a clear and consistent spelling of the word

D. there is a big difference in the way it pronounces in different languages

5.What is the purpose of the passage?

A. To inform readers about research on the worldwide used word “huh?”.

B. To argue that “huh?” is the most important word in every language.

C. To entertain readers by relating similar idioms in different languages.

D. To instruct readers of the differences of “huh?” in different languages.

 

【答案】

 

1.B

2.D

3.C

4.B

5.A  

【解析】

試題分析:文章大意:研究發(fā)現(xiàn),各國語言當(dāng)中最廣泛使用的一個詞是“huh?”。

1.B細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段中的They said that while the study may sound silly, the word is an absolutely necessary part of speech.可知,此詞在說話當(dāng)中很重要。故B正確。

2.D細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第五段的第一句They analysed tapes of recorded conversations for words that sounded like “huh?” and were used to request that whatever had just been said be repeated.可以得出答案。故D正確。

3.C細節(jié)判斷題。根據(jù)第五段的首句They analysed tapes of recorded conversations for words that sounded like “huh?”可知研究者分析不同語言的談話記錄。 故C正確。

4.B細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)最后一段最后一句It also can be considered a word because it’s something we learn to say, rather than a grunt or cry that we are born knowing how to make.可以得出答案。故B正確。

5.A主旨大意題。根據(jù)全文可知研究者對“huh?”的研究,告訴讀者此詞是全世界用得最廣泛的一個詞。 故A正確。

考點:考查文化類閱讀

 

練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解

Some spiders hunt on the ground, others build webs to trap their food, but the grass water spider catches its prey by running along the surface of the water.

This special water spider lives on the grassy banks of streams where mosquitoes, damsel flies and other insects come to feed and breed.

Although it is one of the largest spiders in New Zealand, it has an unusual ability. It doesn’t disturb the water as it waits for its meal, and there is barely a ripple(波紋) when it skims(掠過) across the surface at lightning speed to catch its prey.

Grass water spiders deal swiftly with larger insects like damsel flies by pulling their heads under the water and holding them there until they drown.

After a meal, the grass water spider spends up to half an hour grooming(修飾) itself. It wipes its eight eyes, brushes its antennae(觸角), and takes special care to clean the hairs on its body.

It is the hairs that trap tiny bubbles(泡沫) of air so that the spider can run down a blade(葉片) of grass and stay underwater for up to an hour when it is frightened. The hairs also keep the spider dry, even underwater.

It is only when the female spider is caring for the young that she does not hunt on the water. After mating, she produces a large egg sac(囊), which she carries around for five weeks. Once the eggs start to hatch, she attaches the sac to some blades of grass or a thistle. She then tears the sac open and releases the tiny spiders into the nursery web.

How does the grass water spider kill its prey?

A. in a web     B. by drowning      C. by poisoning     D. with its antennae

the writer describes the special spider as “special” because _______.

A. it walks on water                    B. it has eight eyes  

C. of its hairy appearance             D. of the way it produces its young

The passage tells us that the spider ______.

A. feeds grass and thistles to its young.    

B. lives on blades of grass under the water

C. lives in the grass on the banks of streams  

D. eats a meal once every five weeks

The purpose of the passage is to _______.

A. convince readers that spiders are dangerous  

B. indicate that the grass water spider is endangered

C. list all of the spiders that can be found in New Zealand

D. describe the characteristics of the grass water spider

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:2013-2014學(xué)年浙江省高三上學(xué)期期末考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:單項填空

In most cases, college graduates don't mind what job they will do so long as it is one ______ they can earn money to support themselves.

A. what????????????? ????????????? ?? ????????????? B. where????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? C. that????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? ????????????? D. how

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:2015屆寧夏高一下學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

How Americans Began to Eat Tomatoes

People have strange ideas about food. For example, the tomato is a kind of very

delicious vegetable. It is one of useful plants that can be prepared in many ways. It has rich nutrition and vitamin in it. But in the 18th century, Americans never ate tomatoes. They grow them in their gardens because tomato plants are so pretty. But they thought the vegetable was poisonous (有毒的). They called tomatoes “poison apples”.

President Thomas Jefferson, however, knew that tomatoes were good to eat. He was a learned man. He had been to Paris, where he learned to love the taste of tomatoes. He grew many kinds of tomatoes in his garden. The President taught his cook a way for a cream of tomato soup. This beautiful pink soup was served at the President’s party. The guests thought the soup tasted really good. They never thought their president would serve his honored guests poison apples. Jefferson never spoke to his honored (尊貴的) guests about the fact.

1.After you read the passage, which of the following do you think is true?

A.Americans never ate tomatoes after they began to plant them.

B.American didn’t eat tomatoes before the 19th century.

C.Even now Americans don’t eat tomatoes

D.In the 18th century Americans ate a lot of tomatoes.

2.The passage tells us that Jefferson was a President who learned to love the taste of tomatoes.

A.while he was in Paris .

B.when he was a little boy.

C.the President ’s cook.

D.the President’s wife.

3.According to the text, ________cooked the beautiful pink soup at the President ’s party?

A.the President himself.

B.A French cook

C.the President ’s cook

D.the President’s wife

4.The underlined word “cook”in paragraph2 means_______

A.廚房             B.廚師             C.廚具             D.做飯

5.From the passage we know all the honored guests invited by Jefferson were______.

A.people from other countries               B.from France

C.People of his own country                 D.men only

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:2013屆浙江省高二獎學(xué)金考試英語試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

About this time every year, I get very nostalgic(懷舊的). Walking through my neighborhood on a fall afternoon reminds me of a time not too long ago when sounds of children filled the air, children playing games on a hill, and throwing leaves around in the street below. I was one of those children, carefree and happy. I live on a street that is only one block long. I have lived on the same street for sixteen years. I love my street. One side has six houses on it, and the other has only two houses, with a small hill in the middle and a huge cottonwood tree on one end. When I think of home, I think of my street. Only I see it as it was before. Unfortunately things change. One day, not long ago, I looked around and saw how different everything has become. Life on my street will never be the same because neighbors are quickly grown old, friends are growing up and leaving, and the city is planning to destroy my precious hill and sell the property to contractors.

    It is hard for me to accept that many of my wonderful neighbors are growing old and won’t be around much longer. I have fond memories of the couple across the street, who sat together on their porch swing almost every evening, the widow next door who yelled at my brother and me for being too loud, and the crazy old man in a black suit who drove an old car. In contrast to those people, the people I see today are very old neighbors who have seen better days. The man in the black suit says he wants to die, and another neighbor just sold his house and moved into a nursing home. The lady who used to yell at us is too tired to bother any more, and the couple across the street rarely go out to their front porch these days. It is difficult to watch these precious people as they near the end of their lives because at once I thought they would live forever.

    The “comings and goings” of the younger generation of my street are now mostly “goings” as friends and peers move on. Once upon a time, my life and the lives of my peers revolved around home. The boundary of our world was the gutter at the end of the street. We got pleasure from playing night games or from a breathtaking ride on a tricycle. Things are different now, as my friends become adults and move on. Children who rode tricycles now drive cars. The kids who once played with me now have new interests and values as they go their separate ways. Some have gone away to college like me, a few got married, two went into the army, and one went to prison. Watching all these people grow up and go away makes me long for the good old days.

    Perhaps the biggest change on my street is the fact that the city is going to turn my precious hill into several lots for now homes. For sixteen years, the view out of my kitchen window has been a view of that hill. The hill was a fundamental part of my childhood life; it was the hub of social activity for the children of my street. We spent hours there building forts, sledding, and playing tag. The view out of my kitchen window now is very different; it is one of tractors and dump trucks tearing up the hill. When the hill goes, the neighborhood will not be the same. It is a piece of my childhood. It is a visual reminder of being a kid. Without the hill, my street will be just another pea in the pod.

There was a time when my street was my world, and I thought my world would never change. But something happened. People grow up, and people grow old. Places changes, and with the change comes the heartache of knowing I can never go back to the times I loved. In a year or so, I will be gone just like many of my neighbors. I will always look back to my years as a child, but the place I remember will not be the silent street whose peace is interrupted by the sounds of construction. It will be the happy, noisy, somewhat strange, but wonderful street I knew as a child.

1.The writer calls up the memory of the street _____________.

A. every year when autumn comes

B. in the afternoon every day

C. every time he walks along his street

D. now that he is an old man

2.The writer finds it hard to accept the fact that _____________.

A. many of his good neighbors are growing old

B. the lady next door who used to yell at him and his brother is now a widow

C. the life of his neighbors has become very boring

D. the man in his black suit even wanted to end his own life

3.The writer thinks of the past all the more when he sees those who had grown up with him _____________.

A. continue to consider home to be the center of their lives

B. leave the neighborhood they grew up in

C. still enjoy playing card games in the evenings

D. develop new interests and have new dreams

4.The biggest change on the writer's street is _____________.

A. removing the hill to make way for residential development

B. the building of new homes behind his kitchen window

C. the fact that there are much fewer people around than in the past

D. the change in his childhood friends' attitude towards their neighborhood

5.What does the writer mean by saying “my street will be another pea in the     pod”?

A. his street will be very noisy and dirty

B. his street will soon be crowded with people

C. his street will have some new attractions

D. his street will be no different from any other street

6.Which could be a good title for the passage?

A. The Past of My Street will Live Forever

B. Unforgettable People and Things of My Street

C. Memory Street Isn't What It Used to Be

D. The Big Changes of My Street

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:2011-2012學(xué)年四川省高考適應(yīng)性考試(一)英語試卷(解析版) 題型:短文改錯

短文改錯

Dear Hou Ting,

I am sorry that maths disappoint you, but you can’t give it up.

As you say, it is one of the most important subject and there

is a reason for this. We have to use maths from all the time.

Wherever your career takes you, maths will have to be using.

In fact , most employers and universities will accept people

who have failed or given up maths. All you can do is try your

best in maths and make the most use of time you had. If you

have trouble understand anything, the first person you should

tell is your teacher. That is often surprising how simple things

seem when you are explained properly — even maths problems!

 

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案