2014届高考英语考前突破阅读理解能力：《英语单词huh全球通用》.docVIP

英语单词huh全球通用 It is one of the most irritating words in the English language and it seems there is no escaping it.The word huh is in worldwide use, a study found. 荷兰研究人员研究发现，英语中最气人的词“huh”已经成为世界各种语言“不可缺少的”组成部分。 ? 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 project may sound frivolous（无聊的，轻佻的）, the word is an indispensable part of speech. ? Without it and similar words, it would be impossible to show that we havent 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 recorded around 20 informal conversations in each of ten languages from around the world. ?These included Siwu, which is spoken in Ghana, Chapalaa from Ecuador, and Murriny Patha - an Australian Aboriginal language, as well as Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Mandarin Chinese. ? The tapes were analysed for words that sounded like huh? and were used to request that whatever had just been said was repeated. ? All contained a version of huh. The word was also found in another 21 languages form around the globe that were studied in less detail. ? While there were subtle（微妙的） differences in each country, all had a near-identical sound. ?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.? Or, in words of the EU-funded researchers, it is a simple, minimal, quick-to-produce questioning syllable. ? Writing in the journal PLoS ONE, they said that while the sound may seem almost primitive in its simpli