阅读理解9--练习题.pdf

奥鹏远程教育中心 阅读理解 9 Passage 15 (语言的起源 ） 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 thought and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to present those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, we call words. 人们最初是如何发明单词的不得而知，换句话说，语言的起源是个秘密。 所有我们所知道的只是， 人，不同于动物，不知怎么发明了某些声音来表达思 想、情感、行为和物质，以便相互交流；后来统一 了某些被称为字母的符号， 这些字母可以连起来代表那些声音，可以写下来。我们把那些声音叫做单词，不 管他们是口语还是书面语。 The power of words, then, lies in their associations-the thing they bring up before our 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 increases. 1 / 19 奥鹏远程教育中心 文字的力量在于其联系性—它们把这些联系性带到我们的头脑中。通过经 历，单词对我们充满了意 义。我们活得越久，某些单词就越能使我们回忆起过 去的喜怒哀乐；我们越是阅读和学习，有意义的单 词数量就越增加。 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. 伟大的