Of all systems of symbols, 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 system. 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 country understand 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 (內在地) connected in 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 system 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 dressed.

3. In Paragraph 3, the underlined words “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 idea about how language works

5. What does the writer of this passage think of language?

   A. appreciative                                   B. depreciative

   C. neutral                                           D. unknown

The watch and chain as well as the ring    of gold.

A．a(chǎn)re made         B．were made        C．is made           D．was made

 

It was a cold night in December. Two beggars were sitting on a busy street corner in the downtown section of the city. The cold wind made them huddle (擠) together for heat and comfort. They watched helplessly as scores of people walked by, some ignoring them on purpose and others too caught up in their own cares to even notice their existence. Every so often, a kind-hearted woman or a small child would drop a few coins in the hats which lay in front of them on the icy sidewalk. Some people, feeling particularly generous, would even pull out a bill or two from their wallets and drop them into the beggars’ hats and then continued their walking.

Today was not a bad day for begging. The men were able to collect enough for a good meal at the coffee shop down the street and a few candles to light up their shelter in the alley (胡同) behind the train station. As the crowd began to die down, they started to pack up their bundles and head for their evening shelter.

Just as they were getting ready to leave the street corner, they noticed a man walking toward them. He was obviously a wealthy man — they could tell that from the finely tailored business suit he was wearing and the gold watch chain adorned (裝飾) his left pocket.

The first beggar looked at the second and whispered with excitement, “He’s coming our way!

The two tried not to look directly at the man as he stepped closer to them, but they couldn’t help staring at him as he reached into his pocket and took something out.

“Thunk” was the only sound they heard as what looked like a piece of hard candy, wrapped carefully in tissue paper hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man turned and continued on his way, not making a backward glance.

“How insulting!” said the first beggar, as soon as the rich man was out of sight. “He could have easily left us a few coins or a spare bill, but he played a joke on us with a piece of rock candy.”

He looked at the wrapped offering with disgust. “Who does he think we are — children? There’s no way we can even eat this — we have no teeth.”

The beggar picked up the object with the very tips of his fingers and threw it into the gutter (排水溝). He watched as it floated a few yards in the stream of muddy water and disappeared into the gutter at the end of the street. Then, he gathered up his things and walked away.

The second beggar looked down at the morsel in his hat, then at his departing friend. His first thought was to toss the donation in the trash can under the street light. But his second thought made him change his mind.

“I haven’t had anything like this for ages,” he thought. “I can’t chew it, but I can suck on it for a while, and the sweet juice will stay in my mouth for a long time. How nice of that man to offer me something so sweet!”

He opened the paper eagerly, then paused as his hands touched the inside. “Maybe I should save it for another time,” he thought. “It won’t spoil, and I could eat it later when I’m really hungry.”

The beggar paused for a moment, then he said aloud, “He wanted me to have it anyway. I might as well enjoy it now.”

With that, he unfolded the paper, but to his surprise, there was no hard rock candy inside. Instead, into his fingers fell a shiny white pearl worth thousands of dollars.

55. The first paragraph serves as a(n) ______.

A. explanation 　　　　B. introduction 　　C. background 　　 D. comment

56. The two beggars started to leave the street corner when ____.

A. darkness fell 　　　　　　　　 B. few people passed by

C. they felt too cold 　　　　　　　D. the wind began to blow hard.

57. The two beggars thought the man was rich from _____.

A. his appearance 　　　　　　　B. his way of walking

C. the jewellery he wore 　　　　　D. the shiny shoes

58. What did the first beggar think of the rich man?

A. He looked down upon the poor. 　B. He was very kind and warm-hearted

C. He treated them as children D. He was too mean.

59. The underlined words “the morsel in his hat” probably refer to ______.

A. the donation from the rich man

B. the coins the second beggar collected

C. the rock candy the rich man gave the second beggar

D. the food the second beggar left over

60. What can we learn from the story?

A. Every dog has its day.

B. Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.

C. He who laughs last laughs best.

D. He that can have patience can have what he will.

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 country understand 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(內在地） connected in some way with the things symbolized.

68．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

69．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 dressed.

70．In Paragraph 3, “take special pains” probably means “_____”.

       A．try very hard    B．take our time    C．a(chǎn)re very unhappy     D．feel especially painful

71．The example of the little boy is used to show that _____.

       A．a(chǎn)dults 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