Exercises
A. Determining the main idea.
Choose the best answer. Do not refer to the text.
The main idea of the text is _______ . ( D )
(a) that English ancestors invented the main part of the English language in four different ways
(b) that invented words are generally made up in three different ways
(c) that borrowed words and other kinds of words make up about one fifth of the English language
(d) how various kinds of English words are invented
B. Comprehending the text.
Choose the best answer.
1.English has __________ words. ( C )
(a) 6 000
(b) 60 000
(c) 600 000
(d) 6 000 000
2. Ampere, volt and watt are examples of __________ . ( D )
(a) invented words
(b) imitative words
(c) borrowed words
(d) words from the names of persons
3. Prefixes and suffixes are _____________. ( B )
(a) whole words that don't have their own meanings
(b) parts of words that have their special meanings
(c) from either Greek or Latin
(d) parts of words that are meaningless
4. According to the text, "graph" can be used as ___________. ( D )
(a) a root word
(b) a prefix
(c) a suffix
(d) all of the above
5. Every day, ______ lead to the invention of many new words to describe them. ( A )
(a) new discoveries in science and technology
(b) Anglo-Saxon words
(c) root words
(d) nonsense words
6. An invented word may become a permanent part of the English language, if ______ . ( C )
(a) people know where it came from
(b) it was invented by a famous writer
(c) it has been used by many people over a long period of time
(d) linguists are interested in it
7. In the text, the author repeatedly mentions Lewis Carroll as he was ________________. ( D )
(a) an English actor good at making people laugh
(b) a dishonest politician
(c) a character in Alice in Wonderland
(d) a great inventor of meaningless words
8. "Gobbledygook" is an example of ________.( D )
(a) imitative words that sound like the thing or action they stand for
(b) words invented by combining different meanings together
(c) words made up of prefixes and suffixes
(d) long big words that mean nothing
9. In the author's opinion, the best words are _________. ( D )
(a) short ones
(b) gobbledygook
(c) long, fancy ones
(d) short, old ones
10. The author's primary purpose in writing this article is to __________. ( B )
(a) please the reader with the interesting story of different kinds of words
(b) give a general account of the formation of three kinds of words
(c) encourage the reader to learn words according to the word formation
(d) introduce the history of the English language
C. Understanding vocabulary.
Choose the correct definition according to the context.
1. The other one fifth is made up partly of borrowed words and partly of three other kinds of words: words from the names of peoples and places; imitative words; and invented words. ( A )
(a) reproducing closely
(b) similar
(c) original
(d) root
2. Pasteurized gets its name from Louis Pasteur, a French doctor who invented the process for purifying milk. ( B )
(a) Distilled
(b) Purified
(c) Processed
(d) Invented
3. Some words, like astronaut, are made up entirely of Greek or Latin prefixes and suffixes. ( C )
(a) one engaged in the study of the stars
(b) one engaged in the study of the universe
(c) one engaged in space flight
(d) a scientific observer of the celestial bodies
4. If the prefix anti- means "against," what does antibiotic really mean? ( A )
(a) antibacterial
(b) health-protecting
(c) bacteria-producing
(d) non-organic
5. Linguists guess that these are nonsense words because they have not been able to trace them back to any of the ancestor languages. ( A )
(a) Those studying the science of language
(b) Those studying the meaning of words
(c) Those studying the origins of words
(d) Those studying the mystery of words
6. Most of Carroll's nonsense words are not used in English, except for "chortle." ( C )
(a) chuckle
(b) snort
(c) gleeful chuckle
(d) noisy snorting
7. "But ‘glory' doesn't mean ‘a nice knockdown argument'," Alice objected. ( B )
(a) falling
(b) overwhelming
(c) convincing
(d) unpleasant
D. Discussing the following topics.
1. Why do many people use gobbledygook?
答案
It seems that the purpose of using gobbledygook is to cheat people. Many people use gobbledygook because they want to appear more important than they really are or because they don't really want people to understand what they mean or what they are doing.
2. Do you agree with Humpty Dumpty regarding the meaning of a word? Why or why not?
答案 Well, I don't quite agree with him. This issue involves philosophical thinking regarding the relationship between language and idea. If a word means whatever people choose it to mean, the meaning will vary from one person to another, and people will not be able to communicate. On the other hand, people may use the same word in different ways which lead to different meanings. No matter how different the same word may mean, the meaning should be meaningful so that others can understand it.
3. What makes a master of language? Can you name some masters of language?
"A master knows what words really mean, and where they come from; know when to use big, important ones and when to use the shorter, equally important ones". Brevity is the soul of language. Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson are among masters of language.
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