英语泛读教程3 快速阅读.doc

Unit 1 P91Have you ever heard "hit the nail on the head"? Have you ever watched a clumsy man hammering a nail into a box? He hits it first to one side, then to another, perhaps knocking it over completely, so that in the end he only gets half of it into the wood. A skillful carpenter, on the other hand, will drive home the nail with a few firm, deft blows, hitting it each time squarely on the head. So it is with language; the good craftsman will choose words that drive home his point firmly and exactly. A word that is more or less right, a loose phrase, an ambiguous expression, a vague adjective, will not satisfy a writer who aims at clean English. He will try always to get the word that is completely right for his purpose. The French have an apt phrase for this. They speak of "le mot juste", the word that is just right. Stories are told of scrupulous writers, like Flaubert, who spent days trying to get one or two sentences exactly right. Words are many and various; they are subtle and delicate in their different shades of meaning, and it is not easy to find the ones that express precisely what we want to say. It is not only a matter of having a good command of language and a fairly wide vocabulary; it is also necessary to think hard and to observe accurately. Choosing words is part of the process of realization, of defining our thoughts and feelings for ourselves, as well as for those who hear or read our words. Someone once remarked: "How can I know what I think till I see what I say?" This sounds stupid, but there is a great deal of truth in it. It is hard work choosing the right words, but we shall be rewarded by the satisfaction that finding them brings. The exact use of language gives us mastery over the material we are dealing with. Perhaps you have been asked "What sort of a man is so-and-so?" You begin: "Oh, I think he's quite a nice chap but he's rather." and then you hesitate trying to find a word or phrase to express what it is about him that you don't like, that constitutes his limitation. When you find the right phrase you feel that your conception of the man is clearer and sharper. In certain primitive tribes it was thought dangerous to reveal your name to a stranger. It might give him power over you. Even in modern civilized society you find yourself at a slight social disadvantage if someone knows your name but you don't know his. Command of words is ultimately command over life and experience. (447 words) 1. The author uses the idiom "hit the nail on the head" to demonstrate _ .( D ) (a) the skill of a carpenter (b) the importance of being skillful (c) how one's point can be driven home (d) the importance for a writer to choose the right word 2. The word "scrupulous" in paragraph two means _ . ( A ) (a) minutely careful (b) highly skillful (c) very accomplished (d) carpenter-like 3. To find an appropriate word for the specified purpose _. ( D ) (a) is a matter of command of the specific language only (b) is a matter of vocabulary (c) is to pick out a word with subtle meaning (d) involves telling people your thoughts and feelings 4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage? ( C ) (a) Choosing a right word for the right situation is challenging and rewarding. (b) Choosing a right word means weighing among its many synonyms. (c) You need to have a clear idea of the thing you are describing to choose the right word. (d) The different shades of meaning are helpful to our expression of ideas. 5. It can be inferred that the paragraph that follows the passage may possibly discuss _ . ( B ) (a) a carpenter's work (b) choice of words (c) modern civilized society (d) primitive tribes 2 English has a wide vocabulary and it is a very flexible language. There are many different ways of making a statement. But words that are very similar in meaning have fine shades of difference and a student needs to be alive to these differences. By using his dictionary, and above all by reading, a student can increase his sensitivity to these shades of difference and improve his ability to express his own meanings exactly. Professor Raleigh once stated: "There are no synonyms, and the same statement can never be repeated in a changed form of words." This is perhaps too absolute, but it is not easy to disapprove. Even a slight alteration in the wording of a statement can subtly shift the meaning. The change in words is a change in style, and the effect on the reader is quite different. It is perhaps easier to be a good craftsman with wood and nails than a good craftsman with words, but all of us can increase our skill and sensitivity with a little effort and patience. In this way we shall not only improve our writing, but also our reading. Above all we should try to cultivate an interest in words. The study of words, of their origins and shifting meanings, can tell us a great deal about human life and thought. English offers a fascinating variety of words for many activities and interests. The foreign student of English may be discouraged and dismayed when he learns that there are over 400 000 words in the English language, without counting slang. But let him take courage. More than half of these words are dead. Even Shakespeare used a vocabulary of only some 20 000 words. The average Englishman today probably has a vocabulary range of from 12 000 to 13 000 words. It is good to make your vocabulary as complete as you can, but a great deal can be said and written with a vocabulary of no more than 10 000 words. The important thing is to have a good control and command over the words you do know. Better know two words exactly than three vaguely. A good carpenter is not distinguished by the number of his tools, but by the craftsmanship with which he uses them. So a good writer is not measured by the extent of his vocabulary, but by his skill in finding the word that will hit the nail cleanly on the head. (405 words) 6. In this passage, the author tells us that reading can _ . ( B )(a) increase the vocabulary enormously (b) make one become more aware of the subtle differences of synonyms (c) enable one to learn as many synonyms as possible (d) enable one to be flexible in expressions 7. Professor Raleigh's statement "There are no synonyms." _ . ( A ) (a) stresses the different shades of meanings (b) is too absolute and easy to disapprove (c) is what the author tries to disapprove (d) means that there is no such word "synonym"8. According to the author, an interest in words should be cultivated because _. ( C ) (a) it is more difficult to be expert at words than at nails (b) words are the most fascinating things to observe (c) words offer us a lot of information about human activities (d) words are the most important part of a language 9. The author thinks that _ . ( B ) (a) Shakespeare had a very small vocabulary (b) Shakespeare used only a small portion of the English vocabulary (c) it's not necessary to enlarge your vocabulary (d) it's reasonable to feel discouraged at the large amount of vocabulary in English 10. In the author's opinion, the most important thing is to _ . ( D ) (a) have a large vocabulary to write and speak with (b) have at least a vocabulary of 10 000 (c) use the words you already know (d) know how to find the right word 3 Language is often irrational even in the way it combines words into sentences in its synthesis. If language were perfectly rational in this respect, we should be able to handle words like the nine digits in arithmetic, and combine them into sentences at pleasure by applying a few simple grammatical rules. In practice, however, we find that a great part of all languages consists of a limited number of natural sentences, only some of which admit of being formed a priori and freely modified by the substitution of the other words, as when from "have", "ink", "pen", we make up such sentences as "I have the ink" "Who has the pen?" "Who has the ink?" "He has the ink," and so on. But just as we cannot go on speaking long without using irregular inflections, so also we cannot go on speaking naturally for any length of time without using irregular combinations of words combinations which cannot be constructed a priori. The sentences which make up natural speech are of two kinds general sentences, such as those which have just been given, and special sentences or idioms, such as "how do you do?" "never mind", which are really on a level with simple words, such as salutation, indifference, and like them, have to be learnt one by one, in the same way as the irregularities of the grammar. Many of them, indeed, have meanings inconsistent with those of the words of which they are made up. Thus "do by itself" never has the meaning it has in "how do you do?" and "help" in the idiomatic expression "I could not help being late" has the meaning "prevent" "avoid", which is the exact contrary of its ordinary meaning. Again, even in those cases in which the grammar and dictionary allow us to express an idea by various combinations of words, there is often only one of these combinations in actual use. Those who have had to do Latin prose composition know that the main difficulty of the art consists in having an instinctive knowledge of what combinations to avoid. French has a similar character. English and Greek are much freer in this respect, a fact which many foreigners find it difficult to realize. When they ask me such questions as "Can one speak of an 'elegant supper'?" "Can you say, 'He was bad last night'?" I always answer that English is a free language, and that there is nothing to prevent any one calling a supper "elegant" although I do not remember ever doing so myself. Nevertheless, English has its limitations as well as other languages. Foreigners' English often presents the curious spectacle of a language constructed on strict grammatical principles, but with hardly a single genuinely English sentence in it. (464 words) 11. Language is irrational in that _ .( D )(a) we can combine words by using simple grammatical rules (b) words in a language are like the nine digits in arithmetic (c) the meaning of a sentence can be inferred from the meanings of the words in it (d) the meaning of a sentence does not always conform to the meaning of the words in it 12. According to the author, _. ( B )(a) all languages have a limited number of natural sentences (b) not all the sentences in a language can be modified by substituting different words (c) regular combinations of words should be avoided in our speech (d) we should construct a priori before we combine words into sentences 13. Which of the following is true? ( B ) (a) Grammatically correct sentences are definitely correct. (b) Grammatically correct sentences are not necessarily used in practice. (c) A sentence based on grammar should be idiomatic. (d) A sentence in practical use must be rational. 14. The author thinks it _ to call a supper "elegant". ( A ) (a) not idiomatic (b) impossible (c) wise (d) good English 15. The main idea of the passage is that _. ( A ) (a) we cannot speak by strict grammatical rules (b) no rule but has exceptions (c) there are two kinds of sentences in a language (d) language has strict grammatical rules to follow Unit 2 P301Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair. I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and thought it might seem too good for human life, this is what at last I have found. With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine.A little of this, but not much, I have achieved. Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer. This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me. (302 words) 1.The passage, taken from Bertrand Russells (1872-1970) autobiography, is mainly about Russells _ .( D ) (a) longing for love (b) search for knowledge (c) unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind (d) three passions that governed his life 2. In the first paragraph, Russell says that _ .( B ) (a) he longs for love and never despairs (b) he has pity for the suffering of mankind and often feels anguish (c) he has traveled over a great ocean for the three passions (d) the result of his search is despair 3. In the second paragraph, Russell thinks that he has found in his search for love all the following EXCEPT _. ( B ) (a) great joy (b) loneliness (c) the vision of the heaven (d) relief from solitariness 4. Regarding knowledge, Russell thinks that _ . ( D ) (a) he knows why the stars shine (b) he understands the hearts of men (c) he has a good knowledge of things (d) he has succeeded a bit but not much 5. Whenever Russell thinks of the sufferings of mankind, he _. ( C ) (a) is mocked by human life (b) becomes lonely (c) suffers too (d) feels he goes upward toward the heavens 2 It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain. This description is both refined, and as far as it goes, accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him, and he concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself. The true gentleman carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a jolt in the minds of those with wh