单选题 How men 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 thoughts 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 represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, we call words.
The power of words, then, lies in their associations--the things 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 to us increases.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal (吸引) powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling (有效的，有力的) 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 (精确地), or they will make our speech silly and vulgar (粗俗的；无礼的)
单选题 One of the reasons why men invented certain sounds to express thoughts and actions was that ______ .
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为推理题。从第1段第2句中的目的状语从句“so that they could communicate with each other”就可推断这就是原因之一。故选C。
单选题 What is true about words?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为细节推理题。从第1段第2句中的“the origin of language is a mystery”推断选项D不正确；从第2长句可知，词不仅可用来表达感觉，还可以表达“actions and things”(行动和事物)，而且这些词还可以写下来，因此可以排除选项A和C。根据本段最后一句“Those sounds,...,we call words”，可以判断选项B是正确答案。
单选题 Which of the following statements is true?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为细节推理题。根据第2段最后一句“...and the more we read and learn，the more the number of words that mean something to us increases”可推断选项C为正确答案。
单选题 In expressing their thoughts, great writers are able ______ .
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为细节推理题。从最后一段第4句中的“...and which by their position and association can move men to teals”可以看出，真正的诗人可以使人感动得落泪。而从最后一段可知，诗人属于“great writers”，因此D为正确答案。
单选题 We can make our speech refined and polished _______ .
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题为细节推理题。题中refined与polished分别意为“优美的，润饰的”和“文雅的”，与最后一段最后一句的“silly”和“vulgar”形成鲜明的对比。也就是说，如果要使我们的话优美和文雅，我们可以按照最后一句的建议去做，即谨慎而且精确地用词。故可以推断A是正确的。