单选题 How men first learned 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 combinations--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 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 powerfully to our minds and feelings. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary (3~) 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 rude.

单选题 The origin of language ______.
A. is reflected in sounds and letters
B. is handed down from generation to generation
C. dates back to the prehistoric period
D. is a problem not yet solved
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。答案在第一段:the origin of language is a mystery,因此语言的起源仍然是个谜,还没有得到解决。
单选题 According to the passage, words are ______.
A. visual letters
B. represented by sounds
C. represented either by sounds or letters
D. signs called letters
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。第一段谈到人类起初用某种声音进行交流,后来又有了字母,字母结合起来可以代表声音,也可以写下来。因此,这些说出来的声音也好,用字母写出来的声音也好.被称为单词。所以B是正确答案:单词既可以代表声音,也可以代表字母。
单选题 The power of words lies in their ______.
A. beauty B. accuracy C. combinations D. charm
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] ’细节题。答案在第二段的第一句话:The power of words,then,lies in their combinations…语言的魅力在于他们的组合。
单选题 The secret of a writer's success is the use of words that ______.
A. recall to us the glad and sad events of our past
B. are arranged in a creative way
C. are as beautiful as music
D. agree with certain literary style
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。答案在第三段的第一句话:Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and feelings.因此作家的伟大在于他们擅长使用丰富的词汇,能使我们浮想联翩,激动不已。B、C、D文章中均没有提到。
单选题 The author of the passage advises us ______.
A. to use words carefully and accurately
B. not to use silly and rude words
C. to become a slave of words
D. to use emotional words
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。答案在文章的最后一句:We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately,or they will make our speechs my and rude. 因此,作者建议我们用词要谨慎、准确。