单选题
Culture is the sum total of all the traditions,
customs, beliefs, and ways of life of given group of human beings, In this
sense, every group has a culture, however savage, undeveloped, or uncivilized it
may seem to us. To the professional anthropologist (人类学), there
is no intrinsic (内在的)superiority of one culture over another, just as to the
professional linguist there is no intrinsic hierarchy (等级) among
languages. People once thought of the language of backward
groups as savage, undeveloped forms of speech, consisting largely of grunts and
groan, it is a fact established by the study of "backward" languages that no
spoken tongue answers that description today. Most languages of uncivilized
groups are, by our most severe standards, extremely complex, delicate, and
ingenious pieces of machinery for the transfer of ideas. They fall behind our
Western languages not in their sound patterns or grammatical structures, which
usually are fully adequate for all language need, but only in their
vocabularies, which reflect the objects and activities known to their speakers.
Even in this department, however, two things are to be noted: 1. All languages
seem to possess the machinery for vocabulary expansion, either by putting
together words already in existence or by borrowing them from other languages
and adapting them to their own system. 2. The objects and activities requiring
names and distinctions in "backward" languages, while different from ours, are
often surprisingly numerous and complicated. A Western language distinguishes
merely between two degrees of remoteness ("this" and "that"); some language of
the American Indians distinguish between what is close to the speaker, or to the
person addressed, or removed from both, or out of sight, or in the past, or in
the future. This study of language, in turn, casts a new light
upon the claim of the anthropologists that all cultures are to be viewed
independently, and without ideas of rank or hierarchy.
单选题
The languages of uncivilized groups as compared to Western languages
are limited in ______.
A. sound patterns
B. grammatical structures
C. vocabularies
D. both B and C
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 参见“They fall behind...but only in their vocabularies”。
单选题
The author says that professional linguists recognize that ______.
A. Western languages are superior to Eastern languages
B. all languages came from grunts and groans
C. the hierarchy of languages is difficult to understand
D. there is no hierarchy of languages
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 作者一直在强调：语言学家认为语言没有高低贵贱之分。
单选题
The article states that the languages of most uncivilized people are
______.
A. extremely complex
B. most severely standardized
C. "backward"
D. understandable
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 参见第三段“Most languages of uncivilized groups are...extremely complex”。
单选题
According to the author, anthropologists would have all cultures viewed
______.
A. comparatively
B. independently
C. intrinsically
D. hierarchically
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 参见本文最后一句话。
单选题
Which is implied in the passage?
A. The study of languages has discredited anthropological studies.
B. The study of languages has reinforced anthropologists in their view that
there is no hierarchy among cultures.
C. The study of languages is the same as the study of anthropology.
D. The study of languages casts a new light upon the claims of
anthropologists.