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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,【C1】______animals, somehow invented certain【C2】______to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things,【C3】______they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed 【C4】______ certain signs, called letters, which could be 【C5】______ to represent those sounds, and which could be 【C6】______ down. Those sounds, whether spoken, 【C7】______ written in letters, we call words. The power of words, then, lies in their【C8】______—the things they bring up before our minds. Words become【C9】______with meaning for us by experience;【C10】______the longer we live, the more certain words【C11】______the happy and sad events of our past to us; and the more we read and【C12】______, the more the number of words that mean something to us【C13】______. Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal【C14】______to our minds and emotions. This【C15】______and telling use of words is what we call【C16】______style. Above all, the real poet is a master of【C17】______. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which【C18】______their position and association can【C19】______men to tears. We should, therefore, learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will【C20】______our speech or writing silly and vulgar.
【答案解析】本句意为“之后他们(赞成)______一些符号”。agree可以与介词to，with，on(upon)搭配。这里句意是“人们商定了一些特定的符号”，故D项agree upon“对某事有同样看法，商定某事”符合题意。agree to sth．“答应(某事物)”其后通常为表示“计划”“建议”的词，agree with sb．“与某人意见一致”和agree in“在……方面意见一致”均不符合题意。故本题选D。
【答案解析】本句意为“我们的阅读和______越丰富，对我们来说有意义的词语数量也______”。空格处所填词应与read构成并列关系。think“思考”，collect“收集”，learn“学习”，recite“背诵”。代入可知，只有通过阅读和学习，我们掌握的词汇才会更多，且read and learn是常用固定搭配，C项符合题意。故本题选C。
【答案解析】本句意为“首先，一个真正的诗人是______大师”。本题考查固定搭配，master of“精通……的能手”，通过下文：He can convey his meaning in words…，可知B项words正确。A项signs“符号；手势”、C项style“风格，类型”和D项sound“声音”均不符合题意。故本题选B。