单选题 How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is 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 powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming use of 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, or they will make our speech silly and dull.

单选题 The origin of language is ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】这道题问的是人类语言的起源。文章第一段第一句话就开门见山地告诉读者：人类是怎样最先学会了发明词语的仍然无人知晓，换言之，语言的起源问题仍是一个谜。因此A、B、C三个选择项都不对，本题的正确答案应选D“人类语言起源问题仍然是个未得到解决的问题”。

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】本题是问人类发明用某种声音表达思想和行动的原因是什么。此题是一道具体细节题。利用查阅式阅读法，我们可以在第一段第二句话中找到相关信息，我们确实知道的是人类与动物不同，人类不知何故发明了用某种声音表达思想、感情、行动和事物，从而可以彼此交流沟通。尤其是so that所引导的状语从句，正好与C项相吻合。因此，本题的正确答案应是C“人们可以彼此交流”。

单选题 What is true about the words?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】这是一道判断是非题。A项中的only把范围限制得过小了，属于绝对性的表达，而且与文章中的信息不符，B项中的not使这一选项与原文中表达的事实相反，D项中的mysterious没有根据。而我们可以在第一段最后一句话中找到与正确答案相关的信息，这些不管是用书面语言还是口头语言表达的声音，我们称之为词语。因此，本题的正确答案应是C“词语事实上只是一些声音”。

单选题 In expressing their thoughts, great writers are able ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题是一道具体细节题。问在表达思想情感时，伟大的作家们能够做什么。利用查阅式阅读法，我们可以了解到这一问题是针对文章最后一段提出的。文章最后一段指出，伟大的作家不仅有伟大的思想，而且还能用充满魅力的词语将其思想表达出来，打动人们的思想和感情，这种充满魅力的语言运用就是我们所说的文学形式。尤为重要的是，真正的诗人是语言大师，他能用如歌般的词语将自己的意思表达出来，这些词语的使用和联系能使人感动得落泪。因此，A、C、D三个选项在原文中找不到任何根据。而the real poet应当属于great writers的范围，本题的正确答案应选B“他们能够使人们感动得落泪”。

单选题 Which of the following statements about the real poet is NOT true?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题是一道判断是非题。问关于真正的诗人，下面哪一个说法是错误的。根据文章最后一段，参照第4题的题解，我们可以推断出B、C、D三个选项都是对的，符合原文，可排除。而A“一位真正的诗人和普通人一样都不能很好地掌握和运用词语”。这一说法显然是不对的，正符合题意。因此本题的正确答案应是A。