Question

"Colour" and "color"，"favourite" and "favorite"... Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a "u"? Is it because they are lazy?

Of course not. In fact，the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster (1758-1843). He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger. Linguists (語言學(xué)家) celebrated his 250th birthday on October 16. After the Revolutionary War (1775~ 1783)，Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary，rather than rely on British versions (版本). He dropped the British "u" in some words. And he changed "centre" into "center" for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded.

Webster wasn't shy about expressing his opinions. In defining (定義) preposterous (unreasonable)，he wrote: "A republican government in the hands of females is preposterous."

Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings. He also added local words. His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom.

"He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity，"said Joshua Kendall，who is working on a biography (傳記) about Webster. "He at last bonded (聯(lián)合)us through our language."

1.Which of the following would probably be the best title for the passage?

A．The shaper of American English.

B．American identity.

C．Webster's dictionary.

D．Spelling differences between American and British English.

2.According to the passage，when he worked on his dictionary, Noah Webster did all of the following EXCEPT        .

A．voicing his opinion	B．changing "centre" into "center"
C．a(chǎn)dding local words	D．dropping "u" in all the British words

3.Which of the following word can best describe Noah Webster’s work?

A．Interesting.

B．Meaningful.

C．Unfinished.

D．Boring.

4.Why did Noah Webster create these differences in his dictionary?

A．Because he wanted to make English simple and easy.

B．Because he wanted to show that the USA is stronger than the UK.

C．Because he wanted to achieve political freedom.

D．Because he wanted American English to have its own characteristics.

5.When did Noah Webster probably begin his project of the dictionary?

A．In 1758.

B．In 1783.

C．In 1800.

D．In 1828.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.D

5.C 

【解析】

試題分析：文章介紹了Noah Webster希望美式英語有自己的特點(diǎn)而改變美式英語的故事。

1.主旨題：文章介紹了Noah Webster 如何改變美式英語的，最后一段對(duì)他的評(píng)價(jià)是He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity ，所以選A

2.細(xì)節(jié)題：文章第二，三，四段提到ABC的內(nèi)容，D項(xiàng)是錯(cuò)誤的，因?yàn)橹挥胁糠謫卧~的u被去掉了。選D。

3.推理題：從第四段的句子：His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom. 可知Webster的工作是很有意義的。選B。

4.推理題：從第二段的句子：He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger.可知是希望美式英語有自己的特點(diǎn)。選D

5.推理題：文章第二段的時(shí)間After the Revolutionary War (1775~ 1783)可知答案是C

考點(diǎn)：考查人物傳記類短文

點(diǎn)評(píng)：文章篇幅較短，內(nèi)容易懂，除了細(xì)節(jié)題和主旨題，主要考查了推理題，注重綜合語言能力的運(yùn)用，結(jié)合語境，做出準(zhǔn)確的判斷。