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."
【小題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.

【小題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

【小題3】Which of the following word can best describe Noah Webster’s work?

A．Interesting.

B．Meaningful.

C．Unfinished.

D．Boring.

【小題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.

【小題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

【小題1】A
【小題2】D
【小題3】B
【小題4】D
【小題5】C

解析試題分析：本文主要向讀者介紹了美國(guó)英語的奠基人Noah Webster，以及他對(duì)美式英語的貢獻(xiàn)。
【小題1】A 主旨大意題。本文主要向讀者介紹了美國(guó)英語的奠基人Noah Webster，以及他對(duì)美式英語的貢獻(xiàn)。故A正確。
【小題2】D 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第二段第五行He dropped the British "u" in some words.說明他只是在一些單詞里把U去掉，并沒有把所有的單詞里的U都去掉，故D的說法是錯(cuò)誤的。
【小題3】B 推理題。根據(jù)文章第四段Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom. 說明他的工作對(duì)于美國(guó)人來說很重要，幫助美國(guó)人實(shí)現(xiàn)了自己文化方面的獨(dú)立。是非常有意義的事情，故B正確。
【小題4】D 推理題。根據(jù)第二段He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger.
Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary，rather than rely on British versions (版本).說明他希望美國(guó)人有自己的文化而不是依賴英國(guó)人的版本。故D正確。
【小題5】C 計(jì)算題。根據(jù)第四段1,2行Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings.在1828年完成這部美式英語的字典之前他工作了28年，那么他是在1800年左右開始編寫這部字典的。故C正確。
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。