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Uncertainty spreads through our lives so thoroughly that it dominates our language. Our everyday speech is made up in large part of words like probably, many, soon, great, little. What do these words mean?Such verbal expression is not necessarily to be criticized. Indeed, it has a value just because it allows us to express judgments when a precise quantitative statement is out of the question.
We have been trying to pin down by experiments what people mean by these expressions in specific contexts, and how the meanings change with age. For instance, a subject is told “There are many trees in the park” and is asked to say what number the word many mean to him. Or a child is invited to take “some” sweets from a bowl and we then count how many he has taken. We compare the number he takes when he is alone with the number when one or more other children are present and are to take some sweets after him, or with the number he takes when told to give “some” sweets to another child.
First, we find that the number depends, of course, on the items involved. To most people some friends means about five, while some trees means about twenty. However, unrelated areas sometimes show parallel values. For instance, the language of probability seems to mean about the same thing in predictions about the weather and about politics: the expression “is certain to” (rain, or be elected) signifies to the average person about a 70 percent chance; “is likely to”, about a 60 percent chance; “probably will” about 55 percent.
Secondly, the size of the population of items influences the value assigned to an expression. Thus, if we tell a subject to take “a few” or “ a lot of” glass balls from a box, he will take more if the box contains a large number of glass balls than if it has a small number. But not proportionately more: if we increase the number of glass balls eight times, the subject takes only half as large a percentage of the total.
Thirdly, there is a marked change with age. Among children between six and fourteen years old, the older the child, the fewer glass balls he will take. But the difference between a lot and a few widens with age. This age effect is so consistent that it might be used as a test of intelligence.
小題1: What’s the right attitude towards the words like probably, many, soon?
A．They are inaccurate and we should avoid them.
B．They are necessary since we cannot be always precise.
C．They should be criticized because there are too many of them.
D．Their value is not yet clear since we don’t know their meaning.
小題2: Why do we do experiments with the words “many” and “some”?
A．To prove people are insensitive to these words.
B．To prove the words dominate our everyday speech.
C．To find out how the meanings vary with age and contexts.
D．To find out whether the words can mean a precise quantity.
小題3: Which of the expressions means a larger chance in weather broadcast?
A．PossibleB．ProbableC．Be likely toD．Be certain to
小題4: Which of the following will least definitely influence the number of items a kid takes out of a box when he is invited to take “some”?
A．Whether the quantity of items is large or small.
B．Whether the items are candies or toys.
C．Whether the kid is a toddler or a youngster.
D．Whether the kid is alone or accompanied by other children.
小題5: What will tell us about the intelligence of a child?
A．The consistency of picking up a certain glass ball.
B．How many glass balls he will take when he’s asked to.
C．The difference between a lot and a few when he takes glass balls.
D．Whether there are marked changes in his first pick and second one.

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:D
小題4:D
小題5:C

試題分析：
小題1:B 推斷題。由第一段最后一句Indeed, it has a value just because it allows us to express judgments when a precise quantitative statement is out of the question.可知，這些單詞在我們表達時候是必要的因為我們說話不可能總是準確的
小題2:C 推斷題。根據第一段第一句Uncertainty spreads through our lives so thoroughly that it dominates our language.可知這些單詞支配著我們的日常用語
小題3:D細節(jié)題。根據第三行倒數二，三行the expression “is certain to” (rain, or be elected) signifies to the average person about a 70 percent chance; “is likely to”, about a 60 percent chance; “probably will” about 55 percent.可知，is certain to 的可能性最大
小題4:D細節(jié)題。根據第三段第一句First, we find that the number depends, of course, on the items involved.
小題5:C推斷題。根據文章最后一段：But the difference between a lot and a few widens with age. This age effect is so consistent that it might be used as a test of intelligence.可知C選項符合題意
點評：文章主要講述了一些英語常用單詞和我們日常生活中語言表達之間的聯系。文章集中考察了細節(jié)題和推斷題，考生在作答時，一定要注意文章中的細節(jié)，同時注意提高閱讀速度。
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A．The head nurse was careful.B．The head nurse was rude.
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小題5:What is the general idea of the text?
A．A boy' s singing saved his sister' s life.
B．The little girl is well enough to go home.
C．Michael's little sister is born with a serious disease.
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