Question

【题目】 Students who study foreign languages do not need to care whether the grammar is easy or difficult. By changing the order of the words and by adding some auxiliary verbs (助动词)and suffixes (后缀), we can turn a statement into a question, state whether an action has taken place or is soon to take place, and perform many other word skills to express different meanings. However, the question which many language experts can’t understand or explain is — who created grammar?

Some recent languages were developed from the Atlantic slave trade(大西洋奴隶贸易). Since the slaves didn’t know each other’s languages, they developed a language called a pidgin. Pidgins are strings of words (字串) copied from the language of the landowners. They have little in the way of grammar, and speakers need to use too many words to make their meaning understood, however, Slave children didn’t simply copy the strings of words used by their elders. They adapted their words to create an expressive language. In this way complex grammar systems which come from pidgins were invented.

Further facts can be seen in studying sign languages for the deaf. Sign languages are not simply a group of gestures; they use the same grammatical system that is found in spoken languages. A recent record of the creation of this language was born in Nicaragua. Previously, although deaf children were taught speech and lip reading in the classrooms, on the playgrounds they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures they used at home. It was basically a pidgin and didn’t meet grammar rules. However, a new system was born when children who joined the school later developed a quite different sign language. It was based on the signs of the older children, but it was shorter and easier to understand, and it had a large range of special use of grammar to explain the meaning. What s more, they all used the signs in the same way. So the original pidgin was greatly improved.

Most experts believe that many of the languages were pidgins at first. They were used in different groups of people without rules and gradually turned into a widely accepted system. The English past tense — “ed” ending — may have come from the verb “do”. “It ended” may once have been “It end-did”. It seems that children have grammatical machinery in their brains. Their minds can create different structures, even when there is no grammar present for them to copy.

【1】What can be inferred (推断) about the slaves’ pidgin language?

A.It was difficult to understand.B.It came from different languages.

C.It was created by the landowners.D.It contained highly complex grammar.

【2】What does the underlined word “they” refer to?

A.SlaveB.PidginsC.Slave childrenD.Grammar systems

【3】What is the type of the new Nicaraguan sign language?

A.No same signs were used for communication.

B.Most of the gestures were made for everyday activities.

C.The hand movements were smoother and more attractive.

D.The meaning was clearer than the previous sign language.

【4】Which idea does the author present in the last paragraph?

A.English grammar of past tense system is incorrect.

B.Children say English past tense differently from adults.

C.The thought that English was once a pidgin is acceptable.

D.Experts have proven that English was created by children.

【5】What is the best title for the passage?

A.The Creators of grammarB.The History of Languages

C.Why Pidgins Came into BeingD.How Grammar Systems Are Used

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】D

【4】C

【5】A

【解析】

本文探讨了语法是怎样产生的。并举了两个例子：大西洋奴隶贸易中产生的混合语，尼加拉瓜混合语。大多数专家认为，许多语言起初都是混合语。它们被用于不同的无规则人群中，逐渐成为一个被广泛接受的系统。英语曾经是混合语。似乎孩子们的大脑里有语法机器。他们的思想可以创建不同的结构，即使没有语法供他们复制。

【1】细节理解题。根据第二段中Pidgins are strings of words (字串) copied from the language of the landowners. They have little in the way of grammar, and speakers need to use too many words to make their meaning understood, however, Slave children didn’t simply copy the strings of words used by their elders. They adapted their words to create an expressive language. In this way complex grammar systems which come from pidgins were invented.（pidgins是从土地所有者的语言中复制的字符串。他们的语法几乎没有，说话者需要用太多的词来理解他们的意思，然而，奴隶儿童并不是简单地模仿他们的长辈们使用的字串。他们用词来创造一种富有表现力的语言。以这种方式，来自pidgins的复杂语法系统被发明出来。）描述可知关于奴隶的Pidgins语是很难理解的。故选A。

【2】细节理解题。根据上文Slave children didn’t simply copy the strings of words used by their elders. （奴隶孩子并不是简单地模仿长辈们所用的字串。）和此句They adapted their words to create an expressive language.（他们用词来创造一种富有表现力的语言。）句意可知They指代Slave children（奴隶的孩子）；选C。

【3】细节理解题。A. No same signs were used for communication没有使用相同的标志进行交流；根据第3段倒数第2句What s more, they all used the signs in the same way.（更重要的是，他们都以同样的方式使用这些手势。）可知A错误；B. Most of the gestures were made for everyday activities. 大多数手势是为日常活动做的；根据第2段中on the playgrounds they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures they used at home.（在操场上，他们开始发明自己的手势系统，使用用他们在家里使用的手势）可知B错误；C. The hand movements were smoother and more attractive. 手的动作更流畅，更有吸引力；根据but it was shorter and easier to understand, （但它较短，更容易理解）可知C错误；根据第3段最后一句So the original pidgin was greatly improved.（因此原来的混合语（pidgin）得到了很大的改进。）可知新尼加拉瓜手语的类型是意义比以前的手语清楚。故选D。

【4】细节理解题。根据第3和4句 The English past tense — “ed” ending — may have come from the verb “do”. “It ended” may once have been “It end-did”.（英语过去时“ed”结尾可能来自动词“do”。“It ended”可能曾经是“It end-did”。）可知作者认为混合英语曾经是可以接受的。故选C。

【5】主旨理解题。本文探讨了语法是怎样产生的。并举了两个例子：大西洋奴隶贸易中产生的混合语，尼加拉瓜混合语。可知这篇文章的最佳标题是语法的创造者。故选A。