Question

【题目】 Nick Prosser, a 28-year-old New Zealander, has been stuttering (口吃) for as long as he can remember, but he recently discovered that speaking in an Irish accent makes his speech disorder disappear

The young New Zealander claims he discovered the simple cure to his stutter completely by accident, while trying different accents with a friend for fun. When he tried the Irish accent, both he and his friend were amazed that his stutter almost vanished. They were able to have a long conversation without him stuttering at all, which had never happened before. He just couldn’t believe that something so simple could be the cure to a problem that had seriously affected his self-confidence ever since he was a child

“I couldn’t believe it. I had been to so many speech therapists who never suggested this technique, Prosser said

Interestingly, Nick has never been to Ireland, but he believes that speaking in an Irish accent comes naturally for him because of his mother, who comes from an Irish family. He suggests that people suffering from similar speech disorders try looking at their genealogies (家谱) and attempt to speak in an accent associated to them. However, local speech specialist Annette Stock said she had never heard about this technique

“We know as speech language therapists that singing certainly helps with people that have stutters but you can’t just go around singing in your everyday life, Stock said.” I think that this is something that works for, him and that’s fine. But in six months’ time if it is still working I would be saying wow that’s amazing.

So why does the Irish accent make Prosser’s stutter disappear? No one knows for sure, but Ants Haines, who has been Nick’s barber for years, has an interesting theory: he claims that this way, the 28-year-old spends more time thinking how to pronounce the words, which somehow helps

【1】Which of the following can replace the underlined word “vanished” in paragraph 2?

A.Erupted.B.Worsened.

C.Disappeared.D.Functioned.

【2】What happened to Nick Prosser after he tried the Irish accent?

A.He turned to his friends for their help.B.He had more faith in himself.

C.He took pride in his language ability.D.He went to speech therapists for advice.

【3】How did Annette Stock react to Nick Prosser’s suggestion?

A.She doubted it.B.She tried to prove it.

C.She was confirmed of it.D.She was amazed by its effect.

【4】What does Ants Haines intend to tell us?

A.His relationship with Nick.B.His idea of the end of Nick’s stutter.

C.His convince in Nick’s learning ability.D.The influence of speaking different accents.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】B

【3】A

【4】B

【解析】

本文是记叙文。主要讲述了患口吃的新西兰男子Nick Prosser因为好玩学着用爱尔兰口音说 话，结果就不口吃了。因此，他向人们推广他的经验。

【1】词义猜测题。根据该词的后一句内容可知，Nick Prosser用爱尔兰口音说话后能够长时间交谈而不口吃，因此vanished意为“消失”，同C选项中的disappeared同义，故选C项。

【2】细节理解题。根据第二段的最后一句话可知，Nick Prosser用爱尔兰口音说话后口吃消失，他变得更有自信了，故选B项。

【3】细节理解题。根据第四段最后一句话 However, local speech specialist Annette Stock said she had never heard about this technique和第五段内容可知，Annette Stock对Nick Prosser建议的有效性持怀疑态度，故选A项。

【4】推理判断题。根据最后一段内容he claims that this way, the 28-year-old spends more time thinking how to pronounce the words, which somehow helps可知，Ants Haines说的话表明了他对Nick Prosser用爱尔兰口音说话为什么会导致他治愈其口吃的看法，故选B项。