Question

    Whoever named the bird turkey — a word that English speakers began mentioning as long ago as 1541 — made a big mistake. Although that bird came from Guinea（几内亚）in Africa, the English apparently first imported it from Turkish merchants. So, naturally, they called it a turkey. When English speakers established their first colony in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, they thought they saw turkeys there too. “We found an island, on which there were many turkeys,” wrote one. These birds were not from Turkey and were not related to the Guinean fowl（家禽）of Africa. But turkeys they were called, and turkeys they remain.

Much of what we know about the Jamestown colony was written by Captain John Smith, whose efforts preserved the colony from collapse（垮掉）and who in turn was preserved by the Indian “princess” Pocahontas. Smith’s accounts of the colony frequently mention turkeys as food, gifts, and objects of trade. In 1607, Smith wrote, to celebrate the first peace after the first armed fight, the Indians brought turkeys, bread and what they had, singing and dancing in celebration of friendship till they departed. Elsewhere Smith noted that the Indians made warm and beautiful cloaks（披风）from turkey feathers. Further north, as the Plymouth colony neared the end of its first year in 1621, Governor William Bradford also observed a great flock of wild turkeys, of which they took many.  Undoubtedly,  turkeys were among the fowls served at the first Thanksgiving dinner.

Despite those significant beginnings and Benjamin Franklin’s lobbying（游说）, the turkey lost to the bald eagle in the contest for American bird. And it is a loser in modern English slang, too. Since the 1920s, turkey has been a term for a play or movie that is a failure, and since the 1950s for a person who is not fit for his job. But though the turkey never succeeded in becoming the American symbol, it did become the American feast. Thanksgiving is Turkey Day, and the turkey has come into our language more than other birds. We never “talk eagle”, we “talk turkey” when we speak frankly.

63. Who named the bird turkey?

A. English speakers.                   B. Turkish merchants.

    C. Captain John Smith.                 D. Guineans.

64. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that ________.

    A. turkeys were brought to Jamestown by Smith

    B. the Indians fought with Captain Smith for turkeys

    C. turkeys were served at the first Thanksgiving dinner

    D. Captain John Smith wrote a book named Jamestown Colony

65. When we say somebody is a turkey, it means ________.

    A. he is very angry                    B. he has no ability to do his job

    C. he likes eating turkeys               D. he speaks frankly

66. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

    A. The turkey was beaten in a fight by the bald eagle.

    B. Turkeys were introduced to America from Guinea.

    C. The turkey has become American food because it was beaten.

    D. Turkey has become a term of failure in modern English slang.

Answer 1

63.A 64.C 65.B 66.D