2. 职称英语
  3. The first two stages in the development of civilized man were probably the i

The first two stages in the development of civilized man were probably the i

游客2024-05-09  16
问题     The first two stages in the development of civilized man were probably the invention of primitive weapons and the discovery of fire, although nobody knows exactly when he acquired the use of the latter.
    The origin of language is also obscure. No doubt it began very gradually. Animals have a few cries that serve as signals, but even the highest apes have not been found able to pronounce words, even with the most intensive professional instruction. The superior brain of man is apparently a necessity for the mastering of speech. When man became sufficiently intelligent, we must suppose that he gradually increased the number of cries for different purposes. It was a great day when he discovered that speech could be used for narrative. There are those who think in this respect picture language preceded oral language. A man could draw a picture on the wall of his cave to show in which direction he had gone, or what prey he hoped to catch. Probably picture language and oral language developed side by side. I am inclined to think that language has been the most important single factor in the development of man.
    Two important stages came not so long before the dawn of written history. The first was the domestication of animals; the second was agriculture. Agriculture made possible an immense increase in the number of the human species in the regions where it could be successfully practiced. Another fundamental technical advance was writing, which, like spoken language, developed out of pictures, but as soon as it had reached a certain stage, it was possible to keep records and transmit information to people who were not present when the information was given.
    These inventions and discoveries-- fire, speech, weapons, domestic animals, agriculture, and writing —made the existence of civilized communities possible. From about 3 000 BC until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution less than two hundred years ago there was no technical advance comparable to these. During this long period man had time to become accustomed to his technique, and to develop the beliefs and political organizations appropriate to it. There was, of course, an immense extension in the area of civilized life. There was no technical progress during this long time --there were even two inventions of very great importance, namely gunpowder and the mariner’s compass   but neither of these can be compared in their power to such things as speech and writing and agriculture. [br] The author implies that in the development of man, ______.
选项 A、speech, agriculture and writing are the most important factors
B、the origin of the language can not be traced
C、both oral language and written language come out of the picture language
D、the ape might be taught to master speech
答案 B
解析 第三段倒数第五句“These inventions and discoveries—fire，speech，weapons，domestic animals，agriculture，and writing—made the existence of civilized communities possible．”印证了A的说法，就是火、语言、武器，家禽、家畜的饲养、农业和写作使文明社会的出现成为可能。但没有说明他们是人类生活中最重要的，因此是错误的。文中第二段第一句说“The origin of language is also obscure．”意思是语言的起源很模糊，即可推断“我们不能追溯语言的起源，因此B的说法正确。而第三点关于口语而不是笔头语来源于绘画语言是错误的，因为文章的第三段第四句“Another fundamental technical advance was writing， which，like spoken language，developed out of pictures，”表明笔头语言和口头语言是来源于绘画语言，因此C这个选项是错误的，而D文中没有涉及，因此是错误的。本题只有B是正确的。
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