Question

Some English words have more than one meaning. These are called multi-meaning words.

Multi-meaning words have the same pronunciation with different meanings. For example, let’s look at the word “ball”. You could have a “ball” which means you would have a good time. You could toss a “ball” which means you throw an object. You could be on the “ball” which means you know what is happening. You could go to a “ball” which means a dance.

__________Take the word “can”. You “can” ride a bike which means you are able to ride a bike. You have a “can” of soup which means the soup is in a round-shaped holder. You can do the “can-can” which is a dance from the 1920s. And you might get “canned” if you do a poor job at work, which means you might lose your job.

How about “fly”? You can “fly” an airplane or you can hit a “fly” that is on your food in your house. Or, you can “fly by the seat of your pants” which means you don’t make a plan before taking an action. And, you know that “fly” of a zipper（拉链）is the top part of the zipper.

There are hundreds of words that are multi-meaning words. The word “set” has more meaning than any other word in the English language. When you have time. Why don’t you try to think of all the ways the word “set” is used?

If you look at the title of this book Can a Fly, Fly? …you know that the answer is “Yes” because you have seen an insect named a “fly” go up in the air and move around through the air … which is what “fly” means. Can a Fly? Of course, it can!

1.If Tom is often late for work and fails to finish his tasks, he will ________.

A. do the can-can    B. get canned

C. be on the ball    D. go to a ball

2.According to the passage, the word “_______” has the most meanings in the English language.

A. ball    B. can    C. set    D. fly

3.Which of the following is the best sentence to fill in the blank in Paragraph 3?

A. Let’s try another word.    B. Let’s make a word list.

C. Here’s a survey report.    D. Here’s the guessing game.

4.The writer writes the passage in order to _________.

A. tell a story about learning English words

B. introduce a book on learning English words

C. share an experience in learning English words

D. present different pronunciations of the same word

Answer

1. B

2. C

3. A

4. C

【解析】

一些英语单词有多个含义。这些被称为多义词，多义词具有相同的发音和不同的含义，本文介绍了作者学习单词的一些经验。

1.句意：如果汤姆经常上班迟到而未能完成任务，他将被解雇。A.跳舞；B.被解雇；C.知道发生了什么；D.去跳舞。原文“And you might get ‘canned’ if you do a poor job at work, which means you might lose your job.”（如果你在工作中做得很差，你可能会“被解雇”，这意味着你可能会失去工作。）说明get canned的意思是“被解雇”，故选B。

2.句意：根据这段文字，哪个词在英语中含义最多？A.球；B.能够；C.设置；D.飞。原文“The word “set” has more meanings than any other word in the English language.”（“set”一词比英语中的任何其他词有更多的含义。）说明set“放置”一词的意思最多，故选C。

3.句意：以下哪一项是填写第3段空白的最佳句子？A.让我们再试另一个词。B.让我们做一个单词列表。C.这是一份调查报告。D.这是猜谜游戏。原文“Take the word “can”.”（拿另一个词“can”说说吧），上一段讲了ball这个词，这里是想用一个句子过渡到本段，意为“再试试另一个词”，故选A。

4.句意：作家为了分享学习英语单词的经验而写了这篇文章。A.讲一个关于学习英语单词的故事；B.介绍一本关于学习英语单词的书；C.分享学习英语单词的经验；D.呈现同一个词的不同发音。原文“Some English words have more than one meaning. These are called multi-meaning words. Multi-meaning words have the same pronunciation with different meanings.”（一些英语单词有多个含义。这些被称为多义词。多义词具有相同的发音和不同的含义。）作者写这篇文章介绍了很多多义词，目的就是在分享学习这些单词的经验，故选C。