Question

Simply, language is what people and animals use to communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings. Of course, animals communicate with each other differently from humans, and each type of animal communicates differently. For example, a bee uses a dance to tell the rest of the bees in the hive (蜂窝) where there is food, while whales communicate through the use of pleasant-sounding sounds. One could say then, that animals use different languages.

Like animals, people also use different languages. Each culture has its own words and symbols that are used by people within that culture to communicate with others in the same culture. For example, a person living in Japan will use the Japanese language to communicate with other Japanese. Unlike animals though, some cultures use more than one language. People within these cultures are said to be either bilingual (双语的) or multilingual (多语的). One such place is Canada. It is very likely that a person living in Canada may speak both French and English. Likewise, a person living in Switzerland may speak Italian, German and French.

Not only do people use different languages to communicate, but languages also have different dialects. A dialect is a difference of a language which uses words and grammar somewhat differently from the standard form of the same language. For example, people who live in Manchester, England speak a dialect that is a little different from people who live in London, England; however, people in both cities speak English.

There are also some people who don’t use a spoken language at all. These people use their hands to communicate. This type of language is called sign language and is most commonly used by people who are deaf.

Now that we know how people communicate, we are faced with a question. Are we part of a certain culture because of the language we speak, or do we speak a particular language because we are part of that culture? To put it more simply, is a Chinese person Chinese because he speaks Chinese, or does he speak Chinese because he was born in China? What part does language play in the definition (定义) of culture?

1.The examples of bees and whales are used to show ______.

A. animal languages are simple to learn

B. people can understand animal languages

C. different animals use different languages

D. animals communicate with each other

2.The main idea of the second paragraph is that ______.

A. people communicate with those in the same culture

B. there can be different languages in the same culture

C. a culture can be expressed in several languages

D. the symbol of a culture is the language spoken by its people

3.To judge whether a person speaks a dialect, you can depend on ______.

A. what words and grammar he uses

B. whether he uses sign language

C. where he lives

D. who he communicates with

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A. The culture of different countries

B. The language in different cultures

C. The development of language

D. The meaning of the language

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

试题分析：语言是人和动物用以表达他们的思想、想法和感觉的东西。像动物一样，人们也使用不同的语言。人们不仅使用不同的语言进行交流，而且语言也有不同的方言。

1. 推理判断题。第一段所举的蜜蜂和鲸鱼的例子是为了证明每种动物都有自己的交流方式，不同的动物使用不同的语言。故选C。

2. 主旨要义题。第二段主要讲的是人们可以在同一文化中与其他人进行交流，相同的文化中会有不同的语言。故选B。

3. 细节理解题。由第三段A dialect is a difference of a language which uses words and grammar somewhat differently from the standard form of the same language.可知，方言所说的话和使用的语法有点不同于同一语言的标准形式，依此可以判断是否为方言。故选A。

4.语言是人和动物用以表达他们的思想、想法和感觉的东西。像动物一样，人们也使用不同的语言。人们不仅使用不同的语言进行交流，而且语言也有不同的方言。简而言之，就是在描述语言所表示的含义。故选D。

考点：考查社会文化类阅读