Question

    Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are ______ —a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and ______ language, and throw new light on an old scientific ______: whether language, ______ with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a ______ behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the ______ work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people.

When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something ______; among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.

Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural ______, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混杂英语). But Stokoe believed the “hand ______” his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually have a genuine language? And could that language be ______ any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf people ___________ their signing as “substandard”. Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy – a belief contrary to what was generally accepted.

It is 37 years later. Stokoe—now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture—is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a(n) ______. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages ______ English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of ______. “What I said,” Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuff(素材)—it’s ______ stuff.”

1.A.unique B.neutral C.inexact D.vague

2.A.varies B.applies C.interrelates D.understands

3.A.argument B.definition C.conclusion D.statement

4.A.familiar B.complete C.changeable D.comparative

5.A.adopted B.inherited C.introduced D.learned

6.A.pioneering B.concluding C.proceeding D.imitating

7.A.casual B.odd C.witty D.tricky

8.A.clue B.file C.code D.digit

9.A.talk B.gossip C.clap D.shake

10.A.characteristic of B.different from C.equal to D.worthy of

11.A.contributed B.signified C.justified D.dismissed

12.A.evolution B.procedure C.revolution D.presentation

13.A.with B.among C.as D.like

14.A.space B.rhythm C.volume D.rate

15.A.culture B.brain C.muscle D.heart

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.A

4.C

5.D

6.A

7.B

8.C

9.A

10.B

11.D

12.C

13.D

14.A

15.B

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。介绍了华盛顿特区加劳德特大学的教师比尔·斯托科提出的一个开创性理念——手语是像其他语言一样自然的语言，他还认为语言不是嘴巴的功能，而是大脑的功能。

1.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：只有在过去的20年里，语言研究专家才意识到手语是独一无二的。A. unique独一无二的；B. neutral中性的；C. inexact不精确的；D. vague含糊的。根据空后的介绍可知，手语是独一无二的。故A项正确。

2.考查动词词义辨析。句意：它们为探索大脑如何生成和理解语言提供了一种新的方法。

A. varies改变；B. applies应用；C. interrelates相互关联；D. understands理解。根据空前的“how the brain generates and”可知此处指“大脑如何生成和理解语言”。故D项正确。

3.考查名词词义辨析。句意：它们还为一个古老的科学争论提供了新的视角：语言，随着语法而变化，是我们与生俱来的，还是后天习得的行为。A. argument争论；B. definition定义；C. conclusion结论；D. statement陈述。空后的“whether language, ___4___ with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a ___5___ behavior.”是一个科学争论，故A项正确。

4.考查形容词词义辨析。句意同上。A. familiar熟悉的；B. complete完整的；C. changeable不定的、可改变的；D. comparative比较的。根据常识可知，语言随着语法而变化。故C项正确。

5.考查动词词义辨析。句意同上。A. adopted采取；B. inherited继承； C. introduced介绍；D. learned学习。根据空前的“is something that we are born with”可知此处指“语言是我们与生俱来的还是通过后天的学习获得的”。故D项正确。

6.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：目前人们对手语的兴趣源于华盛顿特区加劳德特大学一位叛逆教师的开创性工作，该大学是世界上唯一一所聋哑人文科大学。A. pioneering开创性的；B. concluding推断的；C. proceeding行进的；D. imitating模仿的。下文说斯托科提出手语是像英语、法语、日语一样自然的语言，因此他的手语理念是开创性的。故A项正确。

7.考查形容词词义辨析。句意：当比尔·斯托科去加拉德教英语时，学校给他报了一门手语课程，但是斯托科注意到了一些奇怪的事情；在他们之中，学生们的手语和他学到的手语不一样。A. casual随便的；B. odd奇怪的；C. witty诙谐的；D. tricky狡猾的。冒号后说学生们的手语和他学校的手语不一样，这一点是很奇怪的。故B项正确。

8.考查名词词义辨析。句意：斯托科学过一种手势代码，每一个手势代表一个英语单词。A. clue线索；B. file文件；C. code代码；D. digit数字。根据常识可知，手语是通过手势代码表达意思的。故C项正确。

9.考查名词词义辨析。句意：当时，美国手语被认为不过是混杂英语的一种形式，但斯托科认为，他的学生使用的手语看起来更丰富。A. talk交谈；B. gossip八卦；C. clap鼓掌；D. shake握手。本文主要讲的就是手语，此处“talk hand”指的是手语。故A项正确。

10.考查形容词短语辨析。句意：他在想：聋哑人是否真的有一种真正的语言?这种语言和地球上的其他语言有什么不同吗？A. characteristic of特有的；B. different from与……不同的；C. equal to与……相等的；D. worthy of值得的。下文斯托科提出手语是像英语、法语和日语为一样的自然语言，因此此处是说斯托科在想聋哑人的手语是否不同于其他的语言。故B项正确。

11.考查动词词义辨析。句意：那是在1955年，即使是聋哑人也认为他们的手语不够标准。A. contributed贡献；B. signified表明；C. justified调整；D. dismissed不予理会、不予考虑。Dismiss…as…表示“将……视为/当作”，故D项正确。

12.考查名词词义辨析。句意：他正在加拉德特校园附近的一家咖啡馆吃午饭，并解释他是如何发动一场革命的。A. evolution演变；B. procedure步骤；C. revolution革命；D. presentation展示。空后说斯托科的手语理念是开创性的，空后又说他认为手语是像英语、法语和日语这样的自然语言，因此此处是说他发起了一场聋哑人的手语革命。故C项正确。

13.考查介词词义辨析。句意：几十年来，教育家们一直反对他的观点，即手语是像英语、法语和日语这样的自然语言。A. with和；B. among在……之间；C. as作为；D. like像。根据空后的“English, French and Japanese”可知此处指像英语、法语和日语这样的自然语言。故D项正确。

14.考查名词词义辨析。句意：他们认为语言必须基于语音，即声音的调制，但手语是基于手的移动，空间的调节。A. space空间、距离；B. rhythm节奏；C. volume体积；D. rate比率。根据常识可知，手语基于手的移动和空间的调节。故A项正确。

15.考查名词词义辨析。句意：斯托科解释说：“语言不是嘴巴的功能，而是大脑的功能。”A. culture文化；B. brain大脑；C. muscle肌肉；D. heart心灵。根据空前的“language is not mouth stuff”可知，斯托科认为语言不是嘴巴的功能，而是大脑的功能。故B项正确。