Question

    Many years ago, a French naturalist, the Count de Buffon, wrote some books about natural history. 1..

Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World. It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had gone out of his way to speak of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant. 2.. He, too, was a naturalist, as well as a historian, writer and politician. He had seen the natural wonders of Europe. To him, they were no more important than those of the New World.

In 1788,Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state, Virginia. While writing, he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of Count de Buffon. 3.. He said, “The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic.”

4.. However, in 1872, a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word. He said, “Belittle has no chance of becoming English. And as more critical writers of America, like those of Britain, feel no need of it, the sooner it is forgotten, the better.”

5.. Today, belittle is used, not only in the United States and England, but in other countries where the English language is spoken. It seems that efforts to belittle the word did not stop people from using it.

A.The books were a great success even though some people did not like them

B.They talked about the great cultural relics of different countries

C.Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it

D.The Count de Buffon was thought highly of at that time

E.At that moment, Jefferson created a new word -- belittle

F.This expert failed to kill the word

G.This troubled Thomas Jefferson

Answer

1.A

2.G

3.E

4.C

5.F

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍单词“belittle(贬低)”的由来，它是由美国第三任总统托马斯·杰斐逊首次提出并使用。

1.

根据前句“Many years ago, a French naturalist, the Count de Buffon, wrote some books about natural history.(许多年前，一位法国博物学家布丰伯爵写了一些关于自然史的书。)”可知，这里的内容与这些书有关。所以A选择项“The books were a great success even though some people did not like them(尽管有些人不喜欢这些书，但它们还是大获成功。)”符合语境。故选A。

2.

根据前句“It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had gone out of his way to speak of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant. (在杰斐逊看来，伯爵在谈到美国的自然奇观时，总是不厌其烦，好像它们并不重要似的。)”可知，这里的内容与杰斐逊感受有关。所以G选择项“This troubled Thomas Jefferson (这让托马斯·杰斐逊很苦恼。)”符合语境。故选G。

3.

根据前句“While writing, he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of Count de Buffon. (写作时，他想到了那里的自然美景，又想到了布丰伯爵的话。)”和后句“He said, “The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic.”(他说:“布丰伯爵认为大自然贬低了她在大西洋此岸所创造的奇观。”)”可知，这里的内容与杰斐逊创造新词有关。所以E选择项“At that moment, Jefferson created a new word -- belittle (就在那时，杰斐逊创造了一个新词——贬低。)”符合语境。故选E。

4.

根据后句“However, in 1872, a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word. (然而，在1872年，一位著名的美国词汇专家认为是时候消灭这个词了。)”根据这里的转折可知，此词已被人们接受并使用。所以C选择项“Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it (美国人已经接受了杰斐逊的这个词并开始使用它。)”符合语境。故选C。

5.

根据后句“Today, belittle is used, not only in the United States and England, but in other countries where the English language is spoken. (今天，贬低不仅在美国和英国使用，在其他说英语的国家也使用。)”可知，贬低这个词没有被消灭。所以F选择项“This expert failed to kill the word (这位专家没能消灭这个词。)”符合语境。故选F。