Question

    Many people have become accustomed to saying “bless you” or “gesundheit” when someone sneezes. No one says anything when someone coughs, blows their noses or burps (打嗝), so why do sneezes get special treatment? What do those phrases actually mean, anyway?

Wishing someone well after he sneezes probably originated thousands of years ago. The Romans would say “Jupiter preserve you!” or “Salve!” which meant “good health to you” and the Greeks would wish each other “long life”. The phrase “God bless you” is due to Pope Gregory the great, who spoke it out in the sixth century during a bubonic plague epidemic (黑死病) (sneezing is an obvious symptom of one form of the plague).

The alternative term “gesundheit” comes from Germany, and it literally means “health”. The idea is that a sneeze typically comes ahead of illness. It entered the English language in the early 20th century, brought to the United States by German-speaking immigrants.

Actually every country around the globe has its own way of wishing sneezers well. People in Arabic countries say “Alhamdulillah!” which means “praise be to God”. Hindus say “Livel” or “Live well!”. Some countries have special sneezing responses for children. In Russia, after children are given the traditional response, “bud zdorov (be healthy)”, they are also told “rosti Bolshoi (grow big)”. When a child sneezes in China, he or she will hear “bai sui” which means “may you live 100 years.”

For the most part, the various sneeze responses originated from ancient superstitions (迷信). Some people believed that a sneeze caused the soul to escape the body through the nose, Saying “bless you” would stop the devil from claiming the person’s freed soul. However, some people believed that those evil spirits used the sneeze as an opportunity to enter a person’s body. There was also the misconception that the heart temporarily stopped during a sneeze (it doesn’t), and that saying “bless you” was a way of welcoming the person back to life.

1.What’s the purpose of paragraph 1?

A.To lead in the topic of the text. B.To explain the definition of blessing.

C.To introduce the evidence of the text. D.To tell the cause of saying “bless you”.

2.Why do people say “bless you” to sneezers?

A.To avoid illness. B.To wish them health.

C.To comfort their family. D.To get a get-well card from others.

3.How does the author state people’s ideas in the last paragraph?

A.By raising questions. B.By analyzing data.

C.By making comparisons. D.By listing causes.

4.What does the text mainly talk about?

A.How “bless you” is introduced into English.

B.Why we wish sneezers health in various ways.

C.How people from various countries avoid sneezers.

D.Why people say the blessing when someone sneezes.

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.C

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，文章阐述了当某人打喷嚏时，人们为什么说祝福语的原因。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段内容“Many people have become accustomed to saying “bless you” or “gesundheit” when someone sneezes. No one says anything when someone coughs, blows their noses or burps (打嗝), so why do sneezes get special treatment? What do those phrases actually mean, anyway? (许多人已经习惯在别人打喷嚏时说bless you或gesundheit。当有人咳嗽、擤鼻涕或打嗝时，没有人会说什么，那么为什么打喷嚏会得到特殊的治疗呢?这些短语到底是什么意思呢? )”可知，第一段的写作目的是导入文章的话题。故选A。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段第一句“Wishing someone well after he sneezes probably originated thousands of years ago.(在别人打喷嚏后祝福他健康可能起源于几千年前。)”和第四段第一句“Actually every country around the globe has its own way of wishing sneezers well.(事实上，世界上每个国家都有自己的方式来祝福打喷嚏的人。)”可知，人们对打喷嚏的人说“上帝保佑你”是为了祝愿他们身体健康。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第五段中的“Some people believed that.”和“However, some people believed that.”可知，作者在第五段中用对比的方式来陈述人们的观点。故选C。

4.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文主要介绍了当某人打喷嚏时，人们为什么说祝福语的原因。故选D。