Question

Where did that number come from?

Eleven and Twelve

The reason behind the change in number naming is that eleven comes from the German term ainlif, which translates to “one left”. Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from twalif—“two left”. Why teen is used instead of lif for 13 through 19? There is something sadly lost in history.

911 for US Emergency (急救) Calls

Early phones didn’t use phone numbers—the operator had to connect your call by hand—and this led to the need for an emergency code (信号). But later phone numbers became popular, that changed. In 1967, 911 was chosen as the nationwide emergency call because it was easy to  remember and could be quickly dialed (拨) on the phone.

26.2 Miles in a Marathon (马拉松)

The story began with an ancient Greek soldier carrying message from a battlefield (战场) in Marathon to Athens. The modern marathon was born as a flagship event in the first Olympic Games, in 1896, with a distance (距离) of about 25 miles (40 km), as long as the distance from Marathon to Athens. But race organizers for the 1908 Olympic Games in London wanted to add something special. The race began at Windsor Castle and ended at White City Stadium, with runners finishing only after passing the royal (皇室的) box. The distance was 26.2 miles (42.1 km). And since 1924 this distance has been kept in marathon.

28 Days in February

Before using the Gregorian calendar that we use today, one of the first Roman calendars had only 304 days and ten months (March through December), with six months of 30 days and four of 31 days. The second king of Rome improved the old calendar. He added 50 days for January and February. To make the new months longer, he took one day from each of the 30-day months, making 56 days to divide between January and February (or 28 days each). Later January was given one more day to add up to 355 days a year, but February still had 28 days. That’s how it became the shortest month and it stayed that way ever since.

1.Which language do eleven and twelve come from?

A. English.   B. German.   C. French.   D. Russian.

2.When was the number 911 chosen for US emergency calls?

A. In 1896.   B. In 1908.   C. In 1924.   D. In 1967.

3. The marathon distance was made longer at London Olympic Games because ______.

A. the British was a little weak in maths

B. the British didn’t like the Greek story

C. the British loved the royal family very much

D. the British wanted to make the race different

4. How many days were there in each month after the king improved the old calendar?

A. 28, 29 or 31.  B. 28, 30 or 31.

C. 28, 29 or 30.  D. 29, 30 or 31.

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：这篇短文讲的主要是一些数字的来源，文中涉及到11和12，911，马拉松的里程以及2月份的天数这些数字的来源。

1.B细节理解题。根据文中信息The reason behind the change in number naming is that eleven comes from the German term ainlif, which translates to “one left”. Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from twalif—“two left”. 可知数字11和12来自与德语，故选B。

2.D细节理解题。根据文中信息In 1967, 911 was chosen as the nationwide emergency call because it was easy to remember and could be quickly dialed (拨) on the phone.可知911是在1967年被选为美国的急救电话，故选D。

3.D根据文中信息But race organizers for the 1908 Olympic Games in London wanted to add something special.可知1908年伦敦奥运会的组织者想增加一些特殊的东西，所以把增长了马拉松的的距离，故选D。

4.

考点：文化类短文阅读