【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 sounds and so vague distinctions which would change the meaning of a word in other languages. But where do these phonemes e from and why do they shift over time? New research suggests that the apparently arbitrary distribution of some sounds around the world may be partially explained by diet. This is unexpected. We39。d rather think of language as product of our thought rather than of the arrangement of our teeth. In reality, though, any given language must be both. Hunter gatherer languages very seldom use the sounds known as labiodentals (唇齒音)－those such as f and v－that are made by touching the lower lip with the upper teeth. Only two of the hundreds of Australian aboriginal languages use them, for example. But in cultures that have discovered farming, these consonants (輔音) are much more mon. The argument goes that farmers eat more cooked food and more dairy than hunter gatherers. Either way, they need to chew mush less, and to bite less with their front teeth. So farmers grew up with smaller lower jaws and more of an overbite than their ancestors who had to bite through harder foods. It became easier for them to make the labiodental consonants instead of purely labial (唇音) ones: one example is that f e to take the place of p. Romans said pater but English speakers (unless they39。re Rees－Moggs) say father. Beyond these particular changes, the story highlights the way in which everything distinctively human is both material and spiritual: speech must bine sound and meaning, and the meaning can39。t exist or be transmitted without a real object. But neither can it be reduced to the purely physical, as our inability to understand or even to recognise foreign languages makes clear. The food we eat shapes our jaws, and our jaws in turn shape the sounds of our language. The ease with which we eat probably shapes our thought too, as anyone who has suffered toothache could testify. What we eat may have shaped the sounds of our language, but how we eat changes how we feel and what we use language to express. A family meal is very different from a sandwich at the office desk, even if the calorie is the same. Food has purposes and meanings far beyond keeping us alive and pleasing the Palate (味覺(jué)).（1）Compared with adults, babies could more easily . A.create significant noisesB.classify the forms of noisesC.understand the Greek languageD.distinguish meaningful sounds（2）According to the passage, which of the following factors help shape language? A.Lips and teeth.B.Jobs and habits.C.Age and regions.D.Food and thinking.（3）The reason for farmers39。 making sounds of f and v is . A.enjoying more cooked foodsB.biting more with front teethC.constantly chewing harder foodsD.growing up with lager lower jaws（4）By writing this passage, the author intends to reveal . A.jaws help shape our thoughtB.food determines our thoughtC.diet has some influence on languageD.language consists of sound and meaning【答案】 （1）D（2）D（3）A（4）C 【解析】【分析】本文是一篇說(shuō)明文，人們一直以來(lái)認(rèn)為語(yǔ)言是思想的產(chǎn)物，但是有新的研究表明飲食對(duì)于語(yǔ)言也會(huì)產(chǎn)生一些影響。且以f和v的發(fā)音為例，揭示了農(nóng)民們發(fā)f和v音的原因是他們喜歡吃更多的熟食。同時(shí)這也強(qiáng)調(diào)了人類(lèi)特有的一切都是物質(zhì)和精神的結(jié)合:語(yǔ)言必須把聲音和意義結(jié)合起來(lái)，沒(méi)有真實(shí)的物體，意義就不可能存在或傳播。 （1）考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第一段中的“By the age of one, they can recognize the significant noises around them and group them into a language.”可知一歲的嬰兒和成人相比更能識(shí)別出周?chē)闹匾曇?，故選D。 （2）考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第二段中的“New research suggests that the apparently arbitrary distribution of some sounds around the world may be partially explained by diet.”可知某些聲音在世界范圍內(nèi)的任意分布，部分可以用飲食來(lái)解釋。本段提到sound和diet是有關(guān)系的,也就是food食物；另外也和思考有關(guān)the product of thought,本段最后說(shuō)到和兩者都有關(guān)系。故選D。 （3）考查細(xì)節(jié)理解。根據(jù)第三段中的“The argument goes that famers eat more cooked food and more dairy than hunter gatherers.”可知農(nóng)民比狩獵采集者吃更多的熟食和奶制品，即農(nóng)民們發(fā)f和v音的原因是他們喜歡吃更多的熟食。故選A。 （4）考查主旨大意。根據(jù)第二段中的“We39。d rather think of language as product of our thought, rather than of the arrangement of our teeth. In reality, though, any given language must be both.”可知任何一種語(yǔ)言的誕生都必須同時(shí)具備思想和飲食這兩種因素的影響。以及文章內(nèi)容可知敘述的都是日常飲食和發(fā)音對(duì)語(yǔ)言的影響，故選C。 【點(diǎn)評(píng)】本題考點(diǎn)涉及細(xì)節(jié)理解和主旨大意兩個(gè)題型的考查，是一篇科研類(lèi)閱讀，考生需要準(zhǔn)確掌握細(xì)節(jié)信息，同時(shí)根據(jù)上下文進(jìn)行推理，歸納，從而選出正確答案。5．犇犇閱讀理解 A good disguise keeps you hidden, right? Well, sometimes the best disguise is actually the most dazzling because research reveals that flashy metallic iridescence(金屬彩虹色) can visually puzzle predators, which allows colorful prey to survive another day. Those surprising results appear in the journal Scientific Reports. Shining iridescent color, which changes depending on the angle from which it39。s viewed, is favored by everything from birds to beetles and blossoms to butterflies. And in our research group we are of course interested in why this vivid metallic color is so widespread in nature. Karin Kjernsmo of the University of Bristol adds that in some cases the showy splashes of light are a sexual strategy. Here I would like to point out that in some species, particularly those that display strong sexual dimorphism(雌雄兩性), such as birds of paradise or some butterflies or fishes, the occurrence of iridescence is most likely driven by sexual selection. For example, in many of these cases it is the males that have these vivid iridescent colors and they use them in mate choice or they use them as a signal to attract mates. But iridescence also shows up in situations where reproduction is not an issue. So what we are studying now is whether natural selection imposed by predation(捕食行為) could explain the occurrence of iridescence in prey animals. The idea that eye173。catching colors could be used as a cover173。up isn39。t a new one. The father of camouflage theory, Abbott Thayer, really believed that iridescence should be categorized as a camouflage strategy. And he wrote in his famous lifework Concealing173。Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, already in 1909, that 39。brilliantly changeable or metallic colors are among the strongest factors in an animal39。s concealment39。. And this sounds like a pletely