完型填空練習:

　　Language is the most astonishing behavior in the animal kingdom. It is the species-typical behavior that sets humans completely __1__ from all other animals. Language is a means of communication, __2__ it is much more than that. Many animals can __3__. The dance of the honeybee communicates the location of flowers __4__ other members of the hive (蜂群). But human language permits communication about anything, __5__ things like unicorn (獨角獸) that have never existed. The key __6__ in the fact that the units of meaning, words, can be __7__ together in different ways, according to __8__, to communicate different meanings.

　　Language is the most important learning we do. Nothing __9__ humans so much as our ability to communicate abstract thoughts, __10__ about the universe, the mind, love, dreams, or ordering a drink. It is an immensely complex __11__ that we take for granted. Indeed, we are not aware of most __12__ of our speech and understanding. Consider what happens when one person is speaking to __13__. The speaker has to translate thoughts into __14_ language. Brain imaging studies suggest that the time from thoughts to the __15__ of speech is extremely fast, only 0.04 seconds! The listener must hear the sounds to __16__ out what the speaker means. He must use the sounds of speech to __17__ the words spoken, understand the pattern of __18__ of the words (sentences), and finally __19__ the meaning. This takes somewhat longer, a minimum of about 0.5 seconds. But __20__ started, it is of course a continuous process.

　　1, A) apart B) off C) up D) down

　　2, A) so B) but C) or D) for

　　3, A) transfer B) transmit C) convey D) communicate

　　4, A) to B) from C) over D) on

　　5, A) only B) almost C) even D) just

　　6, A) stays B) situates C) hides D) lies

　　7, A) stuck B) strung C) rung D) consisted

　　8, A) rules B) scales C) laws D) standards

　　9, A) combines B) contains C) defines D) declares

　　10,A) what B) whether C) while D) if

　　11,A) prospect B) progress C) process D) produce

　　12,A) aspects B) abstracts C) angles D) assumptions

　　13,A) anybody B) another C) other D) everybody

　　14,A) body B) gesture C) written D) spoken

　　15,A) growing B) fixing C) beginning D) building

　　16,A) put B) take C) draw D) figure

　　17,A) identify B) locate C) reveal D) discover

　　18,A) performanceB) organizationC) design D) layout

　　19,A) prescribe B) justify C) utter D) interpret

　　20,A) since B) after C) once D) until

　　答案解析: