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 2 , but 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 unicorns (独角兽) that have never existed. The key 6 in the fact that different words can be 7 together in different ways, according to 8 to communicate different meanings.
Language is the most important learning we do. Nothing can 9 humans so much as our ability to communicate abstract 10 , whether about the university, the mind, love, dreams, or ordering a drink. It is an extremely 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 what the speaker means. He must use the sounds of speech to 17 the spoken words, 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 once started, it is of course a(n) 20 process.
1. A. apart B. off C. up D. down
2. A. advertisement B. communication C. discovery D. invention
3. A. transfer B. move 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. joined C. rung D. controlled
8. A. rules B. scales C. laws D. standards
9. A. combine B. contain C. define D. declare
10. A. activities B. thoughts C. effects D. chances
11. A. expectation 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 out B. take down C. draw up D. figure out
17. A. identify B. locate C. reveal D. discover
18. A. performance B. organization C. design D. show
19. A. regulate B. justify C. release D. interpret
20. A. slow B. interesting C. continuous D. serious
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