Question

【题目】The Hawaiian people did not celebrate Christmas before the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778. It was, however, the protestant missionaries(传教士)from New England who first arrived in 1820 that first introduced Christmas to the Hawaiian people.

The missionaries reduced the Hawaiian language to written form, enabling the Hawaiian people to read and write in their own language. Many words for which there were no clear Hawaiian language equivalents(对应词)were translated phonetically.

Let’s look at some key phrases that you may hear in Hawaii during the Christmas and New Year’s Day holiday season.

Mele Kalikimaka—Merry Christmas. The words “Mele Kalikimaka” are a phonetic translation. When the missionaries and other Westerners first brought the custom of Christmas to the islands, the Hawaiians had difficulty pronouncing “Merry Christmas” and turned it into words that rolled more easily off their tongues.

Hau’ oli Makahiki Hou—Happy New Year. The western Christmas and New Year fell during this same time of the year when the Hawaiians traditionally honored the earth for giving them plenty to eat. This period of resting and feasting was called Makahiki (mah-kah-HEE-kee). It lasted for 4 months, and no wars or conflicts were allowed during this time. Because makahiki also means “year”, the Hawaiian phrase for “Happy New Year” became “Hau’ oli(happy) Makahiki (year) Hou (new)”.

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau’ oli Makahiki Hou—Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mahalo Nui Loa—Thank you very much. When you receive a nice gift or are treated to a special meal or beautiful song, you’ll want to express your appreciation for the kindness.

【1】【改编】Who made the greatest contribution to Hawaiian language according to the passage?

A. Captain Cook B. The missionaries

C. Westerners D. The Hawaiian people

【2】 The underlined word “phonetically” in Paragraph 2 probably means“ ”.

A. by sound B. by meaning

C. by appearance D. by form

【3】Makahiki is a traditional time for the Hawaiian people to .

A. celebrate the New Year B. show thanks to God

C. show thanks to the earth D. go for holidays

【4】What is the text mainly about?

A. How the Hawaiian people celebrate their holidays.

B. The development of the Hawaiian language.

C. How Christmas was brought to the Hawaiian people.

D. Some phrases used in Hawaii during festivals.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】C

【4】D

【解析】

试题分析：夏威夷人过圣诞节但是在1778年，后来新英格兰来的传教士把夏威夷的口语简化成为书面语，很多都是根据发音编写的。

【1】推理判断题。从文章第二段可知, 传教士把夏威夷的语言简化成为书面语, 在此之前夏威夷没有书面语, 所以选B。

【2】词义猜测题。从phonetically所在的语境可知, 因为英语的很多词汇在夏威夷语言中没有同义语, 所以只能音译。选A。

【3】细节理解题。从文章倒数第三段中the Hawaiians traditionally honored the earth for giving them plenty to eat可得到答案。B项是对原文的误解。选C。

【4】主旨大意题。文章的主要内容在文章的后半部分, 介绍夏威夷圣诞节和新年期间的常用语。A项偏离了文章的中心, C项仅仅是文章的一个细节。选D。