CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? The ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks(标点符号) probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc.

The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They·put·a·point·between·each·word·in·a·sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a prick(刺).

         When the 5^th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The space separated words and while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13^th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma.

         Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark comes form the Latin word xt. It was originally formed by putting an upper-case(大写字母) I on the lower-case xt. The Latin word xt means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word question, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question. Over time, it became a symbol formed by putting a lower-case q on an o.

           Punctuation is still changing today. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example, the “interrobang.” This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what‽” or “How much did you pay for that dress‽” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized – yet. But its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.

1.Which of the following is a comma?

A. ,                              B. :                               C.    ;                           D. !

2.What’s the first paragraph mainly about?

A. The history of punctuation.

B. The introduction of punctuation.

C. The very beginning of punctuation.

D. The ancient Greek way of writing without punctuation.

3.Please put the following events in the order they happened.

a. The exclamation mark and question mark came into the punctuation family.

b. Comma came into existence.

c. Romans put a dot between words to separate words.

d. A period was used to end a sentence.

e. The “interrobang” was invented.

A. cbdae                     B. dcbae                     C. dbcea                     D. cdbae

4.What is the most possible situation for “She did what‽”?

A. You are told she gave her baby boy a good beat.

B. You are wondering what she did to save the poor boy.

C. You want to know what she did for a living after fleeing to a foreign country.

D. You demand someone else tell you what in the world happened to her.

5. According to the article, we learn ________.

A. punctuation didn’t come into being until the 5^th century.

B. no one can really tell what new marks we may have in the future.

C. the invention of “interrobang” is a failure since it is not widely used.

D. both the exclamation mark and the question mark come from Greek words.

 

Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.

Oliver Twist, one of the most famous works of Charles Dickens, is a novel reflecting the tragic fact of the life in Britain in the 19th century.

The author who himself was born in a poor family wrote this novel in his twenties with a view to reveal the ugly masks of those cruel criminals and to 36  the horror and violence hidden underneath the narrow and dirty streets in London.

The hero of this novel was Oliver Twist, an orphan, who was thrown into a world full of  37

and crime. He suffered enormous pain, 38  hunger, thirst, beating and abuse. While reading the tragic experiences of little Oliver, I was shocked by his sufferings. I 39  the poor boy, but at the same time I detested the evil Fagin and the brutal Bill. To my relief, as was written in all the best stories, the goodness eventually conquered  40   and Oliver lived a happy life in the end. One of the plots that attracted me  41  is that after the theft, little Oliver was allowed to recover in the kind care of Mrs Maylie and Rose and  42   a new life.

How can such a little boy who had already suffered oppressive pain 43  pure in body and mind? The reason is the nature of goodness. I think it is the most important information 44  in the novel by Dickens --- he believed that goodness could conquer  45  difficulty.

Goodness is to human what water is to fish. He who is without goodness is an utterly  46  person. On the contrary, as the famous saying goes, “ The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose.” He who is with goodness undoubtedly is a happy and useful person. People receiving his help are grateful to him and he also gets gratified from what he has done, and thus he can do  47  to both the people he has helped and himself.

36. A. open        B. exploit          C. expose           D. cover

37. A. honor                  B. poverty         C. glory            D. imagination

38. A. such like               B. for example    C. such as          D. for instance

39. A. looked down upon                       B. made an apology for

   C. played a joke on                          D. felt sorry for

40. A. relationship     B. kindness          C. carelessness   D. devil

41. A. mainly     B. most           C. mostly          D. best

42. A. began               B. launched         C. set                D. changed

43. A. bear                          B. remain            C. hold          D. maintain

44. A. contained            B. implied             C. imported      D. added

45. A. every               B. some             C. little            D. much

46. A. gracious            B. worthless      C. modest       D. earnest

47. A. harm              B. damage       C. good              D. justice

Richard’s father died when he was five. Later on he   36  his mother. The poor boy had to   37  on his own, so he went to work for a rich farmer, who paid him nothing except food and clothes. An old woman felt   38  for him and often helped him. The boy wanted to go to (the)  39  very much, but he had no money. But he   40  lost heart and found some old books near the school and   41  himself to read and write.

There was a narrow   42  between two mountains which connected the village and the town. One morning people   43  there was a big stone on the path. It brought them   44 : they had to move it away, or they had to cross the mountains to the town.   45  the stone weighed thirty tons at least and even the strongest young man couldn’t move it. They   46  for a long time, but nobody knew what to do.

Richard looked at it carefully for a while and said, “I have a   47  to move it away.” But   48  men believed him. Some villagers even   49  him. The night   50  and people went back. Only the boy stayed there. To their surprise, the villagers found the stone was   51  the next morning. They didn’t   52  who had moved it away. The old woman said Richard had done it all by himself.

“How could he?” the rich farmer called out, “He’s   53  fifteen! He couldn’t move it at all!”

“He   54  a big hole beside the stone.” said the old woman, “and then he could   55  push it into the hole!”

Looking at each other, the villagers couldn’t say a word.

1.                A．lost            B．loved          C．supported D．helped

 

2.                A．study          B．think           C．live  D．work

 

3.                A．angry          B．proud          C．sorry D．excited

 

4.                A．town           B．mountain       C．school    D．bed

 

5.                A．still            B．even           C．ever D．never

 

6.                A．asked          B．taught          C．agreed   D．caused

 

7.                A．window         B．path           C．door D．river

 

8.                A．found          B．believed        C．asked    D．counted

 

9.                A．happiness       B．money         C．good D．difficulty

 

10.               A．For            B．So             C．And D．But

 

11.               A．discussed       B．stayed         C．played    D．cried

 

12.               A．book          B．question        C．text  D．way

 

13.               A．few           B．most           C．many D．some

 

14.               A．cared about     B．looked at       C．looked after    D．laughed at

 

15.               A．fell            B．went           C．made D．worked

 

16.               A．broken         B．heavier         C．gone D．smaller

 

17.               A．forget          B．remember      C．know D．notice

 

18.               A．mainly         B．only           C．nearly     D．already

 

19.               A．put            B．set            C．dug  D．filled

 

20.               A．excitedly       B．easily          C．luckily D．happily

 

 

Now that their parents are dead, the poor boy doesn’t know ________ the money they left.

A．how to do with                         B．what to do with

C．to do what with                         D．how he will do with

 

Since his parents are dead, the poor boy doesn’t know ___________ the money they left.

A. how to do with               B. what to do with

C. to do what with               D. how he will do with