“Indeed”George Washington wrote in his diary in 1785, “some kind of fly,or bug,had begun to eat the leaves before I left home.” But the father of America was not the father of bug.When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already created lightning-bug(萤火虫). But the Enlish were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to be the Americans to call a bug a bug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity.Although fan became the usual term, sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseball bugs and the like.

Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bug-shaped car. The bug could also be a burlar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, “to install(安装) an alarm”. Now it means a small piece of equipment that people use for listening secretly to others’ conversations.Since the 1840s,to bug has long meant “to cheat”,and since the 1994s it has been annoying.

We also know the bug as a flaw n a computer program or other design.That meaning dates back to the time of Tomas Edison.In 1878 he explained bugs as “little problems and difficulties” that required months of stdy and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison “had been up the two previous nights discovering′a bug′ in his invented record player.”

1.We learn from Paragraph 1 that         .

A．American had difficulty in learning to use the word “bug”.

B．George Washinton was the first person to call the insect a bug.

C．the word bug was still popularly used in England in the nineteenth century.

D．both the Englishmen and Americans used the word bug in the gighteen century.

2.What does the word “flaw” in the last paragraph mean？

A．Explanation.

B．Finding.

C．Origin.

D．Fault.

3.The passage is mainly concerned with         .

A．the misunderstanding of thr word bug

B．the deveopment of the word bug

C．the public views of the word bug

D．the special characteristics of the word bug

 

“Indeed”George Washington wrote in his diary in 1785, “some kind of fly,or bug,had begun to eat the leaves before I left home.” But the father of America was not the father of bug.When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already created lightning-bug(萤火虫). But the Enlish were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to be the Americans to call a bug a bug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity.Although fan became the usual term, sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseball bugs and the like.
Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bug-shaped car. The bug could also be a burlar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, “to install(安装) an alarm”. Now it means a small piece of equipment that people use for listening secretly to others’ conversations.Since the 1840s,to bug has long meant “to cheat”,and since the 1994s it has been annoying.
We also know the bug as a flaw n a computer program or other design.That meaning dates back to the time of Tomas Edison.In 1878 he explained bugs as “little problems and difficulties” that required months of stdy and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison “had been up the two previous nights discovering′a bug′ in his invented record player.”
【小题1】We learn from Paragraph 1 that         .

A．American had difficulty in learning to use the word “bug”.

B．George Washinton was the first person to call the insect a bug.

C．the word bug was still popularly used in England in the nineteenth century.

D．both the Englishmen and Americans used the word bug in the gighteen century.

【小题2】What does the word “flaw” in the last paragraph mean？

A．Explanation.

B．Finding.

C．Origin.

D．Fault.

【小题3】The passage is mainly concerned with         .

A．the misunderstanding of thr word bug

B．the deveopment of the word bug

C．the public views of the word bug

D．the special characteristics of the word bug

Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good．This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity（纯洁）．

However, that is not always the case．Did you know that the same colour may mean differently in different places of the world?

In the English-speaking world, black is the colour of mourning（哀悼）．People wear black clothes at the funeral．Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed (流血)．Yellow is the word for fear．If you are afraid, you are yellow．Yet none of these sayings is true outside the English-speaking world．In China and Korea white is the colour of mourning．In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence．In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear．

Even within the English-speaking area it is not difficult to find colour contradictions (矛盾)．A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station．In Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman．Both names are logical because both men wear red caps．Similarly, the British term for an American white collar worker is sometimes called a black-coated worker．

One does not have to cross an area to find color differences．Would you rather be red-blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest．The expression “blueblood” comes from Spain, where some noble（贵族）families proudly said that they had “blue blood”．But then why “blue” blood? Because they were fair-skinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels (血管) stood out appearing blue．

1.Yellow is concerned with anger in ______.

        A．Russia       B．Britain       C．Germany D．China

2. Both Britain and America would probably agree that ______.

         A．black is the color of mourning   B．a black-coated worker is employed in an office

         C．red stands for beauty and excellence    D．a redcap is a porter in a station

3.The best title for this passage is ______.

         A．The Origin of Blue Blood          B．The Development of the Use of Colors

         C．Colors that Carry Bad Meanings       D．The Meaning Concerned With Certain Colors

4.When some Spanish called themselves “blueblood”, they actually meant ______.

A．they had heart trouble and their faces looked blue    B．they came from a noble family

C．they had blue blood in their vessels               D．they were fair-skinned

 

阅读理解

　　Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad thing while white should always mean something good. This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity. However, that is not always the case. Did you know that the same one color may mean differently in different places of the world?

　　In the English－speaking world, black is the color of mourning－people wear black at the funeral. Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed. Yellow is the word for fear. If you axe afraid, you are yellow. Yet, none of these sayings is true outside the English－speaking world. In China and Korea white is the color of mourning. In Russia, China, and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence. In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear.

　　Even within the English－speaking area, it is not difficult to find color contradictions (矛盾). A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station, in Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman. Both names are logical. Because both men wear red caps. Similarly, the British term for an American white－collar worker is sometimes called a blackcoated worker.

　　One does not have to cross an area to find color differences. Would you rather be a redblooded or a blue－blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest. The expression “blue blood” comes from Spain, where some noble families proudly told the world that they had “blue blood”. Actually they meant that they had no Moorish(摩尔人的) or Jewish blood. But then why “blue” blood? Because they were fair－skinned(皮肤白皙的), and it is only natural that their blood vessels stood out appearing blue.

1．Yellow is concerned with anger in ________.

[　　]

2．The two meanings of the term “redcap” result from a difference in ________.

[　　]

3．Both Britain and America would probably agree that ________.

[　　]

A．black is the color of mourning

B．a black－coated worker is employed in an office

C．red stands for beauty and excellence

D．a redcap is a porter in a station

4．It is not stated but implied(暗示) that some noble families in Spain had ________ color.

[　　]

5．The best title for this reading selection is ________.

[　　]

A．The Origin of Blue Blood

B．The Development of the Symbolic(象征性的) Use of Colors

C．Colors that carry Bad Meanings

D．The Meaning Concerned with Certain Colors

 

       Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good．This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity．However, that is not always the case．Did you know that the same one color may mean something differently in different places of the world?

       In the English-speaking world, black is the color of mourning—people wear black at the funeral．Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed（伤亡）．Yellow is the word for fear．If you are afraid, you are yellow．Yet none of these sayings is true outside the English-speaking world．In China and Korea white is the color of mourning．In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence．In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear．

       Even within the English-speaking area, it is not difficult to find color contradictions（矛盾）．A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station．In Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman．Both names are logical, because both men wear red caps．Similarly, the British term for an American white-collar worker is sometimes called a black-coated worker．

       One does not have to cross an area to find color differences．Would you rather be red-blooded or a blue-blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest．The expression “blueblood” comes from Spain, where some noble families proudly told the world that they had “blue blood”．Actually they meant that they had no Moorish or Jewish blood．But then why “blue” blood? Because they were fair-skinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels （血管）stood out appearing blue．

1.Yellow is concerned with anger in ________________．

       A．India              B．Britain                 C．China                D．Italy

2.Both Britain and America would probably agree that ________________．

       A．a redcap is a porter in a station

       B．black is the color of mourning

       C．red stands for beauty and excellence

       D．a black-coated worker is employed in an office

3.In Britain , a redcap is a

       A．porter                                                 B．nobleman          

       C．clerk                                                  D．military policeman

4.The best title for this reading selection is ________________．

       A．The Origin of Blue Blood

       B．Colors that Carry Bad Meanings

       C．The Meaning Concerned with Certain Colors

       D．The Development of the Symbolic Use of Colors