Question

Many years ago，a French naturalist，the Count de Buffon，wrote some books about natural history．The books were a great success even though some critics did not like them．Some critics said，“Count Buffon is more of a poet than a scientist．”

Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World．It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had spoken of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant．

This troubled Thomas Jefferson．He too was a naturalist，as well as a farmer，inventor，historian，writer and politician．He had seen the natural wonders of Europe．To him，they were no more important than those of the New World．

In 1788，Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state，Virginia．While writing，he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of the Count de Buffon．At that moment．Jefferson created a new word—belittle．He said．“The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic．”

Noah Webster，the American word expert，liked this word．He put it in this English language dictionary in 1806，“Belittle—to make small，unimportant．”

Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it．In 1797，the Independent Chronicle newspaper used the word to describe a politician the paper supported．“He is an honorable man，”the paper wrote，“so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please．”

In 1872，a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word．He said，“Belittle has no chance of becoming English．And as more critical writers of America，like those of Britain，feel no need of it，the sooner it is forgotten，the better．”

This expert failed to kill the word．Today．belittle is used where the English language is spoken．

1.Why did Thomas Jefferson disagree with the Count de Buffon?

A．The Count said something silly about the Atlantic．

B．The Count wasn’t a true scientist in natural history．

C．The Count was a poet from a different country．

D．The Count belittled the natural wonders in America．   

2.We can infer that Jefferson created the word“belittle”out of his ．

A．anger    B．excitement      C．kindness   D．responsibility

3.From the text we can know that ．

A．all critics thought little of the Count de Buffon

B．Europe has better wonders than the New World

C．the word“belittle”survived from disagreements

D．word experts can change the future of a new word

4.Which of the following is true of the word“belittle”?

A．It is gradually accepted by people． 

B．It was invented by the Count de Buffon．

C．It was used to describe nature．

D．The Independent Chronicle made it popular．

5.What is the main idea of the text?

A．How the word“belittle”came into being．

B．The argument about natural wonders．

C．Every word has a long history behind．

D．Noah Webster supported Jefferson’s idea．

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.A

5.A

【解析】

试题分析：今天的单词是"belittle"，它是由美国第三任总统托马斯·杰斐逊首次提出并使用。

1. 细节理解题。根据第二段提到Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World．It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had spoken of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant．杰斐逊不喜欢the Count(伯爵)对新大陆自然奇观的说法。在他看来，伯爵对美洲自然奇观的描述脱离了他一贯的方式，似乎它们无足轻重，故选D项。

2. 细节理解题。根据第四段提到In 1788，Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state，Virginia．While writing，he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of the Count de Buffon．At that moment．Jefferson created a new word—belittle．He said．“The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic．可知出于愤怒，故选A项。

3. 细节推断题。根据最后一段提到This expert failed to kill the word. Today, belittle is used not only in the United States and England, but in other countries where the English language is spoken. It seems that efforts to belittle the word did not stop people from using it. 这位专家失败了。今天不仅美国和英国，说英语的其他国家也一直在使用belittle这个词。看来想要人们忽视这个词所做的努力都白费了故选C项。

4. 细节理解题。根据倒数第三段提到Americans had already accepted Jefferson’s word and started to use it．可知人们接受这个单词，故选A项。

5. 主旨大意。本文讲述belittle是由美国总统托马斯·杰斐逊首次提出并使用，故选A项。

考点：文化类阅读。