Question

People often say that Money talks. They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done. But it is not easy to earn enough money to gain this kind of power.

Ask anyone in business. They will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The expression probably began because a jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people.

People in business have to be careful if they are to survive the jungle out there. They must not be led into making bogus investments. Bogus means something that is not real.

Nobody is sure how the word got started. But it began to appear in American newspapers in the 1800s. A newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, said the word came from a criminal whose name was Borghese. Borghese wrote checks to people although he did not have enough money in the bank. After he wrote the checks, he would disappear. So, people who were paid with his checks received nothing. The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed the criminal’s name Borghese to Bogus.

People trying to earn money must be also aware of the risk of being ripped off. A writer for a magazine said he first saw the expression used in 1971. It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university. The message on the sign was that the student felt cheated.

To be successful, a person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks. This expression means to get to the bottom or the most important of something. For example, a salesman may talk about his product without saying the price. You get down to brass tacks when you say, “it sounds good, but how much does it cost?”

Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships. They clean the bottom of a boat. When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the copper pieces that hold the ship together. So, if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there. And, some good luck will help, too.

1.Why do people say money talks?

A. Because money can tell us something.

B. Because the rich tend to decide a thing.

C. Because everyone loves to have money.

D. Because it is hard to earn money.

2.My uncle is in a jungle out there, which means      .

A. he is a success in his own business

B. he will face many difficulties soon

C. he will fight against wild animals

D. he is interested to go through a jungle

3.Borghese is considered to be a criminal      .

A. because he used the word “bogus” for the first time

B. because he was accused of writing false checks

C. because he didn’t have enough money in the bank

D. because he disappeared after he paid some checks

4.When you ask how much it cost, it means       .

A. you are always caring about money

B. you declare you won’t be cheated

C. you care nothing about the quality

D. you get down to the real issues

5.It can be inferred from the passage that      .

A. Charles Funk has created many interesting words

B. brass is a necessary people of equipment of a ship

C. many businessmen have been cheated in life

D. many English words have their interesting stories

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.B

4.D

5.D

【解析】

试题分析：文章大意：本文是一则说明文。文章主要介绍了几个英语词汇的来源及寓意。

1.根据第一段句子They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done.可知，人们说钱能说话的原因就是许多有钱人能决定事情怎么做。选B

2.推理判断题。根据题干找到相对应的段落第二段。再根据句子The expression probably began because a jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people.可得知，此习语是指“他很快就会面对许多困难”。选B

3.第四段The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed the criminal’s name Borghese to Bogus.可知Borghese经常写假支票而被指控。选B

4.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段句子You get down to brass tacks when you say, “it sounds good, but how much does it cost?”可得知答案选D，你问到了实质性问题。选D

5.推理判断题。纵观全文不难看出文章中提到了几个关于习语的故事来历，所以可以推断D项正确。根据最后一段，Charles Funk是个语言专家，但并没有说他创造了许多有趣的单词，所以A项不正确。根据句子if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs，可推断tack是船上的重要零件，而brass是修饰tack的，所以不能说brass是船的重要零件，所以B项不正确。根据第三段说生意人要提防不要被误导，进行一些虚假的投资，但并不能由此推断许多生意人被骗过，所以C项不正确。选D

考点：考查说明文阅读