题文
Language as a System of Symbols
Of all systems of symbols(符号), language is the most highly developed. It has been pointed out that human beings, by agreement, can make anything stand for anything. Human beings have agreed, in the course of centuries of mutual(相互的)dependency, to let the various noises that they can produce with their lungs, throats, tongues, teeth, and lips systematically stand for certain happenings in their nervous systems. We call that system of agreements language.
There is no necessary connection between the symbol and that which it stands for. Just as social positions can be symbolized by feathers worn on the head, by gold on the watch chain, or by a thousand other things according to the culture we live in, so the fact of being hungry can be symbolized by a thousand different noises according to the culture we live in.
However obvious these facts may appear at first glance, they are actually not so obvious as they seem except when we take special pains to think about the subject. Symbols and the things they stand for are independent of each other, yet we all have a way of feeling as if, and sometimes acting as if, there were necessary connections. For example, there are people who feel that foreign languages are unreasonable by nature; foreigners have such funny names for things, and why can’t they call things by their right names? This feeling exhibits itself most strongly in those English and American tourists who seem to believe that they can make the natives of any country understand English if they shout loud enough. Like the little boy who is reported to have said: “Pigs are called pigs because they are such dirty animals,” they feel that the symbol is inherently(内在地) connected in some way with the things symbolized.
69. Language is a highly developed system of symbols because human beings ______.
A. have made use of language for centuries B. use our nervous systems to support language
C. have made various noises stand for any events
D. can make anything stand for anything by agreement
70. What can we conclude from Paragraph 2?
A. Different noises may mean different things.
B. Our culture determines what a symbol stands for.
C. The language we use symbolizes our social positions.
D. Our social positions determine the way we are dressed.
71. In Paragraph 3, “take special pains” probably means “_____”.
A. try very hard B. take our time C. are very unhappy D. feel especially painful
72. The example of the little boy is used to show that _____.
A. adults often learn from their young
B. “pig” is a dirty word because pigs are dirty
C. words are not connected with the things they stand for
D. people sometimes have wrong ideas about how language works 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
69. D 70. B 71. A 72. D
解析
69.这是一道细节推断题。根据第一段“It has been pointed out that human beings， by agreement， can make anything stand for anything.”可推断出人们发出的各种噪音代表着任何一种活动。
70.这是一道主旨题。第二段“so the fact of being hungry can be symbolized by a thousand different noises according to the culture we live in”可知，我们的文化决定了某一种系统代表着什么。
71.这是一道猜测词义题。根据上文中“they are actually not so obvious as they seem except”可猜测出take special pains的意思是“努力尝试”。
72.这是一道主旨题。根据最后一段的内容可知，作者举小孩的例子说明人们有时对语言的作用产生误解。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Language as a System.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
