IV. 阅读理解。
(A)
Gomera is an island with a surprise,because the people there have two languages—Spanish and a whistle language(口哨语言). Very deep valleys(峡谷) break up the surface of the island. A person on one side of a valley cannot easily shout to a person on the other side,but he can whistle and be heard.
How did the whistle language begin? When European seamen visited the island in 1402,they found people called Guanches. They raised cattle(牛) for a living. One of them told the seamen an unbelievable story,“Our great king once became very angry with us and cut the tongue(舌头) of every man,woman and child. We had to learn to speak without tongues,and so we invented a whistle language.” When the Spaniards arrived later they found it was quite easy to learn the whistle language,and took it from the Guanches.
The whistle language is very useful on the island. When someone is hurt or ill, the whistle language takes the place of a telephone. For example, if the sick person is a long way from the town, a boy guarding cattle on a hillside could whistle to a man fishing in his boat. The last person is able to describe the problem fully and exactly to the doctor in the town. People help each other in the same way when a car breaks down or a cow is lost.
On Gomera, country people use the whistle language better and more often than people in the town. In fact, town people sometimes "make mistakes", and give the other person the wrong message. But this language is still alive and will probably go on living for hundreds of years.
(
B
)1. Who invented the whistle language?
A. The great king.
B. The Guanches.
C. The Spaniards.
D. The seamen.
(
C
)2. Why do people on Gomera still use the whistle language?
A. Because it helps them talk with the cattle.
B. Because it reminds them of the terrible history.
C. Because it serves as a useful communication tool.
D. Because it never offers any wrong information.
(
A
)3. How does the writer develop the third paragraph?
A. By giving examples.
B. By following a time order.
C. By giving suggestions.
D. By following a space order.
(
D
)4. What is the writer's attitude towards the future of the whistle language?
A. Excited.
B. Worried.
C. Negative(否定的).
D. Positive(肯定的).
(
B
)5. What's the best title for this passage?
A. The Way to Use the Whistle Language.
B. The History of the Whistle Language.
C. The Future of the Whistle Language.
D. The Reason for Using the Whistle Language.