A young man went to the local expert(专家) on gems and said he wanted to become a gemologist(珠宝家). The expert turned him down because he feared the youth would not have the patience to learn. The young man asked for a chance. Finally, the expert told the youth, "Be here tomorrow."
The next morning the expert put a jade(玉) stone in the youth's hand and told him to hold it. The expert then went about his work, cutting, weighing and setting gems. The boy sat quietly and waited.
The following morning the expert again put the jade stone in the youth's hand and told him to hold it. On the third, fourth and fifth days, the expert asked the young man to do the same thing. On the sixth day, the youth held the jade stone but he could no longer stand(忍受) the silence. "Master, when am I going to learn something?" he asked.
"You will learn." the expert said and went about his business.
Several more days went by and the youth almost lost his patience. But one morning as the master put the stone in the youth's hand, the young man said without looking at his hand, "This is not the same jade stone!"
"You have begun to learn." said the master.
Practice makes perfect. The experience we learned from practice teaches us and develops our abilities. Experience is the best teacher. Even the most successful person had no absolute confidence once. It is experience that gives people confidence. The truth is: if you do the work and gain the experience, you'll have more confidence because you'll actually know what you're doing.
【小题1】The phrase "turned ... down" probably means _______.

No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy. Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him—water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.

People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life. The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary larger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy language. Your dictionary is your most useful book.

1. What do we mean by language?

A. Sounds made by man.???????

B. All the words made by man.

C. Different kinds of sound.?????

D. The way man learns.

2. Form the passage we know that long long ago________.

A. no one learned how to make sounds or words

B. animals taught man to learn the language

C. man learned the language by lifting heavy things, falling to the ground,and so on

D. man followed a lot of things in nature to make sounds and words

3. What is the number of languages spoken in the world today?

A. 500. ????????????? ????????????? B. 5,000.????????????? ????????????? C. 1,500.????????????? ????????????? D. 15,000.

4.In which sentence can the word "contain(s)" be put so that it is a right one?

A. I________ several dictionaries. ????????????? B. Sea water________ salt.

C. A dog _______ four legs.????? ????????????? D. Mr. Smith _____ glasses on his nose.

5. Which of the followings is the best if we want to make our vocabulary larger?

A. To read more books.????????????? ????????????? ???

B. To use the words in everyday life.

C. To use the words in class.????? ?????????????

D. To write the words.

A young man went to the local expert(专家) on gems and said he wanted to become a gemologist(珠宝家). The expert turned him down because he feared the youth would not have the patience to learn. The young man asked for a chance. Finally, the expert told the youth, "Be here tomorrow."
The next morning the expert put a jade(玉) stone in the youth's hand and told him to hold it. The expert then went about his work, cutting, weighing and setting gems. The boy sat quietly and waited.
The following morning the expert again put the jade stone in the youth's hand and told him to hold it. On the third, fourth and fifth days, the expert asked the young man to do the same thing. On the sixth day, the youth held the jade stone but he could no longer stand(忍受) the silence. "Master, when am I going to learn something?" he asked.
"You will learn." the expert said and went about his business.
Several more days went by and the youth almost lost his patience. But one morning as the master put the stone in the youth's hand, the young man said without looking at his hand, "This is not the same jade stone!"
"You have begun to learn." said the master.
Practice makes perfect. The experience we learned from practice teaches us and develops our abilities. Experience is the best teacher. Even the most successful person had no absolute confidence once. It is experience that gives people confidence. The truth is: if you do the work and gain the experience, you'll have more confidence because you'll actually know what you're doing.
【小题1】The phrase "turned ... down" probably means _______.