圣才电子书 www.100xuexi.com 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 第17章 语言的历史与变迁
I. Multiple Choices.
1. Which of the following is NOT a process of the lexical change? (大连外国语学院2008研) A. INVENTION. B. ACRONYM. C. LEXICON. 【答案】C
【解析】词的变化方式很多，新创词和缩略语都属于其中，而选项C不属于。）
2. “Wife”, which used to refer to any woman, stands for “a married woman” in modern English. This phenomenon is known as _____ (西安交大2008研) A. semantic shift B. semantic broadening C. semantic elevation D. semantic narrowing 【答案】D
【解析】词义缩小是指原来的词义缩小或被限制到某个明确的意义上。）
3. It is true that words may shift in meaning，i.e. semantic change. The semantic change of the word tail belongs to _____
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圣才电子书 www.100xuexi.com 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 A. narrowing of meaning B. meaning shift C. loss of meaning D. widening of meaning 【答案】D
【解析】“tail”它曾经表示马的尾巴，现在可表示任何动物的尾巴，属于词义的扩大。）
4. “Quarantine” once had the restricted meaning “forty days’ isolation”. This is an example of ______ A. semantic broadening B. semantic narrowing C. semantic shift D. loss of words 【答案】A
【解析】quarantine曾经专指“40天隔离”，现在扩展为“隔离”，为词义扩大。因此，本题的正确答案为A。
5. The word “holiday” originally meant a holy day; but now the word signifies any day when we don’t have to work. This is an example of ______ A. meaning shift B. widening of meaning C. narrowing of meaning
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圣才电子书 www.100xuexi.com 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 D. loss of meaning 【答案】B
【解析】从any day就可以知道词义扩大。因此，本题的正确答案为B。
6. Which of the following words is the example of semantic broadening? A. hound B. companion C. silly D. girl 【答案】C
【解析】companion过去是指“与你共享面包的人”，现在指“任何陪伴你的人”，属于词义扩大。hound过去是“dog”的总称，现在已被缩小为某一特殊的狗；girl曾经是指“任何性别的年轻人”，而现在词义缩小专指“年轻女性”；silly过去在古英语中表示“幸福”，到中世纪英语时期开始表示“单纯得有点儿傻”，到现代英语转为表示“愚蠢的”。因此，本题的正确答案为C。
7. The new words such as “police officer”, “chairperson” are created because ______
A. science and technology are developing rapidly
B. computer and internet technology are more and more popular C. women have taken up activities formerly reserved for men D. the children can remember them as quickly as possible
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圣才电子书 www.100xuexi.com 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 【答案】C
【解析】语言变化的原因有很多种：有科技的进步，妇女地位的转变。“police officer”，“chairperson”等词以前为：policeman，chairman，因为当时从事这一行业的几乎都是男性。但是如今女性也都加入到这些行业中，所以出现了一些中性化的词语。因此，本题的正确答案为C。
8. As science and technology develops, the word “planet-friendly” is coined in the ______ domain. A. space travel
B. computer and interact language C. ecology D. IT 【答案】C
【解析】planet-friendly是指“对地球环保的”，来源于生态学（ecology）。因此，本题的正确答案为C。
9. Which of the following words is NOT the example of semantic narrowing? A. Tail. B. Deer. C. Meat. D. Com. 【答案】A
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圣才电子书 www.100xuexi.com 十万种考研考证电子书、题库视频学习平台 【解析】deer的意义由“任何动物”变为“某一特定的动物”，meat的意义由“食物” 变为“动物可食部分”，corn的意义由“谷物”变为“某一特定的谷物”，这三个词都属于词义缩小；tail的意义由“马的尾巴”变为“任何动物的尾巴”，为词义扩大的示例。因此，本题的正确答案为A。
10. Language has been changing, but such changes are not so obvious at all
linguistic aspects except that of _____. (西安外国语学院2006研) A. phonology B. lexicon C. syntax D. semantics 【答案】B
【解析】语言总在不断的变化，其在词汇方面的发展和变化尤为明显。
11. The ______ century is considered to be the beginning of modem English.
A. 20th B. 19th C. 18th D. 17th 【答案】C
【解析】18世纪被认为是现代英语的开始。公元450～1100年为古英语时期；14世纪～15世纪为中世纪英语时期；16世纪～17世纪为早期现代英语时期；18世纪～20世纪
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George Yule《语言研究》章节题库-第17~20章【圣才出品】
