The borrowing or adding of foreign words to English was a way of expanding the language. Britain had colonies in Africa, Asia, and America. These colonies are now independent, but English is still one of the languages spoken there. And the English language grew as words from native languages were added. For example, the word "shampoo" for hair soap comes from India. "Banana" is believed to be from Africa.English speakers also continue to invent new words by linking old words together. A good example is the words "motor" and "hotel". Many years ago, someone linked them together into the word "motel". A motel is a small hotel near a road where people traveling in cars can stay for the night. Other words come from the first letters of names of groups or devices. A device to find objects that cannot be seen called Radio Detecting and Ranging became "radar".People often ask how many words exist in English. Well, no one really knows. The Oxford English Dictionary lists about 615,000 words. Yet the many scientific words not in the dictionary could increase the number to almost one million. And experts are never really sure about how to count English words.What is demonstrated by the example of words "motel" and "radar"?A. English speakers keep inventing new words now and then.B. English could link old words to expand its vocabulary.C. English has become a common language.D. English has borrowed many words.
The borrowing or adding of foreign words to English was a way of expanding the language. Britain had colonies in Africa, Asia, and America. These colonies are now independent, but English is still one of the languages spoken there. And the English language grew as words from native languages were added. For example, the word "shampoo" for hair soap comes from India. "Banana" is believed to be from Africa. English speakers also continue to invent new words by linking old words together. A good example is the words "motor" and "hotel". Many years ago, someone linked them together into the word "motel". A motel is a small hotel near a road where people traveling in cars can stay for the night. Other words come from the first letters of names of groups or devices. A device to find objects that cannot be seen called Radio Detecting and Ranging became "radar". People often ask how many words exist in English. Well, no one really knows. The Oxford English Dictionary lists about 615,000 words. Yet the many scientific words not in the dictionary could increase the number to almost one million. And experts are never really sure about how to count English words. What is demonstrated by the example of words "motel" and "radar"? A. English speakers keep inventing new words now and then. B. English could link old words to expand its vocabulary. C. English has become a common language. D. English has borrowed many words.
题目解答
答案
我们来分析这个题目，并找出正确答案。
一、题干理解：
问题问的是：
> “What is demonstrated by the example of words 'motel' and 'radar'?”
> （“motel”和“radar”这两个词的例子说明了什么？）
我们需要从文章中找到这两个词的例子，看看它们说明了什么关于英语词汇扩展的现象。
二、原文分析：
文章中提到：
> "English speakers also continue to invent new words by linking old words together. A good example is the words 'motor' and 'hotel'. Many years ago, someone linked them together into the word 'motel'."
这句话说明：“motel”是由“motor”和“hotel”两个旧词组合而成的新词，说明英语中存在通过组合旧词创造新词的现象。
接着：
> "Other words come from the first letters of names of groups or devices. A device to find objects that cannot be seen called Radio Detecting and Ranging became 'radar'."
这句话说明：“radar”是通过缩略一个长名称（Radio Detecting and Ranging）而形成的新词，说明英语中也存在通过缩略词形成新词的现象。
三、选项分析：
我们来看四个选项：
-
A. English speakers keep inventing new words now and then.
（英语使用者时不时地创造新词。）
✅ 这个选项是对的，但不够具体。文章提到的是通过组合旧词或缩略词来发明新词，而不仅仅是“时不时地创造新词”。 -
B. English could link old words to expand its vocabulary.
（英语可以通过组合旧词来扩展词汇。）
✅ 这个选项非常贴切，直接对应了“motel”是由“motor”和“hotel”组合而成的例子。 -
C. English has become a common language.
（英语已经成为一种通用语言。）
❌ 文章虽然提到英语在很多国家使用，但这不是“motel”和“radar”例子的重点。 -
D. English has borrowed many words.
（英语借用了许多词汇。）
❌ 这个是文章前面提到的内容（比如“shampoo”来自印度），但不是“motel”和“radar”这两个词的例子所说明的内容。
四、正确答案：
B. English could link old words to expand its vocabulary.
✅ 最终答案：
$\boxed{B}$
解析
本题考查对文章细节的理解以及对例子作用的把握。解题的关键在于准确理解文章中关于“motel”和“radar”这两个例子的描述，并分析每个选项与例子所体现内容的契合度。
- 分析“motel”的例子：
- 文章提到“English speakers also continue to invent new words by linking old words together. A good example is the words'motor' and 'hotel'. Many years ago, someone linked them together into the word'motel'”。
- 这表明“motel”是由“motor”和“hotel”这两个旧词组合而成的新词，体现了英语通过组合旧词来创造新词、扩展词汇的方式。
- 分析“radar”的例子：
- 文中指出“Other words come from the first letters of names of groups or devices. A device to find objects that cannot be seen called Radio Detecting and Ranging became 'radar'”。
- 说明“radar”是通过取“Radio Detecting and Ranging”的首字母缩略而成的新词，同样是英语创造新词、扩展词汇的一种方式。
- 分析各个选项：
- A选项：“English speakers keep inventing new words now and then”，虽然英语使用者确实在不断创造新词，但该选项表述过于宽泛，没有具体指出创造新词的方式，而文章重点强调的是通过组合旧词或缩略词来创造新词，所以A选项不准确。
- B选项：“English could link old words to expand its vocabulary”，该选项准确地概括了“motel”这个例子所体现的英语通过组合旧词来扩展词汇的方式，与文章内容相符，所以B选项正确。
- C选项：“English has become a common language”，文章虽然提到英语在很多国家使用，但这并非“motel”和“radar”这两个例子所说明的重点，所以C选项不符合题意。
- D选项：“English has borrowed many words”，文章前面提到英语借用了其他语言的词汇，如“shampoo”来自印度，但这与“motel”和“radar”这两个例子所体现的创造新词的方式不同，所以D选项不正确。