2025届高考英语外刊阅读 （2025.3.25）练习（含答案）

外刊阅读(3.25)BABIESCOMEintotheworldseekingoutcomfort,sotheirfirstwordisoften“mama”.Itiseasytosayandreflectsthebondofmotherandchild.Meanwhilethoseleavingthisworldoftenmakeaphilosophicalstatement,revealalong-hiddentruthorevenutterawitticism.“EitherthosecurtainsgoorIdo,”OscarWildesupposedlysaidonhisdeathbed.Allthis,includingWilde’squip,isdubious,arguesMichaelErard,anAmericanjournalistwhohaswrittenseveralbooksaboutlanguage.In“ByeByeILoveYou”hedismantlesmanylong-heldbeliefsaboututterancesatboththebeginningandendoflife.Hefindsfirstandlastwordstobesimilarinmanyways—suchashowtheyarecreatedbyexpectantlistenersasmuchasbytheirspeakers.Soundslikemamaanddadaorpaparecurinmanyoftheworld’swordsfor“mother”and“father”.Butaboutasmanyparentalwordslackthesecommonsounds;insomelanguagesthewordfor“mother”featuresrareconsonantsthatchildrenmasteronlylater.“Mama”iswhatMrErardcallsa“culturalfirstword”,fussedoverbythosewhohavelearnedtolookoutforitorevenelicititfromlittleones.Thingsareverydifferentelsewhere.AmongtheBengpeopleofIvoryCoast,ababyisnotsupposedtoutterhisfirstwordtooprecociously.Todosoisabadomen,involvinga“cosmicrebalancing”,andagrandparentmightdieincompensation.AmongspeakersofTayapinPapuaNewGuineababiesareexpectedtobedefiant;peoplelistenoutfor“oki”and“aiata”,meaning“I’mgettingoutofhere”and“stopit”.AsimilarbeliefholdsamongSamoans,forwhom“tae”isexpectedtobemanybabies’firstword,shortfor“aitae”(“eatshit”).Inindustrialisedsocietiesearlylinguisticdevelopmentisbigbusiness.Unusualandvariedearlywordsaremeanttobeasignofagiftedchildwhowillreaptherewardsofbeingbrainylateron.Babybooksencouragingparentstoreportontheirchildren’sfirstwordsmadetheirappearanceinthelate19thcenturyalongwithanincreasinglyprofessional,managerialapproachtoparenting—child-rearingasoptimisation.Rich-worldparentsarethuskeentoelicitspeechfromtheirchildrenasearlyastheycan.MrErardisnotthefirsttopointoutthatindustrialisationhaschangednotonlychildhood,butoldage,too.Medicaladvancesinwealthycountrieshaveledtomoreprotracteddeclinesanddeathsatolderages;inearliercenturies,violence,accidentsandcatastrophicillnessesclaimedmanyyoung,otherwisehealthypeople.Thathashadaneffectonlastwords.Popularculturehasconditionedlovedonestoexpectsomefinaltruthorprofundityinthelastutteranceofthedying.Butmomentsofsuddenlucidity,withclear,meaningfulandmemorablelastwords,areverymuchtheexceptioninthosewhodietoday(andofferreasontobescepticalofmanyofthefamouslastwordscollectedinanthologies).Byfarthemostcommonprocessbywhichpeopledieinthemodernrichworldisaslowbreakdownofphysicalandmentalfaculties,“neurochemicalcommotion”thatgraduallyrobspeopleoftheabilitytosayanythingatall.Indeed,inanotherlinkbetweenfirstandlastwords,MrErardarguesthatdyingpeoplelosetheirverbalfacultiesinawayresemblingthechild’slanguagelearningbutinreverse.Thoughlanguageacquisitioniswellstudied,languageattritionisnot.MrErardiselegiacashedescribesglances,handsqueezesandgestures,andthesometimesupsettingcries,moansanddelirioustalkthatareoftenthefinalcommunicationofthedying.Thisiswhysomecultures—manyHindusandMuslimsamongthem—prepareandpractisedeclarationsforthemomentofdeathlongbeforeitarrives.(Christiansoncedidso,too.)Abookendingwithsomuchdeathmaysoundlikeahardread.Instead,itisabeautifulandevenstrangelycomfortingone,withMrErardasapensive,patientguide.(Heistrainingtobeanend-of-lifedoula.)Theendmustcome;unrealisticexpectationsaboutfinalmessagesneednot.语篇分析文章结构为:段落大意：1.

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1.Whatisthemainideaofthepassage?A.Itexploresthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenbabies'firstwordsanddyingpeople'slastwords.B.ItmainlyintroducesMichaelErard'sbookaboutlanguageacquisitioninbabies.C.Itfocusesontheinfluenceofindustrializationonchildhooddevelopment.D.Ittellsthestoryofhowdifferentculturesviewthefirstwordsofbabies.2.Accordingtothepassage,whatcanbeinferredabout“mama”asababy'sfirstword?A.Itisthefirstwordfor“mother”inalllanguages.B.Itisactuallya“culturalfirstword”influencedbyadults.C.Babiesaroundtheworldalwayssay“mama”first.D.Itisasignofagiftedchildinindustrializedsocieties.3.Whydosomeculturesprepareandpractisedeclarationsforthemomentofdeath?A.Becausetheybelieveinthepoweroffinalwords.B.Becausedyingpeopleusuallyhaveclearandprofoundlastwords.C.Becausedyingpeopleoftenlosetheirverbalfaculties.D.BecausetheywanttofollowthetraditionofChristians.4.Whatistheauthor'sattitudetowardsMichaelErard'sbook“ByeByeILoveYou”?A.Critical.B.Doubtful.C.Positive.D.Indifferent.1.Whatisthemainideaofthepassage?A.Itexploresthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenbabies'firstwordsanddyingpeople'slastwords.B.ItmainlyintroducesMichaelErard'sbookaboutlanguageacquisitioninbabies.C.Itfocusesontheinfluenceofindustrializationonchildhooddevelopment.D.Ittellsthestoryofhowdifferentculturesviewthefirstwordsofbabies.答案：A。文章整体围绕婴儿的首词和临终者的遗言展开，探讨二者在诸多方面的相似与不同，A选项符合；B选项只提及了书关于婴儿语言习得部分，片面；C选项只强调工业化对童年影响，未涵盖遗言等内容；D选项只涉及不同文化对婴儿首词的看法，不全面。2.Accordingtothepassage,whatcanbeinferredabout“mama”asababy'sfirstword?A.Itisthefirstwordfor“mother”inalllanguages.B.Itisactuallya“culturalfirstword”influencedbyadults.C.Babiesaroundtheworldalwayssay“mama”first.D.Itisasignofagiftedchildinindustrializedsocieties.答案：B。文中提到“‘Mama’iswhatMrErardcallsa‘culturalfirstword’,fussedoverbythosewhohavelearnedtolookoutforitorevenelicititfromlittleones”，说明“mama”是受成年人影响的“文化首词”，B正确；A选项“所有语言”过于绝对；C选项“总是”错误；D选项文中未提及“mama”与天才儿童的关系。3.Whydosomeculturesprepareandpractisedeclarationsforthemomentofdeath?A.Becausetheybelieveinthepoweroffinalwords.B.Becausedyingpeopleusuallyhaveclearandprofoundlastwords.C.Becausedyingpeopleoftenlosetheirverbalfaculties.D.BecausetheywanttofollowthetraditionofChristians.答案：C。从“dyingpeoplelosetheirverbalfaculties...Thisiswhysomecultures...prepareandpractisedeclarationsforthemomentofdeathlongbeforeitarrives”可知，是因为垂死之人常失去语言能力，所以一些文化才提前准备临终宣言，C正确；A选项文中未提及相信临终遗言的力量；B选项与文中临终清醒留遗言少见不符；D选项不是为了遵循基督徒传统。4.Whatistheauthor'sattitudetowardsMichaelErard'sbook“ByeByeILoveYou”?A.Critical.B.Doubtful.C.Positive.D.Indifferent.答案：C。根据“Instead,itisabeautifulandevenstrangelycomfortingone,