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Part IV Cloze (15 minutes)
Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D) on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
A language is a signaling system which operates with symbolic vocal sounds (语声), and which is used by a group of people for the purpose of communication.
Let’s look at this __61__ in more detail because it is language, more than anything else, __62__ distinguishes man from the rest of the __63__ world.
Other animals, it is true, communicate with one another by __64__ of cries: for example, many birds utter __65__ calls at the approach of danger; monkeys utter __66__ cries, such as expressions of anger, fear and pleasure. __67__ these various means of communication differ in important ways __68__ human language. For instance, animals’ cries do not __69__ thoughts and feelings clearly. This means, basically, that they lack structure. They lack the kind of structure that __70__ us to divide a human utterance into __71__.
We can change an utterance by __72__ one word in it with __73__: a good illustration of this is a soldier who can say, e.g., “tanks approaching from the north“, __74__ who can change one word and say aircraft approaching from the north” or “tanks approaching from the west”; but a bird has a single alarm cry, __75__ means “danger!”
This is why the number of __76__ that an animal can make is very limited: the great tit (山雀) is a case __77__ point; it has about twenty different calls, __78__ in human language the number of possible utterances is __79__. It also explains why animal cries are very __80__ in meaning.
