TEXT B
In an article some Chinese scholars are described as being "tantalized by the mysterious
dragon bone hieroglyphics." Tantalized is one of many English words that have their origins in
myths and legends of the past (in this case, Greek and Roman ones). The meaning of the verb
tantalize is a very particular one: "to promise or show something desirable to a person and then
take it away; to tease by arousing hope." Many (but not all) English dictionaries give you a brief indication of a word's origins in brackets before or after the explanation of the meaning. For tantalize the following explanation is given: [> Tantalus]. This means that you should look up the name Tantalus to find out the word's origins, and if you do, you will find out that in Greek mythology, Tantalus was a king who was punished in the lower world with eternal hunger and
thirst; he was put up to his chin in water that always moved away when he tried to drink it and
with fruit on branches above him placed just a little bit out of his reach. Can you see why his
name was changed into a verb meaning "to tease or torment by arousing desire"?
Another example is the word siren, familiar to us as the mechanical device that makes such
an alarming sound when police cars, ambulances, or fire engines approach. This word also has its
origins in Greek mythology. The traveler Odysseus (Ulysses to the Romans) made his men plug
their ears so that they wouldn't hear the dangerous voices of the sirens, creatures who were half
bird and half woman and who lured sailors to their deaths on sharp rocks. So the word came to be
associated both with a loud sound and with danger!
When someone speaks of a "jovial mood" or a "herculean effort," he or she is using words
with origins in mythology. Look these words up to find their meaning and relationship to myths.
Many common words, such as the names for the days of the week and the months of the year,
also come from mythology. Wednesday derives from the ancient Norse king of the gods, Woden,
and Thursday was originally Thor's day, in honour of Thor, the god of thunder. As a matter of fact, all the planets, except the one we live on, bear names that come from Roman mythology,
including the planet that is farthest away from the sun and for that reason was called after the
Roman god of the dead. This god has also given his name to one of the chemical elements.
Several other elements have names that come from mythology, too.
It seems that myths and legends live on in the English language.
85. The purpose of the first sentence in Paragraph One is ____.
A. to describe the work of some Chinese scholars.
B. to arouse readers' interest in hieroglyphics.
C. to lead readers onto the main theme.
D. to link the preceding part to the present one.
86. We learn from the passage, all English dictionaries include _____.
A. legends. B. mythology.
C. word origins. D. word definitions.
87. The example of tantalize is to show _____.
A. how the word came into existence.
B. how Tantalus was punished in the lower world.
C. how all English dictionaries show word origins.
D. how the meaning of the word changed over the years.
88. According to the passage, which of the following does NOT have origins in myths or
legends?
A. Jovial. B. Wednesday. C. Earth. D. March.
89. Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
A. Greek and Roman Mythology in Language.
B. Mythological Origins of English Words.
C. Historical Changes in Word Meanings.
D. Mythology and Common Words.
TEXT C
My heart sank when the man at the immigration counter gestured to the back room. l'm an
American born and raised, and this was Miami, where I live, but they weren't quite ready to let
me in yet.
"Please wait in here, Ms Abujaber," the immigration officer said. My husband, with his very
American last name, accompanied me. He was getting used to this. The same thing had happened
recently in Canada when I'd flown to Montreal to speak at a book event. That time they held me
for 45 minutes. Today we were returning from a literary festival in Jamaica, and I was startled that I was being sent "in back" once again.
The officer behind the counter called me up and said, "Miss, your name looks like the name
of someone who's on our wanted list. We're going to have to check you out with Washington."
"How long will it take?"
"Hard to say ... a few minutes," he said. "We'll call you when we're ready for you."
After an hour, Washington still hadn't decided anything about me. "Isn't this computerized?"
I asked at the counter. "Can't you just look me up?"
Just a few more minutes, they assured me.
After an hour and a half, I pulled my cell phone out to call the friends I was supposed to meet that evening. An officer rushed over. "No phones!" he said. "For all we know you could be calling a terrorist cell and giving them information."
"I'm just a university professor," I said. My voice came out in a squeak.
"Of course you are. And we take people like you out of here in leg irons every day."
I put my phone away.
My husband and 1 were getting hungry and tired. Whole families had been brought into the
waiting room, and the place was packed with excitable children, exhausted parents, even a flight
attendant.
I wanted to scream, to jump on a chair and shout: "I'm an American citizen; a novelist; l
probably teach English literature to your children." Or would that all be counted against me?
After two hours in detention, I was approached by one of the officers. "You're free to go," he said. No explanation or apologies. For a moment, neither of us moved, we were still in shock.
Then we leaped to our feet.
"Oh, one more thing." He handed me a tattered photocopy with an address on it. "If you
weren't happy with your treatment, you can write to this agency."
"Will they respond?" I asked.
"I don't know --- I don't know of anyone who's ever written to them before." Then he added,
"By the way, this will probably keep happening each time you travel internationally."
"What can I do to keep it from happening again?"
He smiled the empty smile we'd seen all day. "Absolutely nothing."
After telling several friends about our ordeal, probably the most frequent advice I've heard in response is to change my name. Twenty years ago, my own graduate school writing professor advised me to write under a pen name so that publishers wouldn't stick me in what he called "the ethnic ghetto" --- a separate, secondary shelf in the bookstore. But a name is an integral part of anyone's personal and professional identity -just like the town you're born in and the place where you're raised.
Like my father, I'll keep the name, but my airport experience has given me a whole new
perspective on what diversity and tolerance are supposed to mean. I had no idea that being an
American would ever be this hard.
90. The author was held at the airport because _____.
A. she and her husband returned from Jamaica.
B. her name was similar to a terrorist's.
C. she had been held in Montreal.
D. she had spoken at a book event.
91. She was not allowed to call her friends because _____.
A. her identity hadn't been confirmed yet.
B. she had been held for only one hour and a half.
C. there were other families in the waiting room.
D. she couldn't use her own cell phone.
92. We learn from the passage that the author would _____ to prevent similar experience
from happening again.
A. write to the agency B. change her name
C. avoid traveling abroad D. do nothing
93. Her experiences indicate that there still exists _____ in the US.
A. hatred B. discrimination
C. tolerance D. diversity
94. The author sounds in the last paragraph.
A. impatient
B. bitter
C. worried
D. ironic
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