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  3. In an article some Chinese scholars are described as being "tantalized by the mysterious dragon bone hieroglyphics." Tantalized

In an article some Chinese scholars are described as being "tantalized by the mysterious dragon bone hieroglyphics." Tantalized

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问题     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 honor 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.
We learn from the passage that all English dictionaries include________.
选项 A、legends
B、mythology
C、word origins
D、word definitions
答案D
解析 本题的关键词是English dictionaries，答案线索定位到第一段。根据第一段第四句话可知，许多(并非全部)英语词典在单词释义(the explanation of the meaning)的前面或后面的括号里会对这个词的来源进行简短的说明，其中“explanation of，the meaning”和选项D的“word definitions”为同义替换，是正确选项；而且通过常识也可以得知所有词典都会给出单词的词义，通过排除法也只能选D选项。选项C与原文“并非全部(but not all)都有来源”矛盾，属于正反混淆。选项A和B均为无中生有，因为从第一段第二句话可知，许多英语单词起源于过去的神话和传说，但是并没有表示所有英语词典都包含神话或传说。
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