2. 外语
  3. When we use a word in speech and writing, its most obvious purpose is to point to some thing or relation or property. This is th

When we use a word in speech and writing, its most obvious purpose is to point to some thing or relation or property. This is th

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问题      When we use a word in speech and writing, its most obvious purpose is to point to some thing or relation or property. This is the word’s" meaning."
     Let us suppose that the one grandparent of the dog was a collie, another was an Irish terrier, another a fox terrier, and the fourth a bulldog. We can express these facts equally scientifically and objectively by-saying that he is a dog of mixed breed. We have in no way gone be yond the requirements of exact scientific description.
     Suppose, however, that we had called the same animal a" mongrel". The matter is more complicated. We have used a word which objectively means the same as" dog of mixed breed", but which also arouse in our hearers an emotional attitude of disapproval toward that particular dog. A word, therefore, can not only indicate an object; but can also suggest an emotional attitude toward it. Such suggestion of an emotional attitude does go beyond exact and scientific discussion because our approvals and disapprovals are individual--they belong to ourselves and not to the objects we approve or disapprove of.
      Once we are on the outlook for this difference between" objective" and "emotional" meanings, we shall notice that words which carry more or less strong suggestions of emotional attitudes are very common and are ordinarily used in the discussion of such debatable questions as those of politics, morals, and religion. This is one reason why such controversies cannot yet be settled.
      There is a well-known saying that the word "firm" can be declined as follows: I am firm, you are obstinate, and he is pigheaded. This is a simple illustration of what is meant. "Firm," "obstinate", and "pigheaded" all have the same objective meaning--that is, following one’s own course of action and refusing to be influenced by other people’s opinions. They have, how ever, different emotional meanings:" firm" has an emotional meaning of strong approval, "obstinate" of mild disapproval, "pigheaded" of strong disapproval.
     In much the same way when, during World War I , thoughts were dominated by emotions, the Americans contrasted the spirit of our heroic boys with ruthlessness of the Germans. Now with the more objective attitude that has been brought by the lapse of time, we can look back and see that the spirit and the ruthlessness are objectively the same. Only the one word has an emotional meaning of approval, the other of disapproval.
The author maintains that in discussing______.
选项 A、scientific subjects, emotional words are often used to make meaning clearer______.
B、debatable questions, objective terms are generally used to help clarify meanings
C、scientific subjects, objective terms are generally used, in groups to avoid controversy
D、debatable questions, emotional terms are used very often
答案D
解析 事实细节题。根据文章第四段第一句：一旦我们注意到“客观”意义和“感情”意义的区别，我们就应注意到，或多或少承载着感情色彩的词汇，在诸如政治、道德和宗教这类容易引发分歧的讨论中是很常见的。所以只有选项D是正确答案。
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