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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.
According to the passage, which of the following does NOT have origins in myths or legends?
选项 A、Jovial.
B、Wednesday.
C、Earth.
D、March.
答案C
解析 本题的关键词是origins in myths or legends，答案线索定位在第三段和第四段。根据第三段第一句话，愉快的情绪或是艰苦的努力源自神话，所以Joyial源自神话，选项A属于正反混淆。根据第四段第二句话，星期三(Wednesday)这个词来自古斯堪的纳维亚传说中的众神之神沃登(Woden)，因此Wednesday也源自传说，选项B是正反混淆。根据第四段第三句话，所有的行星，除了我们生活的地球外(except the one we live on)，都是以罗马神话中神的名字命名的，由此可见，Earth不源于神话，故选项C为正确答案。根据第四段第一句，许多常见的单词，如星期的说法和月份的说法(the months of the year)，同样源自神话故事，而选项D的“March(三月)”是月份，因此也来自神话故事，所以选项D属于正反混淆。第二段：siren一词在希腊神话中的起源。第三段：jovial和herculean也是起源于神话的单词。第四段：一些常见词，如星期、月份、行星、元素等也起源于神话故事。
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