Directions: Read the following passage carefully and choose the best one from the choices given to fill in the blank.
Language is the most astonishing behavior in the animal kingdom. It is the species-typical behavior that sets humans completely ___21___ from all other animals. Language is a means of communication, ___22___it is much more than that. Many animals can ___23___.The dance of the honeybee communicates the location of flowers ___24___ other members of the hive (蜂群). But human language permits communication about anything, ___25___ things like unicorn (独角兽) that have never existed. The key ___26___ in the fact that the units of meaning, words, can be ___27___ together in different ways, according to ___28___, to communicate different meanings.
Language is the most important learning we do. Nothing ___29___ humans so much as our ability to communicate abstract thoughts, ___30___ about the universe, the mind, love, dreams, or ordering a drink. It is an immensely complex ___31___ that we take for granted. Indeed, we are not aware of most ___32___ of our speech and understanding. Consider what happens when one person is speaking to ___33___ . The speaker has to translate thoughts into ___34___ language. Brain imaging studies suggest that the time from thoughts to the ___35___ of speech is extremely fast, only 0.04seconds! The listener must hear the sounds to ___36___ out what the speaker means. He must use the sounds of speech to ___37___ the words spoken, understand the pattern of ___38___ of the words (sentences), and finally ___39___ the meaning. This takes somewhat longer, a minimum of about 0.5 seconds. But ___40___ started, it is of course a continuous process.
21. A. apart B. off C. up D. down
22. A. so B. but C. or D. for
23. A. transfer B. transmit C. convey D. communicate
24. A. to B. from C. over D. on
25. A. only B. almost C. even D. just
26. A. stays B. situates C. hides D. lies
27. A. stuck B. strung C. rung D. consisted
28. A. rules B. scales C. laws D. standards
29. A. combines B. contains C. defines D. declares
30. A. what B. whether C. while D. if
31. A. prospect B. progress C. process D. produce
32. A. aspects B. abstracts C. angles D. assumptions
33. A. anybody B. another C. other D. everybody
34. A. body B. gesture C. written D. spoken
35. A. growing B. fixing C. beginning D. building
36. A. put B. take C. draw D. figure
37. A. identify B. locate C. reveal D. discover
38. A. performance B. organization C. design D. layout
39. A. prescribe B. justify C. utter D. interpret
40. A. since B. after C. once D. until
参考答案：
21-25ABDAC 26-30 DBACB 31-35 CABDC 36-40 DABDC
