Many years ago,a French naturalist,the Count de Buffon,wrote some books about natural history.The books were a great success even though some critics did not like them.Some critics said,"Count Buffon is more of a poet than a scientist." Thomas Jefferson did not like what the Count had said about the natural wonders of the New World.It seemed to Jefferson that the Count had spoken of natural wonders in America as if they were unimportant. This troubled Thomas Jefferson.He too was a naturalist,as well as a farmer,inventor,historian,writer and politician.He had seen the natural wonders of Europe.To him,they were no more important than those of the New World. In 1788,Thomas Jefferson wrote about his home state,Virginia.While writing,he thought of its natural beauty and then of the words of the Count de Buffon.At that moment.Jefferson created a new word--belittle.He said."The Count de Buffon believes that nature belittles her productions on this side of the Atlantic." Noah Webster,the American word expert,liked this word.He put it in this English language dictionary in 1806,"Belittle--to make small,unimportant." Americans had already accepted Jefferson's word and started to use it.In 1797,the Independent Chronicle newspaper used the word to describe a politician the paper supported."He is an honorable man,"the paper wrote,"so let the opposition try to belittle him as much as they please." In 1872,a famous American word expert decided that the time had come to kill this word.He said,"Belittle has no chance of becoming English.And as more critical writers of America,like those of Britain,feel no need of it,the sooner it is forgotten,the better." This expert failed to kill the word.Today.belittle is used where the English language is spoken. What is the main idea of the text? A) How the word"belittle"came into being. B) The argument about natural wonders. C) Every word has a long history behind. D) Noah Webster supported Jefferson's idea.
A


(Question)
Did you ever look up at the moon and think you saw a man's face there?When the moon is round and full,the shadows of the moon mountains and the lines of the moon valleys sometimes seem to show a giant nose and mouth and eyes. At least,some people think so. If there were a man on the moon -- instead of mountains and valleys that just look like the face of a man -- what would he be like? He would not be like anyone you know. He would not be like anyone anybody knows. If the man on the moon were bothered by too much heat or cold the way Earth people are,he could not stay on the moon. The moon becomes very,very hot. It becomes as hot as boiling water. And the moon becomes very,very cold. It becomes colder than ice. Whatever part of the moon the sun shines on is hot and bright. The rest of the moon is cold and dark. If the man on the moon had to breathe to stay alive,he couldn't live on the moon because there's no air there.(He'd have to carry an oxygen tank,as astronauts do.) There's no food on the moon,either. Nothing grows -- not even weeds. If the man on the moon liked to climb mountains,he would be very happy. There are many high places there,such as the raised land around the holes,or craters,of the moon. Some of these  _ are as tall as Earth's highest mountains. But if the man on the moon liked to swim,he would be unhappy. There is no water on the moon -- just dust and rock. When you think of what it's like on the moon,you may wonder why it interests our scientists. One reason is that the moon is Earth's nearest neighbor -- it is the easiest place in space to get to. Going back and forth between the moon and Earth,astronauts will get a lot of practice in space travel. Things learned on moon trips will be of great help to astronauts who later take long,long trips to some of the planets. Scientists are also interested in the moon because it has no air. The air that surrounds Earth cuts down the view of the scientists who look at the stars through telescopes. A telescope on the moon would give them a... What is the reason why our scientists are interested in the moon? A) The moon is beautiful. B) The moon is different from the Earth. C) The moon is Earth's nearest neighbor -- it is the easiest place in space to get to. D) The moon is the easiest place in space to get to and it has no air,unlike Earth.
(Answer)
D


Question: In 1943, when I was 4, my parents moved from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to Fairbanks, Alaska, where adventure was never very far away. We arrived in the summer, just in time to enjoy the midnight sun. All that sunlight was fantastic for Mom's vegetable garden. Working in the garden at midnight tended to throw her timing off, so she didn't care much about my bedtime. Dad was a Railway Express agent and Mom was his clerk. That left me in a mess. I usually managed to find some trouble to get into. Once I had a little Are going in the dirt basement of a hotel. I had tried to light a barrel  of paint but couldn't really get a good fire going. The smoke got pretty bad, though, and when 1 made my exit, a crowd and the police were there to greet me. The policemen took my matches and drove me Mom and Dad were occupied in the garden and Dad told the police to keep me, and they did! I had a tour of the prison before Mom rescued me. 1 hadn't turned 5 yet. As I entered kindergarten, the serious cold began to set in. Would it surprise you to know that I soon left part of my tongue on a metal handrail at school? As for Leonhard Seppala, famous as a dog sledder  , I think I knew him well because I was taken for a ride with his white dog team one Sunday. At the time I didn't realize what a superstar he was, but I do remember the ride well. I was wrapped   heavily and well sheltered from the freezing and blowing weather. In 1950, we moved back to Coeur d'Alene, but we got one more Alaskan adventure when Leonhard invited us eight years later by paying a visit to Idaho to attend a gathering of former neighbors of Alaska. What can be inferred about the author's family? A) His father was a cruel man. B) His parents didn't love him. C) His parents used to be very busy. D) His mother didn't have any jobs.
Answer:
C