Passage One

Talking is unique to humans. An animal might make 10 different sounds, but an adult human knows more than 20,000 words. Additionally, we’re the only animal that expresses thoughts in full sentences. [16] Researchers don’t think language was invented; instead, they think it evolved. How did talking evolve? There are two main theories.

[17] The first theory is that language started with people making different sounds, mostly imitating the things around them, like animal calls, nature sounds, and the sounds of tools. Perhaps they made the sound of wind to comment on the weather or imitated the sound of a bird to tell a friend that there was a bird nearby. Then over hundreds of thousands of years, those sounds turned into words that people began to learn as part of their language. At some point, people started stringing the words together to form sentences.

The other main theory, which is more recent, is that people started off by gesturing—pointing at things with their hands and imitating actions using their bodies. Eventually these gestures turned into a full sign language. This theory guesses that after developing sign languages, people eventually started making sounds along with their gestures. At some point, they switched to mostly making sounds that became words instead of just using their bodies. [18] The reason they switched to making sounds, the theory goes, is that talking out loud lets you communicate with someone even when you can’t see them.

短文一

说话是人类独有的能力。动物可能会发出10种不同的声音，但成年人类掌握的词汇量却超过两万个。此外，我们是唯一能用完整句子表达思想的动物。研究人员认为语言并非是被发明出来的，而是进化而来的。语言是如何进化的？主要有两种理论。

第一种理论认为，语言起源于人类发出不同的声音，主要模仿周围事物的声音，例如动物的叫声、自然界的声音以及工具的声音。也许他们会发出风声来评论天气，或者模仿鸟叫声来告诉朋友附近有鸟。然后，经过数十万年，这些声音逐渐演变成词语，人们开始将它们作为语言的一部分来学习。在某个时期，人们开始将单词串联起来，组成句子。

另一种主要理论比较较新，认为人类最初是通过做手势、用手指向事物以及用身体模仿动作来表达的。最终，这些手势演变成了完整的手语。该理论推测，在发展出手语之后，人们最终开始一边做手势一边发出声音。在某个时期，他们不再仅仅使用肢体语言，而是主要用声音来表达词语。该理论认为，他们之所以转向发出声音，是因为即使你看不到对方，大声说话也能让你与对方交流。

How did language come into being according to researchers?
问：根据研究人员的说法，语言是如何产生的？

1. 通过深思熟虑。
2. 通过进化。
3. 通过发明。
4. 通过合作。

解析

1. 不正确, 文章并未提及语言的产生是通过“深思熟虑”的过程。
2. 正确, 文章明确表述：“Researchers don't think language was invented; instead, they think it evolved.”（研究人员不认为语言是被发明的；相反，他们认为语言是进化而来的。）
3. 不正确, 文章开头直接否定了语言是“被发明”的观点。
4. 不正确, 文章没有讨论语言是否通过“合作”产生。

How did language start according to the first theory?
问：根据第一种理论，语言是如何起源的？

1. 人们模仿周围的声音。
2. 人们互相展示附近的事物。
3. 人们尝试将声音串连起来。
4. 人们开始使用完整句子。

解析

1. 正确, 文章阐述第一种理论时指出：“language started with people making different sounds, mostly imitating the things around them”（语言始于人们发出不同的声音，主要是模仿他们周围的事物），这与选项A完全一致。
2. 不正确, “互相展示附近的事物”更接近于第二种理论中关于手势的描述，而非第一种声音模仿理论的核心。
3. 不正确, 将声音串连起来形成句子是第一种理论中语言发展的后续阶段，而非起源。
4. 不正确, 使用完整句子是语言成熟后的特征，不是第一种理论描述的起源方式。

Why did people switch from gesturing to making sounds according to the more recent theory?
问：根据新近的理论，人们为什么从使用手势交流转变为发出声音交流？

1. 发声可以解放双手去做其他事情。
2. 发声能让人更明确地表达想法。
3. 发声使交流更加高效。
4. 发声能帮助人们与目光不及的人交流。

解析

1. 不正确, 文章没有提及解放双手去做其他事情是转变的原因。
2. 不正确, 文章并未比较发声和手势在表达明确性上的优劣。
3. 不正确, 文章没有讨论发声交流是否比手势“更高效”。
4. 正确, 文章明确给出了原因：“talking out loud lets you communicate with someone even when you can't see them”（大声说话让你即使在看不见对方时也能与之交流）。