新编英语教程5 练习册答案

- 1 - Answer the following questions from the texts:

Unit 1:

1．Which sentence in the first paragraph establishes the link between the driving

of a nail and the choice of a word?

So with language firmly and exactly.

2. what does the word “this” in sentence 1,para 2, refer to?

Getting the word that is completely right for the writer’s purpose.

3．Do you agree with the author that there is a great deal of truth in the seemingly

stupid question “How can I know what I think till I see what I say?”

The question sounds irrational, but is true. Unless we have found the exact words

to verbalize our own thoughts, we can never be very sure of what our thoughts are.

Without words, our thoughts can not be defined or stated in a clear and precise

manner.

4. expain why the word “imprison” in the example given in para.9, though not a

malapropism, is still not the right word for the writer’s purpose?

“malapropism” means the unintentional misuse of a word by confusing it with one

that resembles it, such as “human” for “humane”, “singularity” for “singleness”. But

the misuse of imprison is different case, it is wrongly chosen because the user has

failed to recognise its associations.

5. Please make comments on the three pairs of examples given in this section.

Compare and contrast their differences in meaning.

human: of, or relating to man. (human being;

human nature; human rights)

humane: characterized by kindness, mercy,

or compassion. (humane judge,

humane officer)

Human action = action taken by human;

Humane action = merciful action;

Human killer = person that kills human;

Humane killer = instruments which kill but cause little pain, esp. those for the

painless killing of animals.

6. what does the word “alive” in the sentence “a student needs to be alive to these

differences” (para.9)mean?

Sensitive, alert.

- 2 -

7. the writer begins his article with an analogy between the unskilled use of the

hammer and the improper choice of words. indentify the places where the

analogy is referred to in the rest of the article.

“we don’t have to look far afield to find the evidence of carpentry”(para.5)

“it is perhaps easier to be a good craftman with wood and nail than a good craftsman

with words.”(para.9)

“a good carpenter is not distinguished by the number of his tools, but by the

craftsmanship with which he uses them. So a good writer is not measured by the

extent of his vocabulary, but by his skill in finding the “mot juste”, the word that will

hit the nail cleanly on the head.”(para.11)

Unit 3:

1. In the Hoffmann’s opinion “simplicity” is the best word to describe the

essense of Einstein’s character. The abstract notion of simplicity is explained by a

phrase in the first paragraph. Which is it?

“going instinctively to the heart of a matter”

2. from the two anecdotes related in paras.2-4, what impression of Einstein have

you got?

Einstein was a very modest, never thinking himself any superior to or more

authoritative than others because of his fame and achievements as a great scientist of

the time.

3. what, according to the author, is Einstein’s most outstanding trait as a

scientist?

Concentration. Refer to the first sentence of Paragraph 9.

4. why did Einstein insist on working hard when he was so badly shaken by his

wife’s death?

Working hard requires concentration, which would help him to dispel the feeling of

sorrow.

5. how do you interpret the sentence in para.11 “to help him, I steeered the

discussion away from routine matters into more difficult theoretical problems”?

Tackling more difficult theoretical problems requires greater concentration and

absorption. This would help him temporarily forget the sadness caused by his wife’s

death..

6. what revelation is made through Einstein’s comment on Beethoven and Mozart’s

works?

As a simple man, Einstein takes it that beauty exists in the Universe. Such beauty is

natural, pure, and simple. Beauty found is even greater and more admirable than

beauty created. - 3 -

7. how did Einstein feel about the destructive effect produced as a result of the

application of his E=mc2 formula?

This is something he had not expected. He was greatly dismayed by the devastating

effect his formula produced once it was put into application.

8.with his favorite anecdote related in para.19, Hoffmann aims to illustrate

Einstein’s whimsically. Do you think he is really a whimsical man? What

personality trait other than being whimsical is revealed here?

He was not really a whimsical man. If he could be called a whimsical man, then his

whimsicality came from the young heart and childlike innocence which he had