Passage 26
（2009 天津 A）

Societies all over the world name places in similar ways.Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people.Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name.Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government.As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

Many roads and places in Singapore （新加坡）are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations.Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place.This is in keeping with traditions in many countries—in both the West and the East.

another way of naming places is naming them after other places.Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after.The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former british bases.If you step into Selector airbase you will see Piccadilly circus—obviously named by some homesick Royal air Force personnel.

Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places.bras basah Road is an interesting example.“bras basah”means “wet rice”in Malay （馬來語）.Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple.during the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.

a few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes.There is “circular Road”for one.Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar crescent”.This road is called a crescent （月牙）because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

1.We learn from Paragraph 1 that ______.

A. the government is usually the first to name a place

B. many places tend to have more than one name

C. a ceremony will be held when a place is named

D. people prefer the place names given by the government

2.What does the underlined phrase “die hard”in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A. change suddenly.

B. change significantly.

C. disappear mysteriously.

D. disappear very slowly.

3.Which of the following places is named after a person?

A. Raffles Place.

B. Selector airbase.

C. Piccadilly circus.

D. Paya Lebar crescent.

4.bras basah Road is named ______.

A. after a person

B. after a place

C. after an activity

D. by its shape

5.What can be inferred from the Passage?

A. Some place names in Singapore are the same as in britain.

B. Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes.

C. The way Singaporeans name their places is unique.

D. Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers.

【重點詞匯】

societies n.社會，協(xié)會，學會，團體

similar adj.類似的，相似的

ceremony n.儀式

reference n.參考，參照

organized adj.有組織的

body n.機構(gòu)

step in 走進，介入，插手幫助

pioneer n.先鋒，先驅(qū)，先輩

generation n.一代人

promote v.促進，推廣

homesick adj.思鄉(xiāng)的，想家的

【疑難長句】

1.Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people.

本句結(jié)構(gòu)比較簡單，但句中的多處短語值得重視，official naming ceremony的意思是“官方的、正式的命名儀式”，point of reference的意思是“參照點，參考點”，quite often表示“非常經(jīng)常、很多時候”，tend to的意思是“傾向于……”。

（參考譯文）很多時候，（許多地方）并沒有正式的命名儀式，但人們傾向于給這些地方起個名字，作為參照依據(jù)。

2.Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after.

本句為or引導的并列句，前一分句結(jié)構(gòu)簡單，不贅述。后一分句為復合句，第一個that引導表語從句，who引導定語從句，修飾people。第二個that引導定語從句，修飾places。promote friendships 的意思是“促進友誼，增進友誼”，originally 的意思是“原始地，最初地”，name after…表示“以……命名，根據(jù)……命名”。

（參考譯文）或許這樣命名是為了增進兩個地方之間的友誼，也有可能是過去居住在那里的人們最初是從叫同樣名字的地方遷移過來的。