Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is n

Societies all over the world name places in similarways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to becalled names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps inand 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 itsunofficial name long after the meaning is lost.

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

Another way of naming places is naming them afterother places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the twoplaces or it could be that the people who used to live there were originallyfrom the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when wesee some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into SelectorAirbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesickRoyal Air Force personnel.

Some places were named after the activities that usedto go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “BaseBasah” means “wet rice” in Malay（马来语）. Now whywould anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. Duringthe 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 todescribe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called acrescent（月牙） because it begins on the main road, makesa crescent and comes back to join the main road again.

1.Welearn 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 thegovernment

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

A. Changesuddenly.            B. Change significantly.

C. Disappearmysteriously.        D. Disappear veryslowly.

3.Whichof the following places is named after a person?

A. RafflesPlace.               B. Selector Airbase.

C. PiccadillyCircus.            D. Paya Lebar Crescent.

4.BrasBasah Road is named _______.

A. after a person      B.after a place   C. after an activity    D. by itsshape

5.Whatcan be inferred from the passage?

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

B. Some places in Singapore are named for militarypurposes.

C. The way Singaporeans name their places is unique.

D. Young Singaporeans have forgotten thepioneers. 

试题答案

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.C

5.A

【解析】

试题