单项选择题

Language is the most astonishing behavior in the animal kingdom. It is the species-typical behavior that sets humans completely (1) from all other animals. Language is a means of communication, (2) it is much more than that. Many animals can (3) . The dance of the honeybee communicates the location of flowers (4) other members of the hive (蜂群). But human language permits communication about anything, (5) things like unicorns (独角兽) that have never existed. The key (6) in the fact that the units of meaning, words, can be (7) together in different ways, according to (8) , to communicate different meanings.
Language is the most important learning we do. Nothing (9) humans so much as our ability to communicate abstract thoughts, (10) about the universe, the mind, love, dreams, or ordering a drink. It is an immensely complex (11) that we take for granted. Indeed, we are not aware of most (12) of our speech and under standing. Consider what happens when one person is speaking to (13) . The speaker has to translate thoughts into (14) language. Brain imaging studies suggest that the time from thoughts to the (15) of speech is extremely fast, only 0.04 seconds! The listener must hear the sounds to (16) out what the speaker means. He must use the sounds of speech to (17) the words spoken, understand the pattern of (18) of the words (sentences), and finally (19) the meaning. This takes somewhat longer, a minimum of about 0.5 seconds. But (20) started, it is of course a continuous process.

20（）

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