Deck 7: Mandarin

Question 1

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
According to the passage, Mandarin is linguistically classified as what kind of language?

A)A common language
B)An official language
C)A tonal language
D)A melodic language

Answer 1

A tonal language

Question 2

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
The word "official", in bold after the (1), is closest in meaning to

A)Used in an office
B)Used as the authorized standard
C)Used by officials
D)Used by everyone

Answer 2

Used as the authorized standard

Question 3

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
In paragraph 1, why does the author include the example about English?

A)To explain why English is similar to Mandarin.
B)To support the claim that Mandarin is the official language of China.
C)To provide evidence that English uses tones differently than Mandarin.
D)To show that there are tones in English.

Answer 3

To provide evidence that English uses tones differently than Mandarin.

Question 4

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
The word "distinguish", bolded after the (3) in paragraph 1, is closest in meaning to

A)Confuse
B)Differentiate
C)Assimilate
D)Mistake

Question 5

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
The word "sensation", bolded after the (4) in the third paragraph, is closet in meaning to

A)Feeling
B)Success
C)Miracle
D)Craze

Question 6

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
According to paragraph 2, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT:

A)Mandarin has four tones and a neutral tone.
B)Ma (2) has a rising tone.
C)Mandarin is truly "the most difficult language to learn".
D)The first tone, in Mandarin, is flat like the neutral tone.

Question 7

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
The verb "to scold", in bold after the (5) in paragraph 3, is closest in meaning to

A)To reprimand
B)To scowl
C)To scour
D)To tease

Question 8

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
According to the passage, the reason that Mandarin is known as the "common language" is...

A)…Because it is the official language of China.
B)…Because it is a tonal language.
C)…Because it is widely spoken in China.
D)…Because it is similar to Cantonese.

Question 9

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
Based on the information in the passage, how would you best describe a "tonal language", found in bold after the (2) in the first paragraph?

A)A language that uses tones.
B)A language that consists of word distinction by means of differentiating pitches.
C)A language that uses tones to signify a question.
D)A language that consists of four or more tones.

Question 10

The Mandarin Language Mandarin-or Putonghua (poo-tong-wah) "common language"-is the most widely spoken language in the China per capita (followed by Cantonese). It is also the (1) official language of the People's Republic of China (mainland China), the Republic of China (Taiwan), and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. The language got its name in English from the Portuguese word, Mandarin meaning "an official of China". It is a (2) tonal language, which means that it used different tones (pitches) to (3) distinguish between words. English, for example, has tones but it isn't considered a tonal language since, in English, tones are used to indicate a generic yes-or-no question (rising tone on the last word of the sentence, i.e. "Did you eat (?)?), among other uses.
Mandarin has four tones, which are classified in the following manner: the first tone (1) is flat, the second tone (2) is rising, the third tone (3) is falling then rising, and the fourth tone (4) is falling. There is also a neutral tone, which is similar to the first tone, but shorter.
In English, if you took the word "Ma" and gave it the different tones, it wouldn't change the meaning of the word, it would still mean "mother." Saying "Ma" in a different tone would change the melody of the word, but not the word itself. But in Mandarin the way tones distinguish words can be seen with the following: Ma (1) is mother, Ma (2) is a Sichuan pepper that leaves a numbing (4) sensation on the tongue, ma (3) is horse, and ma (4) is used when describing the verb (5) to scold. It is because of the tones in Mandarin that it is often erroneously considered "the most difficult language to learn."
Which of following is true according to the passage?

A)Singapore has five official languages.
B)Mandarin has two neutral tones.
C)China has two official languages.
D)English is not considered a tonal language.