Section C
Compound Dictation
How men first learnt to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, (36) ______ animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thought and (37) ______ , actions and things, so that they could (38) ______ with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain (39) ______ , called letters, which could be (40) ______ to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters we call words.
The power of words, then lies in their (41) ______ , that is, the things they bring up before our minds. Words become (42) ______ with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more we are (43) ______ of the glad and sad events of our past by certain words; and the longer we live, (44) _______________________________________________ .
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also (45) ____________________________________________________________ . Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can (46) _______________________________________________________ . We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and vulgar.
