Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 11 to 20.
Although speech is generally accepted as the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating without using words. In every known culture, signals, signs, symbols, and gestures are commonly utilized as instruments of communication. There is a great deal of agreement among communication scientists as to what each of these methods is and how each differs from the others. For instance, the basic function of any signal is to impinge upon the environment in such a way that it attracts attention, as, for example, the dots and dashes that can be applied in a telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication through these dots and dashes—short and long intervals as the circuit is broken—is very great. Less adaptable to the codification of words, signs also contain agreed upon meaning; that is, they convey information in and of themselves. Two examples are the hexagonal red sign that conveys the meaning of stop, and the red and white swirled pole outside a shop that communicates the meaning of barber.
Symbols are more difficult to describe than either signals or signs because of their intricate relationship with the receiver’s culture perceptions. In some cultures, applauding in a theater provides performers with an auditory symbol of approval. In other cultures, if done in unison, applauding can be a symbol of the audience’s discontent with the performance. Gestures such as weaving and handshaking also communicate certain culture messages.
Although signals, signs, symbols, and gestures are very useful, they also have a major disadvantage in communication. They usually do not allow ideas to be shared without the sender being directly adjacent to the receiver. Without an exchange of ideas, interaction comes to a halt. As a result, means of communication intended to be used across long distances and extended periods must be based upon speech. To radio, television, and the telephone, one must add fax, paging systems, electronic mail, and the internet, and no one doubts but that there are more means of communication on the horizon.
The word themselves in paragraph 1 refers to ______.
A. information
B. intervals
C. words
D. signs
Đáp án : D
“signs also contain agreed upon meaning; that is, they convey information in and of themselves”-> “signs”= “they”-> “themselves”