2005年Text 4

　　American no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. In his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing. The Degradation of language and Music and why we should like, care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.

　　Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter's academic specialty is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of "whom", for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case-ending of Old English.

　　But the cult of the authentic and the personal, "doing our own thing", has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, performative genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft.

　　Illustrated with an entertaining array of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the question of his subtitle, why we should, like care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive-there exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas. He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper.

　　Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English-speakers. Mr. McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical education reforms-he is really grieving over the loss of something beautiful more than useful. We now take our English "on paper plates instead of china". A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevitable one.

　　36. According to Mc Whorter, the decline of formal English

　　[A] is inevitable in radical education reforms.

　　[B] is but all too natural in language development.

　　[C] has caused the controversy over the counter-culture.

　　[D] brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s.

　　[答案] B

　　[解題思路]

　　做本題需要從文中一一對應信息。首先，最后一段中McWhorter"proposes no radical education reform"(并沒有提出激進的教育改革方案)，因此A選項錯誤。第二段的第二句話說"he sees the gradual disappearance of "whom", for example, to be natural"(他認為像"whom"這個詞的逐漸消失是自然的)，這句話與B選項的意思符合。第一段最后一句指出，"sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English"(認為發生在20世紀60年代的反文化運動的勝利看成是規范英語退化的原因)，因此C選項是錯誤的。前三段都提到了the 1960s，但是都沒有出現public attitudes，因此D選項也可以排除。

　　[題目譯文]

　　McWhorter認為正式英語的退化

　　[A] 是激進的教育改革中不可避免的。

　　[B] 在語言的發展過程中是在正常不過的事情了/

　　[C] 已經引起了關于反文化的爭論

　　[D] 導致了20世紀60年代公眾態度的變化

　　38. To which of the following statements would Mc Whorter most likely agree?

　　[A] Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk.

　　[B]. Black English can be more expressive than Standard English.

　　[C]. Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining.

　　[D] Of all the varieties, Standard English Can best convey complex ideas.

　　[答案] A

　　[解題思路]

　　本文第四段中提到，"all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive-there exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas"(人類語言的各種文化都有極強的表現力，即使是像黑人英語這樣的的非標準語言--世界上任何語言或方言都能表達復雜的思想)，因此B、D選項的表述是錯誤的。C選項的表述與文章相應內容無關。而A選項正是對"He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper"(他并沒有像許多人那樣認為因為我們的思維因為說話不嚴格就不再有條理)這句話的解釋，是正確答案。

　　[題目譯文]

　　McWhorter最有可能認同以下哪一個觀點?

　　[A] 邏輯思維不一定與我們的說話方式有關

　　[B] 黑人英語可能比標準英語更有表現力

　　[C] 不標準的人類語言同樣能夠使人們得到娛樂

　　[D] 在所有的變體中，標準英語最能表達復雜的思想

　　39. The description of Russians' love of memorizing poetry shows the author's

　　[A] interest in their language.

　　[B] appreciation of their efforts.

　　[C] admiration for their memory.

　　[D] contempt for their old-fashionedness.

　　[答案] B

　　[解題思路]

　　本題對應信息為最后一段第一句話"Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorized poetry in their heads"(俄國人深愛著自己的語言，他們會把大段大段的詩歌背下來)可采用排除法。首先，作者沒有提到俄羅斯人對語言的感情而非興趣，因此可以排除A。至于C選項，文中只提到了memorize(背誦)這個詞，而沒有談到memory(記憶)，因此也可排除。而old-fashioned 指的是意大利人，因此D選項也可以排除。正確答案為C選項。

　　[題目譯文]

　　關于俄羅斯人喜愛背誦詩歌的描述表明作者

　　[A] 對他們的語言感興趣

　　[B] 欣賞他們做出的努力

　　[C] 羨慕他們的記憶力

　　[D] 蔑視他們的過時行為

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