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  3. "English is the worst of all the alphabetical languages," said literacy researcher Masha Bell. " It is unique in that there are

"English is the worst of all the alphabetical languages," said literacy researcher Masha Bell. " It is unique in that there are

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问题     "English is the worst of all the alphabetical languages," said literacy researcher Masha Bell. " It is unique in that there are not just spelling problems but reading problems. They do not exist anywhere else.
    Bell argued that the spelling system was a huge financial burden on schools and was to blame for poor literacy results compared with the rest of Europe. In Finland, where words are more likely to be pronounced as they look, children learn to read fluently within three months, she said. In the UK, academics have found that it takes three years for a child to acquire a basic level of competence. The tricky spellings make English particularly difficult for children with dyslexia and those from disadvantaged families, who are less likely to be read to regularly by their parents.
    Simplifying the system would transform literacy results, according to Bell, but she said people were resistant to change. "People feel that they have suffered so much at the hands of English spelling that they are reluctant to look at it," she said. Yet other countries have made changes. Last month the parliament in Portugal, where the spelling system is also thought to be complicated, voted to reform and simplify it, bringing it into line with Brazil.
    "In 1928 the Turks changed their entire alphabet from Arabic to Latin," said John Wells, professor of phonetics at University College London and president of the Spelling Society.
    "In Germany there were changes made in the 1990s to make the writing system more consistent. English has also developed to some extent with words such as olde and worlde dropping the e.
    Wells wants to see things change again and feels there are two possible approaches. The first would be to simplify the way in which words are spelt and then allow people to choose whether to use the new or old system, while the second approach would involve a complete change. "The Spelling Society favors the first," he said.
    Chris Davis, spokesman for the National Primary Headteachers’Association, said the spelling system has a major impact on children’s literacy progress: " It definitely slows English children down. In international comparisons, languages that are phonetically uniform always come top. " But he said that teachers would be reluctant to see things change. "It would be such a major revolution that people would find it very difficult to contemplate, "he said.
    "There are already problems because of the different spelling system in America, but there would also be resistance about going down that route. I think it is an ownership thing, that it is our language. " Davis says that most people feel that spelling is linked to the origin of words.
What can people do after spelling has been simplified according to the first approach suggested by John Wells?
选项
答案They could choose whether to use the new or old spelling system
解析 (根据第六段The first would be to simplify the way in which words are spelt and then allow people to choose whether to use the new or old system…．可知，第一种方案允许人们选择是否使用新的拼写体系。)
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本试题收录于： B类竞赛（英语专业本科专科）题库大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）分类
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B类竞赛（英语专业本科专科）

大学生英语竞赛（NECCS）

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