首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
考研
【F1】Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and g
【F1】Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and g
admin
2014-10-27
85
问题
【F1】
Americans 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.【F2】
Mr. McWhorter’s academic speciality 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-endings of Old English.
【F3】
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.【F4】
As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including nonstandard 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.
【F5】
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.
【F1】
选项
答案
美国人已不再期待公众人物能在演讲或写作中运用技巧和文采来驾驭英语,而公众人物自己也不再渴望这样。
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/1VK4777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Ahospitalisaninstitutionthatprovidesmedicalservicesforacommunity.Thedoctors,nurses,andotherpersonnelofahospi
ThebeginningofwhatwastobecometheUnitedStateswascharacterizedbyinconsistenciesinthevaluesandbehaviorofitspop
Manysuccessfulbusinessexecutivesdonotfollowthe"standard"methodforproblemsolvinginbusiness.Typically,businesssc
Americanhighereducationstandsonthebrink(边缘)ofchaos.1havesomanyspentsolonglearningsolittle.Thepresentcri
ShouldtheTreasurysellitseconomicforecastingcomputersforscrap?ForthepasttwoyearsnooneoutsidetheConservativePa
YouareastudentofPekingUniversity.Writeanapplicationtogetascholarshipforyourgraduatestudyinanotheruniversity
TrafficisaperennialprobleminHongKong.Overtheyearsmanysuggestionshavebeen【C1】______toeasetransportdifficulties.
Itisnaturalforyoungpeopletobecriticaloftheirparentsattimesandtoblamethemformostofthemisunderstandingsbetw
Humansareuniqueintheextenttowhichtheycanreflectonthemselvesandothers.Humansarea-bleto1,tothinkinabstract
Humansareuniqueintheextenttowhichtheycanreflectonthemselvesandothers.Humansarea-bleto1,tothinkinabstract
随机试题
改革创新
A.心烦失眠,口舌生疮B.神识痴呆,表情淡漠C.发热气粗,躁狂谵语D.胆怯易惊,失眠多梦E.恶梦纷纭,胸胁灼痛
A.饱餐或食油腻食物后有上腹持续性疼痛,严重者有畏寒、高热B.腹痛、寒战高热和黄疸(夏科三联征)C.腹痛、寒战高热、黄疸、休克和精神症状五联征D.突然发作的剑突下钻顶样绞痛,阵发性加重胆道蛔虫病临床表现是
下列各项,不属青色所主病证的是
最高允许排放速率指一定高度的排气筒任何一()排放的污染物的质量不得超过的限值。
进口货物的申报期限为载运进口货物的运输工具向海关申报进境之日起()日内。
境内上市外资股采取记名股票形式,以()标明面值,以()认购。
假设银行系统的原始存款额为1000亿元,法定存款准备金率为8%,超额准备金率为2%,现金漏损率为10%。根据上述资料,回答下列问题。如果超额准备金率和现金漏损率都为0,银行系统的存款乘数为()。
《刑法》规定,明知自己的行为会发生危害社会的结果,并且希望或者放任这种结果发生,因而构成犯罪的,是故意犯罪。这一规定属于法律要素中的()
Doyouthinktheyhave()foodforallthesepeoplehere?
最新回复
(
0
)