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
外语
Is there any evidence that the standard of English as a foreign language has improved in the years since the Second World War? N
Is there any evidence that the standard of English as a foreign language has improved in the years since the Second World War? N
admin
2010-05-25
85
问题
Is there any evidence that the standard of English as a foreign language has improved in the years since the Second World War? Naturally, as it is the world language, more and mere people are taught it and use it. But do they speak it or write it or understand it better than their patents’ or grandparents’ generations?
Have standards declined? There is no objective way of answering this question. Tests of the traditional sort— compositions, pr6cis writing, and so on—have always been subjective, so they cannot be used to judge whether people have got better or not over the years. But so-called objective tests are useless as a measure of progress too. They have not been used consistently in the same "concentration" over the period they have been in use, so there is no way of comparing exams "now" and "then". Moreover, usually in the form of multiple choice questions, they do not, by and large, test the things that really count in mastering a language. Even comprehension is a partly "creative" activity in real life, as we have to think of possible meanings for ourselves rather than have them suggested for us from outside. And people can be trained in the techniques of multiple choice, while others fail the tests because they have been led astray precisely by their "suggestive" nature, so they are not really objective at all. We are left with only personal impression to go on.
My own is that, if anything, standards have declined somewhat in the last thirty or forty years, despite all the new theories, tools and techniques that have been developed. I am not alone in this judgment In Sweden, for instance, Professors Johannes Hedberg and Gu.slav Kofien, two of the most experienced workers in the field; have on several occasions drawn attention to the lack of progress in the teaching of foreign languages since the late fifties. Yet Sweden is a sophisticated society with extremely high educational and academic standards, and very concerned not to be cut off from the rest of the world. If such a country cannot achieve advances in the study of foreign languages, it is unlikely that many, if any, others have done so.
Japan is another community where remarkably little progress has been made in the learning of English. It is probably as important for Japan as for Sweden to master that language, and there is much academic effort put into linguistic research of various kinds. Yet the average standard of language learning is abysmally low, particularly for such a highly literate and educated society. This is no doubt in part the result of a vicious circle: many of the professors of English at Japanese universities are themselves incapable of speaking or writing or even understanding the language well.
The passage indicates that those who failed tests may be misled by the "suggestive nature" of
选项
A、the choices.
B、the reading materials.
C、the objective tests.
D、the techniques of multiple choice.
答案
C
解析
词义题。本题实际上考查的是该句中their的所指。第2段从第3句的but转折句开始的主题便是objective tests,接下来的几句均在证明其实质并不客观。且their所在的分句与该句的最后一个分句构成因果关系。因此,两个分句中的their和they所指一致,都指objective tests,即选项C正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/Ku2K777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Venus,oneofthefourinnerplanetsofoursolarsystem,istheclosestbodyintheskyapartfromtheMoon,sometimescomingo
Migrationisusuallydefinedas"permanentorsemipermanentchangeofresidence".Thisbroaddefinition,ofcourse,wouldinclud
InAmerica,olderpeoplerarelylivewiththeiradultchildren.Butinmanyothercultureschildrenareexpectedtocare【C1】____
Insuchachangingandcomplexsociety,formerlysimplesolutiontoinformationalneedsbecome______.
WhydidmarinesgatheronMonday?
Changingfromsolidtoliquid,icetakesinheatfromallsubstancesnearit,andthis______producesartificialcoldsurroundi
Althoughhismanyexampleswereallright,theremainder______notquiteexact.
AreviewofthetreatmentoffemalecharactersinChinesefictionrevealsthatChinesesocialattitudeshaveundergonedramatic
Thereisalwaystheheateddiscussionaboutwhichisbetter,tobemanortobeawomen.What’syouropinion.Writeacomposi
随机试题
所有的公文都需要编制份数序号。()
糖酵解的终产物是
混凝土灌注桩的一般项目的抽查比例为()。
场依存的学生更多地希望得到教师和同学的认同。()
如图,已知正方体ABCD—A1B1C1D1的棱长是2,点E是正方形BCC1B1中心,点F、G分别是棱C1D1,AA1中点.设点E1、G1分别是点E、G在平面DCC1D1内的正投影.求以E为顶点,四边形FGAE在平面DCC1D1内的正投影为底面边界的棱
4938,3526,3124,2621,1714,()
李白:青莲居士:《蜀道难》
为了增加收入,一家机场计划改变其计时停车区收取的停车费。机场会在第一个4小时或不到4小时期间收取4美元,而后每小时收取1美元;而不是在第一个2小时或不到2小时期间收取2美元,而后每小时收取1美元。下面哪种考虑,如果正确,表明该计划可以成功地增加收入?
Whomisthetalkaddressedto?
如果“义”代表一种伦理的人生态度,“利”代表一种功利的人生态度,那么,我所说的“情”便代表一种审美的人生态度。它主张率性而行,适情而止,每个人都保持自己的真性情。你不是你所信奉的教义,也不是你所占有的物品,你之为你仅在于你的真实“自我”。生命的意义不在于奉
最新回复
(
0
)