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
Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift.
Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift.
admin
2016-01-05
83
问题
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 Mc Whorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counterculture 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. Mc Whorter’ 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.
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 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.
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.
According to the last paragraph, "paper plates" is to "china" as
选项
A、temporary is to "permanent".
B、radical is to "conservative".
C、functional is to "artistic".
D、humble is to "noble".
答案
C
解析
推断题。根据第五段第二、三句可知,麦荷特先生并不觉得正式英语是不可或缺的,也并没提出彻底的教育改革——他只是为那些“虽不实用却很美好的事物”的消逝而哀叹,如今我们过多地用非正式英语去替代正式英语。这虽然令人惭愧,但已经无法避免。由此可知,作者用“纸盘子”和“瓷盘子”来比喻正式英语的退化,联系上文可以推知,“纸盘子”指的是那些“实用却不美好”的事物,即非正式英语;“瓷盘子”则是指那些“不实用却美好”的事物,即正式英语,故选C项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/MVsZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Doyouknowwhenyourspouse’sangrytiradeisactuallymaskingfear?Orhowtohandleacolleaguewhotakescreditforyourwor
Thankstomorethan50yearsofresearch,weknowhowtochangechildren’sbehavior.Inbrief,youidentifytheunwantedbehavio
Mostpeopledon’tenjoyfacingthedifficultsituationsthatsometimesoccurwithcoworkersintheworkplace.Suchsituationsma
Graduatinghighschoolseniorslookingtoentertheworkforceandotherhighschoolstudentssearchingforsummerjobsarefacin
Thegreatestdevastationofoldageisthelossofmentalfaculties,andwiththeneardoublingoflifeexpectancyinthepastc
Videogameswillbeforcedtocarrycigarette-stylehealthwarningsunderproposalstoprotectchildrenfromunsuitabledigital
What’sthebestwaytomakesureakideatsanapple?Askhimifhewantsone.It’sreallythatsimple,accordingtoarecentYa
ThiswastheWorldCuptheFrenchwouldratherforget.TheBluesreturnedwithoutasinglegoaltotheircredit—anignominiousf
Themoneyisthere.Sowhyisitnotbeingspent?Thatisthebigpuzzleabouttherichworld’seffortstoimprovehealthinpoo
Themoneyisthere.Sowhyisitnotbeingspent?Thatisthebigpuzzleabouttherichworld’seffortstoimprovehealthinpoo
随机试题
实现发展和安全兼顾、富国和强军统一的必然选择是()
我国现当代著名的美学家和文艺理论家是()
A.金匮肾气丸B.六味地黄丸C.左归丸D.右归丸下消之肾阴亏虚证,治宜选方
男,35岁。头痛,头晕1年,1周来加重,伴心悸、乏力、鼻出血及牙龈出血来诊。查体:血压170/110mmHg,皮肤黏膜苍白,Hb65g/L,PLT148×109/L,尿蛋白(+++),尿红细胞3~5/HP,BUN38mmol/L,Scr887μmol/
根据我国《消防法》的规定,禁止非法携带( )进入公共场所或者乘坐公共交通工具。
如果拟信赖的控制自上次测试后未发生变化,且不属于旨在减轻特别风险的控制,注册会计师应当运用职业判断确定是否在本期审计中测试其运行有效性。以下对控制测试的时间间隔最恰当的是()。
有意识将文字作为一门艺术来对待始于()时期。
Toerrishuman.Toblametheotherguyisevenmorehuman.Commonsenseisnotallthatcommon.Whytellthetruthwhen
杜甫在《登岳阳楼》诗中,集中抒发自己老病孤独、身世之悲的两句是_______,_______。
市场竞争行为可分为两大类,即()行为。
最新回复
(
0
)