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
30
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
Thatpeoplehavepersonalitiesgoeswithoutsaying.Petownerswillquicklyarguethattheiranimalshavepersonalitiestoo.Yet
Mostpeopledon’tenjoyfacingthedifficultsituationsthatsometimesoccurwithcoworkersintheworkplace.Suchsituationsma
Mostpeopledon’tenjoyfacingthedifficultsituationsthatsometimesoccurwithcoworkersintheworkplace.Suchsituationsma
Thegreatestdevastationofoldageisthelossofmentalfaculties,andwiththeneardoublingoflifeexpectancyinthepastc
WashingtonD.C.ranksfirstamongthe40citieswiththewidestgapbetweenthepoorandtherich,accordingtoarecentreport
What’sthebestwaytomakesureakideatsanapple?Askhimifhewantsone.It’sreallythatsimple,accordingtoarecentYa
TheleadersofDetroit’sstrugglingBigThreeautomakersareappearingbeforetheSenatetoday,whereprospectsof$25billioni
Everspenthalfanhourlookingforyourcarkeys?Orwalkedintoaroomonlytowonderwhatyouwalkedintheretolookfor?Or
ThiswastheWorldCuptheFrenchwouldratherforget.TheBluesreturnedwithoutasinglegoaltotheircredit—anignominiousf
Socialsciencehasweighedinonthe"tigermom"debate,anditlookslikeeveryoneisright:Bothover-protectiveandlaid-back
随机试题
下列哪项不属于学校事物环境【】
下列各项中,不属于奔豚症状的是()
有价保单
下列关于结核菌素试验的方法,错误的是
需设立专用仓库储存的药品是
诊断恶性葡萄胎最主要依据是:
余某教唆某工厂保管员刘某在值班时让其潜入仓库。余某因此盗得大批财物,销赃后分了400元赃款给刘某。余某、刘某的行为构成了( )。
《国民经济和社会发展第十二个五年规划纲要》在深刻分析基本国情和发展阶段性特征的基础上,明确了“十二五”时期经济社会的()。
某公司目前的资本来源包括每股面值1元的普通股800万股和平均利率为10%的3000万元债务。该公司现在拟投产一个新产品,该项目需要投资4000万元,预期投产后每年可增加息税前利润400万元。该项目备选的筹资方案有三个:(1)按11%的利率平价发行债券;
UntilItookDr.Offutt’sclassinDeMathaHighSchool,Iwasanunderachievingstudent,butIleftthatclass【B1】______never
最新回复
(
0
)