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
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
2017-08-15
53
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, see 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. 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 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. Mc Whorter 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 chunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English speakers. Mr. Mc Whorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical educational 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 Mc Whorter, the decline of formal English ______.
选项
A、is inevitable in radical education reforms
B、is but all too natural in language development
C、has caused the controversy over the counter-culture
D、brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s
答案
B
解析
本题可参照文章的第l段。从中可知,John McWhorter是一位语言学家,也是一位掺杂自由和保守观点的有争议人物。在其最近出版的书中,他认为,20世纪60年代反文化的胜利应该对正式英语的衰退负责任。McWhorter先生的研究方向是语言的历史和演变,比如,他认为,whom一词的逐渐消失是很自然的事情,同古代英语中格的消失一样并不令人遗憾。据此可知,McWhorter认为正式英语的衰退是非常自然的现象。B项与McWhorter的观点相符,因此B项为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/j7FO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
TodayistheanniversaryofthatafternooninAprilayearagothatIfirstsawthestrangeandappealingdollinthewindowof
Everybodylovesafatpayrise.Yetpleasureatyourowncanvanishifyoulearnthatacolleaguehasbeengivenabiggerone.Ind
Whethertheeyesare"thewindowsofthesoul"isdebatable,thattheyareintenselyimportantininterpersonalcommunicationis
Inthe2006filmversionofTheDevilWearsPrada,MirandaPriestly,playedbyMerylStreep,scoldherunattractiveassistantfo
Inthe2006filmversionofTheDevilWearsPrada,MirandaPriestly,playedbyMerylStreep,scoldherunattractiveassistantfo
Everybodylovesafatpayrise.Yetpleasureatyourowncanvanishifyoulearnthatacolleaguehasbeengivenabiggerone.I
Inthezanycomedyseries1LoveLucy,LucilleBall’sexaggerated,clumsyanticsdisplayedthecomedian’sfamoustalentfor_____
Theemployeestriedtoavoideveryriskthatmight______herdispleasureduringthefirstmonthaftershewasdivorcedbyherhus
随机试题
事业单位现行的()对应管理岗位中六级职员岗位。
关于“神经纤维瘤病”最常见、最特征的脑肿瘤为
女性,65岁,冠心病心绞痛史8年,无高血压史,夜间突发心前区疼痛8小时入院,入院时血压为150/90mmHg(20/12kPa),经心电图检查,诊断急性前壁心肌梗死第2日患者出现胸闷、大汗、面色苍白,体检心率126次/分,律齐,血压80/50mmH
狭义上的投资银行业务只限于某些资本市场活动,着重指一级市场上的()业务。
企业在确定最佳估计数时,应当综合考虑与或有事项有关的风险、不确定性,但不需要考虑货币时间价值等因素。()
背景说明:你是宏远公司的行政秘书初萌,下面是行政经理需要你完成的几项工作任务。
安慰剂效应,又称“假药效应”,指的是病人虽然没有获得有效的治疗,但却“预料”或“相信”治疗有效,而让病患症状得到舒缓的现象。下列各项,属于安慰剂效应的一项是()。
2019年全球太空经济规模增至3660亿美元,较2018年增长1.7%,其中全球卫星产业收入为2707亿美元。在全球卫星产业收入中,卫星制造业的收入为125亿美元,较上年减少70亿美元;卫星发射服务业的收入为49亿美元,较上年下降21.0%;卫星通信服务业
TaskOne-Whatmistakedidtheymake?•Forquestions13-17,matchtheextractswiththemistakethateachpersonsaystheymad
录用信说明:假设你是公司的人事经理,写信通知一名应聘者John,公司决定录用他。内容:1.看过对方的简历和推荐信之后,发现他有很好的推销经验;2.9月20日的面试给你留下了深刻印象;3.决定录用对方:4
最新回复
(
0
)