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
69
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.
The word "talking" (Line 5, Para. 3) denotes ______.
选项
A、modesty
B、personality
C、liveliness
D、informality
答案
D
解析
本题可参照文章的第3段。从中可知,20世纪60年代以前,那些受过适当教育的人在动笔写东西时都在寻求高雅的语调,但那以后,连那些最受尊敬的写作都寻求应用口头英语。同样,在诗歌中,只有高度个性化的诗歌类型才可以称得上真正具有活力的诗歌。在口头和书面英语中,随意言谈胜过正式演说,自发性胜过技巧。据此可知,该单词的意思是“随意言谈”。D项与文章的意思相符,因此D项为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/k7FO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
Sinceateacher’sresponseonastudent’spaperispotentiallyaninfluentialtextinawritingclass,weneedtoexamineourpra
Inrecentyears,manyAmericansofbothsexesandvariousageshavebecomeinterestedinimprovingtheirbodies.Theyhavebecom
Onbehalfofmycompany,Iam____toyouandyourcolleaguesforyourgeneroushelp.
Somescientistsaredubiousoftheclaimmatorganisms______withageasaninevitableoutcomeofliving.
Mostparentsprizethediversitywithintheirchildren’spublicschools.Theyknowthatlearningtocooperateandexcelinadiv
Scientistsnowtendtoagreethatthenoiselevelforpotentialhearinglossbeginsatabout70decibels.Someofthemarevery
TodayistheanniversaryofthatafternooninAprilayearagothatIfirstsawthestrangeandappealingdollinthewindowof
Whethertheeyesare"thewindowsofthesoul"isdebatable,thattheyareintenselyimportantininterpersonalcommunicationis
Everybodylovesafatpayrise.Yetpleasureatyourowncanvanishifyoulearnthatacolleaguehasbeengivenabiggerone.I
Smoking,whichmaybeapleasureforsomepeople,isaseruioussourceofdiscomfortfortheirfellows.【C1】______,medicalautho
随机试题
女性患者,35岁。上颌窦鳞癌同步放化疗后4个月复查,患者鼻腔脓性分泌物较多,食欲不佳。胸部CT示双肺多发小结节,考虑为转移性病变。关于该患者下一步的治疗原则应该是
如果甲公司违约,乙公司提起诉讼,下列不具有管辖权的是()人民法院。下列说法错误的是()。
编制设计任务书属于建设工程项目的()
发生盘亏和毁损的存货,报经批准可转作管理费用的有()。
以下不属于商业银行类型划分方式的是()。
旅行社在与旅游者签订旅游合同时,应当对旅游合同的具体内容做出()的说明。
常用的岗位评价方法有()。
“酸葡萄心理”“甜柠檬效应”属于()防御机制。
古代有一个皇帝命令姓赵、钱、孙、李、周、吴、郑、王的八员大将陪同他外出打猎。经过一番追逐,有一员大将的箭射中了一只鹿,但究竟是哪一员大将射中的谁也不清楚。这时候,皇帝叫大家先不要看箭上刻写的姓氏,而要大家先猜是谁射中的。大将们众说纷纭。赵说:“或
32()是对违法犯罪行为施加影响最普遍、最直接、最及时的力量。
最新回复
(
0
)