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
The English language exists in a condition of everlasting danger, its American branch most particularly, assaulted as it is from
The English language exists in a condition of everlasting danger, its American branch most particularly, assaulted as it is from
admin
2013-11-10
20
问题
The English language exists in a condition of everlasting danger, its American branch most particularly, assaulted as it is from all sides by those who would reduce it to puzzling and obscure jargon, pop-psychological nonsense and vague beautified words, but it is not without its defenders①. Ken Smith, author of Junk English, is the leading figure. He begins with a brief and clear declaration:
"Junk English is much more than loose and casual grammar. It is a signal of human weaknesses and cultural license: abandoning the language of the educated yet giving birth to its own self-glorifying words and phrases, favoring appearance over substance, broadness over precision, and loudness above all. It is some times innocent, sometimes lazy, sometimes well intended, but most often it is a trick we play on ourselves to make the unremarkable seem important. Its scope has been widened by politicians, business executives, and the PR and advertising industries in their employ, who use it to spread fog before facts they would rather keep hidden. The result is...a world of humbug in which the more we read and hear, the less we know."
Smith is, of course, saying something not true—it is difficult to imagine that Junk English will be noticed, much less read, by those who most could profit from it—but it is an instructive and entertaining instructions and explanation all the same. He tries his hands at all the right places—jargon, clichés, euphemisms, and exaggeration—but he doesn’t swing blindly. "Although jargon often sounds ugly to outsiders, it speeds communication within the community that uses it"—and that "clichés, though popular objects of scorn, are useful when they most compactly express an idea; deliberate avoidance of an appropriate cliché sometimes produces even worse writing."
In other words, Smith may be passionate but he’s also sensible. In a section about "free-for-all verbs," for example, he acknowledges that "There is no law against inventing one’s own verbs" before citing a few funny instances of what happens when "Things get a little out of hand," i.e. "We’re efforting to work this out" or "She tried to guilt him into returning the money." In the end, though, being sensible about language is in essence trying to insist that words mean what they properly mean and are used accordingly. Thus, for example, Smith insists that "dialogue" and "discussion" are not synonyms and should not be used interchangeably; that "complimentary" does not mean "free"; that "experience" does not mean "feel"; that "facilitate" does not mean "ease’; that "generate" does not mean "produce"; that "lifestyle’’ does not mean "life".
Smith obviously has spent a lot of time making notes about the ways in which we ruin and abuse our language, with results that are impressive in their thoroughness and depressing in their going to far②. Occasionally he overlooks the obvious—among euphemisms he mentions "customer care representative" but not "courtesy call," and among the previously mentioned palsy-walsy language he inexplicably overlooks "Your call is important to us"—but then, as he says at the outset, he intended to write a short book and as a result had to leave out many misdeeds. The ones he includes more than do the job.
What is meant by "he doesn’t swing blindly"( Line 4, Paragraph 3 )?
选项
A、Ken Smith provides sufficient examples for his criticism.
B、Ken Smith hits junk English in the right point.
C、Ken Smith acknowledges some positive side to junk English.
D、Ken Smith bravely defends jargon, clichés, euphemism and exaggeration.
答案
C
解析
推断题。文章第三段第三句说Smith对行话、陈词滥调、委婉语和夸张等垃圾英语进行抨击,但是紧接着第四句话又说“jargon...speeds communication...”,“cliches...are useful”,所以这种抨击不是盲目的,因为垃圾英语有其合理的地方:可以加快交流,避免繁琐和不便等,C 正合题意。选项A 偏离题意,不在于论据多少;选项D 矫枉过正,为垃圾英语勇敢辩护不是Smith的本意,只是他没有一刀切而已;选项B是干扰项,hits in the right point正好跟not
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/r0GK777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
TheEmpireStateBuildingEversinceitwasbuilt,theEmpireStateBuildinghascapturedtheattentionofyoungandoldal
______theEnglishexaminationIwouldhavegonetotheconcertlastSunday.
Wedon’texpectthatthereshouldbesuchagreat______forhousesinthecity.
Angerisanemotionthatcanbehardtocontrol.【C1】_____this,weshouldlearnhowtomanageangerinaconstructivemanner.In
Ifyouweretobeginanewjobtomorrow,youwouldbringwithyousomebasicstrengthsandweaknesses.Successor【C1】______in
Thediscussiontopicofthepreviousclassmeetingwas
Thediscussiontopicofthepreviousclassmeetingwas
Scientificresearchresultscannowbequickly______tofactoryproduction.(2002年考试真题)
EuropeanUnioncountrieshaveagreedto______.
EuropeanUnioncountrieshaveagreedto______.
随机试题
有关自身输血的意义错误的是
女性,55岁,诊断风湿性二尖瓣狭窄26年,内科保守治疗,近半年症状有所加重。超声心动图检查提示:左房明显扩大,二尖瓣开放受限,交界粘连,瓣口面积1.0cm2,瓣下结构挛缩、钙化,此时应建议病人( )
婴儿颅内压增高时应采取的体位是
膀胱造影的术前准备,不包括
29岁孕妇,妊娠32周,3周内阴道少量出血2次,今天凌晨突然阴道出血多于月经量,无腹痛,血压100/80mmHg,脉搏96次/分,宫高30cm,腹围85cm,臀先露,未入盆,胎心音清晰,144次/分。下述何种处理是错误的
A.细辛B.花椒C.丁香D.小茴香E.高良姜
对定点零售药店处方外配情况进行检查、审核及结算的部门是()。
下列代理行为中,不属于无权代理行为的是()。
长江公司和大海公司均为增值税一般纳税人企业,适用的增值税税率为17%;所得税均采用债务法核算,适用的所得税税率均为25%,合并前,长江公司和大海公司是不具有关联关系的两个独立的公司。有关企业合并资料如下:(1)2010年12月20日,这两个公司达成
向供应商订货的作业一般先由电脑考虑周转率、缺货率、前置时间、存货状况等,自动建议订货,再由______决定。
最新回复
(
0
)