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
2017-12-11
39
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 McWhorter, 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. McWhorter’ 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.
To which of the following statements would McWhorter most likely agree?
选项
A、Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk.
B、Black English can be more expressive than standard English.
C、Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining.
D、Of all the varieties, standard English can best convey complex ideas.
答案
A
解析
细节题。根据第四段最后一句可知,麦荷特先生认为我们尽管说话不规范,但这不一定 就会让我们的思考变得不准确,也就是,他认为逻辑思维和说话方式不是有必然联系的。所以 选A项。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/wIBZ777K
0
考研英语一
相关试题推荐
Peoplehavebeenholdingheateddiscussionsrecentlyaboutwomen’sexperienceintheworkplace.LastmonthSherylSandberg,chie
Notsolongago,itwasthestuffofnightmares:youpickupthelandlinetelephoneandthere’snodialingtone.Nothing.Theph
Doesthelanguagewespeakdeterminehowhealthyandrichwewillbe?NewresearchbyKeithChenofYaleBusinessSchoolsuggest
Thenewsaboutvitaminskeepsgettingworse.Manystudiespublishedinthelastfewyearsshowsthatavarietyofpopularsupple
Thenewsaboutvitaminskeepsgettingworse.Manystudiespublishedinthelastfewyearsshowsthatavarietyofpopularsupple
Itonlytakestenminutes,butreadingyourbabyabedtimestorycouldyieldbenefitsforyearstocome,scientistssaidtoday.
Itonlytakestenminutes,butreadingyourbabyabedtimestorycouldyieldbenefitsforyearstocome,scientistssaidtoday.
Thisweek,inWashingtonandcitiesacrossthenation,immigrantadvocates,clergymembersandlaborandbusinessleadershaveb
ThemostthoroughlystudiedintellectualsinthehistoryoftheNewWorldaretheministersandpoliticalleadersofseventeenth
Thecasino(赌场)atthesmartAtlantisresortonParadiseIslandintheBahamasisbiggerthan20tenniscourts.Touristsflitfr
随机试题
主要对医疗保险用药品种、给付标准、定点零售药店进行相应行政管理的是依法对药品价格进行必要的行政管理的是
患儿,男,7岁。因家中起火造成大面积烧伤。护士应提供的护理级别是
房地产转让中最基本的方式是()。
项目目标可分为工期目标、()和质量目标。
某市拟兴建一条中心城区通往新区的6车道二级城市道路,全长15.8km,该城市道路要横跨110国道。总承包单位编制了交通综合系统工程施工组织设计,在编制过程中,结合了项目总体施工组织设计的基本内容,并根据交通工程施工的自身特点,充分考虑了其他内容。在具体的编
股票发行审核委员会的办事机构是证监会的()
下列关于代保管业务的说法,不正确的是()。
A注册会计师负责审计甲公司2014年度财务报表。在考虑与治理层沟通时,A注册会计师遇到下列事项,请代为作出正确的专业判断。在确定与甲公司治理结构中的哪些适当人员沟通时,下列做法中正确的有()。
2×15年12月31日,甲公司对外出租的一栋办公楼(作为投资性房地产采用成本模式计量)的账面原值为7000万元,已计提折旧为200万元,未计提减值准备,且计税基础与账面价值相同。2×16年1月1日,甲公司将该办公楼由成本模式计量改为公允价值模式计量,当日公
三角形的构成条件是:任意2边之和大于第3边。设变量a、b、c是3条直线的长度,要求判断这3条直线能否构成一个三角形。下面有3个程序段可以正确判断,另一个不能正确判断的是
最新回复
(
0
)