2005 T4

文章¶

第一段¶

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 counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.

figures → n. 数字；人物；图形；价格；（人的）体形；画像
command → v. 命令，下令；控制，掌管，驾驭
Nor → 也不
aspire → v. 渴望，有志于
Degradation → n. 丢脸，落魄，侮辱；损害
controversialist → n. 争论者
counter → v. 反驳，驳斥；抵制，抵消
formal → adj. 庄重的，合乎礼仪的；（语言）正式的，规范的；合法的

第二段¶

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.

permissive → adj. 放任的，纵容的
permission → n. 同意，许可；许可证，书面许可
speciality → n. 专业，专长

第三段¶

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.

第四段¶

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 non-standard 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.

an array of → 一系列的
document → n. 文件，公文，文献 v. 记录，记载（详情）
straight → adv. 正确地，清楚地；直地，直率地

第五段¶

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.

chunk → n. 大块，厚块
elaborate → adj. 复杂的，详尽的；精心制作的 v. 详细说明，详尽阐述；精心制作
propose → v. 建议；打算，计划
radical → adj. 根本的，彻底的
grieve → v. （尤指因某人亡故而）感到悲痛；使伤心
grieve over ... → 为 ... 哀叹/悲伤
plate → 盘子
A instead of B → 是 A 而不是 B

题目¶

36¶

According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English .

[A] is inevitable in radical education reforms → 不对应

[B] is but all too natural in language development → 同义改写

[C] has caused the controversy over the counter-culture → 因果倒置

[D] brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s → 细节不对，因果颠倒

brought about → 带来

37¶

The word "talking" (Line 6, Paragraph 3) denotes .

[A] modesty

[B] personality

[C] liveliness

[D] informality

denotes → 为……的符号，表示，指示（denote 的第三人称单数）
liveliness → n. 活泼；热烈；鲜明
informality → n. 非正式；不拘礼节

38¶

To which of the following statements would McWhorter most likely agree?

[A] Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk. → 同义改写

[B] Black English can be more expressive than standard English. → 无中生有

[C] Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining. → 拼凑原文

[D] Of all the varieties, standard English can best convey complex ideas. → 主语不符

39¶

The description of Russians’ love of memorizing poetry shows the author’s .

[A] interest in their language → 无中生有

[B] appreciation of their efforts

[C] admiration for their memory → 无中生有

[D] contempt for their old-fashionedness → 对象错误，过时说的意大利人

contempt → n. 轻视，蔑视；忽视，不顾；藐视法庭

40¶

According to the last paragraph, "paper plates" is to "china" as .

[A] "temporary" is to "permanent"

[B] "radical" is to "conservative"

[C] "functional" is to "artistic"

[D] "humble" is to "noble"

humble → adj. 谦虚的，谦卑的
noble → adj. 崇高的，高尚的；宏伟的，卓越的

单词记忆¶

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