考研英语真题阅读理解试题及名师解析(26)
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 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。
Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter’s academic specialty 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 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。
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。
36. According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English
[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。
37. The word “talking” (Line 5, Paragraph 3) denotes
[A] modesty. [B]personality. [C]liveliness. [D]informality。
38. To which of the following statements would McWhorter most likely agree?
[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。
39. The deion of Russians’ love of memorizing poetry shows the author’s
[A] interest in their language. [B] appreciation of their efforts。
[C] admiration for their memory. [D]contempt for their old-fashionedness。
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”。
名师解析
36. According to Mc Whorter, the decline of formal English
根据麦克沃特所言， 正式英语的衰退
[A] is inevitable in radical education reforms. 在激进的教育改革中是不可避免的。
[B] is but all too natural in language development. 在语言的发展中实属自然。
[C] has caused the controversy over the counter-culture. 造成了对反文化潮流的争议。
[D] brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s. 带来了20世纪60年代公众态度的变化。
【答案】 B
【考点】 事实细节题。
【分析】 第二段的第二句中作者提到麦克沃特，诸如“he sees gradual disappearance of ‘whom’, for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case-endings of Old English，”就是要求考生能够理解出正式英语在语言发展中衰退的自然性。选项[A]中提到的激进的教育在文章的最后一段中可以找到“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。”这句话具有很强的干扰，主要是因为一些考生喜欢直接阅读，而不是先看题目，看到后面反而重点不够突出，似是而非。出题人常用的一个方法就是将一些文章中出现但是实际上没有必然联系的内容揉杂在一起，起到很大的干扰。其实文章中根本没有提到二者有什么关系，只是顺带说他没有提议用激进的教育来改变正式英语衰退的趋势。选项[C]说对反文化有争议，从文中可以看出，将正式英语的衰退归咎于反文化并不会引起什么争议，没有人会认为反文化使得正式英语得到了发展。选项[D]说正式英语的衰退导致公众态度的变化，这样的说法属于典型的因果倒置。出题人意图利用考生临场考试时不稳定的心理状态来干扰考生，看其能否正确理解文章的大意。如果考生不能够养成良好的考试习惯，往往会花费很多额外的时间，因为很多时候，我们只需要知道正确答案是什么，而无需知道也没有时间来分析其他选项错在哪里。
37. The word“talking”(Line 6, Paragraph3) denotes “talking”(第三段第六行)一词表示
[A] modesty. 谦虚。 [B] personality. 个性。
[C] liveliness. 活泼。 [D] informality. 非正式。
【答案】 D
【考点】 语义题。
【分析】 考生必须利用上下文推测单词意思，在原文中首先找到这句话，然后仔细研读，最后才能够体会出这个单词的意思。第三段首先提到“做我们自己的事情”的结果是规范的演讲、作品、诗歌和音乐的死亡。然后提到在20世纪60年代以前那些受过一般教育的人在写作时都用比较高雅的语气，最后又说那些被认为是最重要的作品都试图表现出口语的特色，“talking”战胜了演讲，即兴战胜了技巧。而口语化的特点就是非正式。
38. To which of the following statements would Mc Whorter most likely agree?
下列哪一种说法麦克沃特最有可能会同意？
[A] Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk。
逻辑思维并不必然与我们说话的方式相关。
[B] Black English can be more expressive than standard English。
黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
[C] Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining。
人类的各种各样非标准的语言一样有趣。
[D] Of all the varieties, standard English can best convey complex ideas。
在英语的各种变体中，标准英语最能表达复杂的思想。
【答案】 A
【考点】 推断题。
【分析】 在第四段第四句话中，我们可以看到，麦克沃特认为所有人类语言，包括黑人的非标准英语，都具有很强的表现力。[B]选项中提到黑人使用的英语，但是说这种英语比正式英语更具有表现力是显然夸大了范围。[D]选项认为正式英语最能够表达复杂的思想，也犯了同样的错误。紧接着作者提到麦克沃特不认为因为我们不能很好地说话我们就不能正确地进行思考。这句话正好应了[A]选项，即正确的逻辑思维不一定与我们说话的方式有关。因此选项[A]是正确的。[C]的说法与原文完全不符合。
39. The deion of Russians’ love of memorizing poetry shows the author’s
就俄罗斯人喜欢记忆诗歌的描述显示出作者
[A] interest in their language. 对他们的语言感兴趣。
[B] appreciation of their efforts. 欣赏他们的努力。
[C] admiration for their memory. 对他们记忆力的仰慕。
[D] contempt for their old-fashionedness.