-
考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析
--2005
年
part4
Part Four
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, 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 Mcwhorter's academic
speciality is language
history and
change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of
to
be
natural
and
no
more
regrettable
than
the
loss
the
case-endings
of
Old
English.
But
the
cult
of
the
authentic
and
the
personal,
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 1960's
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 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
educational reforms -
he is really
grieving over the loss of something beautiful more
than useful. We now
take our English
an inevitable one.
16.
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
17.
The word
（
Line 6, Paragraph
3
）
denotes
[A] modesty
[B] personality
[C] liveliness
[D] informality
18. 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.
19. The description 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.
20. According to the last paragraph,
[A]
[B]
[C]
[D]
Unit12
（
2005
）
Part 4
重点词汇：
1.
< br>degradation
（恶化，
退化）
即
de
向下
+grad=st
ep
级，
步
+ation
名词后缀→逐步向下→
退化。
Ageing is
accompanyied by a slow degradation of his mental
faculties.
他随
年纪增长，智力逐渐衰退
2.
linguist
（语言学家；通晓数国语言者）即
lingu=
tongue
舌头
+ist
→玩转舌头的人
→语言学家。
bilingual
两条舌头→双语者；
multilingual
好多舌头→通多国语言者。
She's
an excellent linguist.
她精通数国语言
3.
controversialist
（善辩者，好辩者）
即
controversialist
＝
contra
反
+versus<
/p>
转
+list
。
形容词：
controversial
有争议的
4.
conservative
（保守的）
Old
people
tend
to
be
conservation
in
their
attitudes.
老年人的看法往往保守
Conservative Party
（英国）保守党
[
联想记忆
] moderate
温和
的
radical
激进的
5.
counter-culture
（反正统文化）
指
< br>1960
～
70
年代美国青年中
形成的一种文化思潮，
表现为反传统生活方式和道德观念
6.
case-ending
词格尾缀
case
指语法中的格
7.
elevated
（高雅的，高尚的）
an
evelvated
highway
高架路
elevated
thoughts
崇高
的理想
动词：
elevate
提高
8.
genre
（
［文学艺术等的］
类型，
流派）
The
novel
and
short
story
are
different
genres.
长篇小说和短篇故事是不同的类别
9.
spontaneity
（自然，
自
发
[
动作
]
）
形容词：
spontaneous
自然的，
自发的
a
spontaneous
gaiety of manner
天真愉快的神态
The eruption of a
volcano is spontaneous.
火山爆
发是自发的
10.
illustrate
（举例说明）
即
il=on+lustr=bright
光明
+ ate
（
< br>v.
）→进入光明→
说明。
A
well- illustrated
magazine.
有精美插画的杂志
To
illustrate my point,I have
done a
comparative
anyalysis.
为说明我的观点，我作了对比分析
11.
chunk
（相当数量）
I've completed a fair
chunk of my article.
我已经把文章的
一大部分写完了
12.
elaborate
（精心
制作的：详述）即
e+labor
劳动
+ate
→劳动出来→精工细作。
an
elaborate
plot
精心策划的阴谋
You
understand
the
situation;
I
needn't
elaborate
any
further.
你了解形势，我无需赘述
13.
grieve over
（对
...
感到伤感、悲痛）
grav,grief=heary
沉重，忧愁。
It's no use
grieving over past errors.
为以往的错误懊悔于事无补
难句解析：
①
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.