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考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2005年part4

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考研英语历年阅读理解真题精析--2005年part4
PartFour

Americansnolongerexpectpublicfigures,whetherinspeechorinwriting,tocommandtheEnglishlanguagewithskillandgift.Nordotheyaspiretosuchcommandthemselves.Inhislatestbook,DoingOurOwnThing:TheDegradationoflanguageandMusicandwhyWeshould,Like,Care,JohnMcwhorter,alinguistandcontroversialistofmixedliberalandconservativeviews,seethetriumphof1960scounter-cultureasresponsibleforthedeclineofformalEnglish.
Blamingthepermissive1960sisnothingnew,butthisisnotyetanothercriticismagainstthedeclineineducation.MrMcwhorter'sacademicspecialityislanguagehistoryandchange,andheseesthegradualdisappearanceof"whom",forexample,tobenaturalandnomoreregrettablethanthelossthecase-endingsofOldEnglish.
Butthecultoftheauthenticandthepersonal,"doingourownthing,"hasspeltthedeathofformalspeech,writing,poetryandmusic.Whileeventhemodestlyeducatedsoughtanelevatedtonewhentheyputpentopaperbeforethe1960'seventhemostwellregardedwritingsincethenhassoughttocapturespokenEnglishonthepage.Equally,inpoetry,thehighlypersonal,performativegenreistheonlyformthatcouldclaimrealliveliness.InbothoralandwrittenEnglish,talkingistriumphingoverspeaking,spontaneityovercraft.
Illustratedwithanentertainingarrayofexamplesfrombothhighandlowculture,thetrendthatMr.Mcwhorterdocumentsisunmistakable.Butitislessclear,totakethequestionofhissubtitle,whyweshould,like,care.Asalinguist,heacknowledgesthatallvarietiesofhumanlanguage,includingnon-standardoneslikeBlackEnglish,canbepowerfullyexpressive-thereexistsnolanguageordialectintheworldthat

cannotconveycomplexideas,Heisnotarguing,asmanydo,thatwecannolongerthinkstraightbecausewedonottalkproper.
Russianshaveadeeplovefortheirownlanguageandcarrychunksofmemorizedpoetryintheirheads,whileItalianpoliticianstendtoelaboratespeechthatwouldseemold-fashionedtomostEnglish-speakers.Mr.Mcwhorteracknowledgesthatformallanguageisnotstrictlynecessary,andproposesnoradicaleducationalreforms-heisreallygrievingoverthelossofsomethingbeautifulmorethanuseful.WenowtakeourEnglish"onpaperplatesinsteadofchina"Ashame,perhaps,butprobablyaninevitableone.
16.AccordingtoMcwhorter,thedeclineofformalEnglish
[A]isinevitableinradicaleducationreforms
[B]isbutalltoonaturalinlanguagedevelopment
[C]hascausedthecontroversyoverthecounter-culture
[D]broughtaboutchangesinpublicattitudesinthe1960s
17.Theword"talking"（Line6,Paragraph3）denotes
[A]modesty[B]personality[C]liveliness[D]informality
18.TowhichofthefollowingstatementswouldMcWhortermostlikelyagree?
[A]Logicalthinkingisnotnecessarilyrelatedtothewaywetalk.
[B]BlackEnglishcanbemoreexpressivethanstandardEnglish.
[C]Non-standardvarietiesofhumanlanguagearejustasentertaining.
[D]Ofallthevarieties,standardEnglishcanbestconveycomplexideas.

19.ThedescriptionofRussians'loveofmemorizingpoetryshowstheauthor's
[A]interestintheirlanguage.[B]appreciationoftheirefforts.
[C]admirationfortheirmemory.[D]contemptfortheir
old-fashionedness.
20.Accordingtothelastparagraph,"paperplates"isto"china"as
[A]"temporary"isto"permanent."[B]"radical"isto"conservative"
[C]"functional"isto"artistic"[D]"humble"isto"noble"
Unit12（2005）Part4
重点词汇：
1.degradation（恶化，退化）即de向下+grad=step级，步+ation名词后缀→逐步向下→退化。Ageingisaccompanyiedbyaslowdegradationofhismentalfaculties.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'sanexcellentlinguist.她精通数国语言
3.controversialist（善辩者，好辩者）即controversialist＝contra反+versus转+list。形容词：controversial有争议的
4.conservative（保守的）Oldpeopletendtobeconservationintheirattitudes.老年人的看法往往保守ConservativeParty（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.