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Americans no longerexpect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the Englishlanguage with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. Inhis latest book, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Why We Should,Like, Care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberaland conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture asresponsible for the decline of formal English。
Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yetanother criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter’s academicspecialty is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearanceof “whom”， for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss ofthe case-endings of Old English。
But the cult of the authentic and the personal, “doing ourown 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 topaper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then hassought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highlypersonal, 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 highand low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But itis 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, includingnon-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive—there existsno language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas. He is notarguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do nottalk proper。
Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry largechunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend toelaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English speakers. Mr.McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, andproposes no radical education reforms—he is reallygrieving over the loss of something beautiful more than useful. We now take ourEnglish “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 mostlikely 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 asentertaining。
[D] Of all the varieties, standard English can best convey complexideas。
39. The description of Russians’ love of memorizingpoetry 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”。
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发表于 2017-8-6 14:12:38