The Linguistic Habits of a New Generation

       In the year of 1914 a young girl named Monica Baldwin entered a convent（女修道院）,remaining there until 1941 when she returned to the outer world. During these twenty-eight years wars and revolutions had come and gone in Europe. Her uncle, Stanley Baldwin, had led his country for some time. Technical developments had changed the conditions of everyday life almost beyond recognitions, but all these events had left as a matter of fact untouched the small religious community to which she had belonged. In 1949 Miss Baldwin published her impressions of those bewildering（令人困惑的）years of her return to a world in which the motorcar had replaced the horse and carriage and where respectable women showed their legs and painted their faces.

       Yet it was not only these odd sights that surprised her, for she was more puzzled by what she heard. During a railway journey the term “l(fā)uggage in advance” meant nothing to her, so in desperation she asked the porter to do as he thought best. Reading the newspapers made her feel very stupid, because the writers of reviews and leading articles used words and phrases such as Jazz, Hollywood, Cocktail and Isolationism. These and many others were quite incomprehensible to Miss Baldwin, who was really bewildered when friends said: “It’s your funeral or Believe it or not.” This is a rare and valuable reminder to the rest of us that the English language does not stand still. All language changes over a period of time for reasons which are imperfectly understood. Or rather since speech is really a form of human activity, it is more exact to say that each successive generation behaves linguistically in a slightly different manner from its predecessors（前輩，祖先）. In his teens the young man likes to show how up-to-date he is by the use of the latest slang（俚語）, but as the years go by some of his slang becomes standard usage and in any case he slowly grows less receptive（樂于接受的）to linguistic novelties（新穎，新奇）,so that by the time he reaches his forties he will probably be unware that some of the expressions and pronunciations now being used were frowned upon by his own parents. In this respect language is a little like fashions in people’s dress. The informal clothes of one generation become the everyday wear of the next, and just as young doctors and bank clerks nowadays go about their business in sports jackets, they are allowed into their normal vocabulary expressions which were once limited to slang and familiar conversation.

1．Miss Baldwin found the world totally changed because          .

       A．she had worked for a religious community for a long time

       B．she had been cut off from the rest of the world for many years

       C．the community where she lived had been in war for many years

       D．there had been too many technical developments

2．During a railway journey Miss Baldwin          .

       A．found the porter’s words hard to understand

       B．found her luggage too heavy to carry

       C．did not know how to talk with the porter

       D．had to ask the porter to look after her luggage

3．Young people like to use the latest slang because          .

       A．they feel it is easier to use

       B．they believe it will soon become standard usage

       C．they want to show they have caught up with the time

       D．they find it more powerful in expressing feelings

4．Miss Baldwin’s experience shows us that          .

       A．the English language has not changed much

       B．the English language has entirely changed

       C．language doesn’t change at all in the religious world

       D．language changes with the passage of time

5．By the time a man is forty, he will          .

       A．be speaking the same language as his parents do

       B．have changed his way of speaking

       C．not use the slang he liked to use when young

       D．be using less new slang in speech and writing

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One of the most striking (顯著) characteristics of English life is the good manners of people from all walks of life. There is little noisy behavior, and practically no loud arguing in the street. People don’t rush excitedly for seats in buses and trains, but wait in queues at bus stops in a quiet and orderly manner.

English people are naturally very polite and never tired of saying “Thank you”, “I’m sorry” and “I beg your pardon”. If you follow anyone who is entering a building or a room, he will hold the door open for you. Many foreigners have commented on the remarkable politeness of the English people.

English people don’t like showing their emotions even in dangerous and tragic situation, and ordinary people seem to keep good-tempered and cheerful under difficulties. They often see the good aspect of things.

English people don’t like any boasting or showing off in manners, dress or speech. Sometimes they conceal their knowledge; a linguist, for example, may not mention his understanding of a foreigner’s language.

An Englishman prefers his own house to an apartment in a block of flats, because he doesn’t want his activities to be overlooked by his neighbors. “An Englishman’s home is his castle.”

Many Englishmen help their wives with housework. They clean the windows on Saturday afternoon, and they often wash the dishes after supper in the evening.

Although times may have changed and cultures have changed, too, the English people still have special characteristics which set them apart from other nationalities.

Which characteristic of English people is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Humorous.       B. Polite.     C. Modest.       D. optimistic(樂觀).

The underlined word “conceal” in Para 4 can be replaced by ______.

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C. hide on purpose                D. feel proud of  

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C. like to play jokes on others        D. become discouraged and sad

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A. English people are fond of living in castles       

B. English people often decorate their houses very well   

C. English people prefer to have different houses from others’     

D. English people don’t like others to know much about their family life

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科目：高中英語 來源：2015屆安微省池州市高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

It is not unusual for people to speak two or three languages; they’re known as bilinguals or trilinguals. Speakers of more than three languages are known as polyglots. And when we refer to people who speak many languages, perhaps a dozen or more, we use the term hyper-polyglot.

The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.

Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?

U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.

Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.

Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.

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B. Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages.

C. Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous.

D. Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing.

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4.The author seems to agree that ___.

A. it is not hard to learn foreign languages

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C. there is no such thing as a talent for languages

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科目：高中英語 來源：2015屆安微省池州市高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

It is not unusual for people to speak two or three languages; they’re known as bilinguals or trilinguals. Speakers of more than three languages are known as polyglots. And when we refer to people who speak many languages, perhaps a dozen or more, we use the term hyper-polyglot.

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Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?

U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.

Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.

Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.

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A. Mezzofanti could remember 360 words a day.

B. Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages.

C. Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous.

D. Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing.

2.The Hungarian woman became a hyper-polyglot mainly because of her __.

A. good memory       B. unique brain      C. hard work      D. learning methods

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A. had an unusual brain

B. was born with great talent

C. had worked hard at languages

D. expected too much of himself

4.The author seems to agree that ___.

A. it is not hard to learn foreign languages

B. hard work plays a part in language learning

C. there is no such thing as a talent for languages

D. hyper-polyglots have an inborn talent for language

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：2015屆安微省池州市高二上學(xué)期期中考試英語試卷（解析版） 題型：閱讀理解

It is not unusual for people to speak two or three languages; they’re known as bilinguals or trilinguals. Speakers of more than three languages are known as polyglots. And when we refer to people who speak many languages, perhaps a dozen or more, we use the term hyper-polyglot.

The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.

Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?

U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.

Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.

Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.

1.What does the underlined sentence imply?

A. Mezzofanti could remember 360 words a day.

B. Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages.

C. Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous.

D. Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing.

2.The Hungarian woman became a hyper-polyglot mainly because of her __.

A. good memory       B. unique brain      C. hard work      D. learning methods

3.The German scientist’s findings showed that Krebs ___.

A. had an unusual brain

B. was born with great talent

C. had worked hard at languages

D. expected too much of himself

4.The author seems to agree that ___.

A. it is not hard to learn foreign languages

B. hard work plays a part in language learning

C. there is no such thing as a talent for languages

D. hyper-polyglots have an inborn talent for language

 

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Once I invited a group of friends round to my house, telling them that I was going to record their speech. I said I was interested in their regional accents, and that it would take only a few minutes. Thus, on one evening, three people turned up at my house and were shown into my front room. When they saw the room they were a bit alarmed, for it was laid out as a studio. In front of each easy chair there was a microphone at head height, with wires leading to a tape-recorder in the middle of the floor. I explained that all I wanted was for them to count from one to twenty. Then we could relax and have a drink.

I turned on the tape-recorder and each in turn seriously counted from one to twenty in their best accent. When it was over, I turned the tape-recorder off and brought round the drinks, and for the rest of the evening there was general cheerful conversation—interrupted only by the fact that I had to take a telephone call in another room, which unfortunately lasted some time.

Or at least that was how it would appear. For, of course, the microphones were not connected to the tape-recorder in the middle of the room at all but to another one, which was turning happily away in the kitchen. The participants, having seen the visible tape-recorder turned off, paid no more attention to the microphones which stayed in front of their chairs, only a few inches from their mouths, thus giving excellent sound quality. And my lengthy absence meant that I was able to obtain as natural a piece of conversation as it would be possible to find.

I should add, perhaps, that I did tell my friends what had happened to them, after the event was over, and gave them the choice of destroying the tape. None of them wanted to—though for some years afterwards it always seemed to be my round when it came to the buying of drinks. Linguistic research can be a very expensive business.

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A. he wanted to record the numbers for his research 

B. he wanted to find out whether the tape recorder was working

C. he wanted to make his friends relax before real recording started

D. he wanted his friends to think that was all he wanted to record

42. Which of the following words can best describe the recording which the linguist managed to make? 

   A. controlled   B. prepared    C. natural          D. artificial 

43. The writer went into another room to ________. 

A. get a natural recording of his friends’ conversation 

B. stay away from too much drinking with his friends

C. bring a telephone into the front room  D. answer a long distance phone call 

44. The writer turned off the tape-recorder because _______.

    A. he had to answer a phone call       

B. he wanted his friends to enjoy some drinks

C. he thought the tape-recorder might bother his friends

D. he wanted to make his friends believe he had finished the recording

45. The writer sounds _______ in telling the story.

   A. serious    B. humorous      C. honest          D. excited

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