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 gene 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.
According to Mc Whorter, 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.
第2题
A.从场地中间部分开始,由中间向两端分层铺填
B.从场地最高部分开始,由一端向另一端自上而下分层铺填
C.从场地四周开始由四周向中间分层铺填
D.从场地最低部分开始,由一端向另一端自下而上分层铺填
第7题
A.100~300mm
B.150~200mm
C.200~250mm
D.250~300mm
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