When one looks back upon the fifteen hundred years that are the life span of the English language, he should be able to notice a number of significant truths. The history of our language has always been a history of constant changeat times a slow, almost imperceptible change, at other times a violent collision between two languages. Our language has always been a living growing organism, it has never been static. Another significant truth that emerges from such a study is that language at all times has been the possession not of one class or group but of many. At one extreme it has been the property of the common, ignorant folk, who have used it in the daily business of their living, much as they have used their animals or the kitchen pots and pans. At the other extreme it has been the treasure of those who have respected it as an instrument and a sign of civilization, and who have struggled by writing it down to give it some permanence, order, dignity, and if possible, a little beauty.
As we consider our changing language, we should note here two developments that are of special and immediate importance to us. One is that since the time of the Anglo-Saxons there has been an almost complete reversal of the different devices for showing the relationship of words in a sentence. Anglo-Saxon was a language of many inflections. Modern English has few inflections. We must now depend largely on word order and function words to convey the meanings that the older language did by means of changes in the forms of words. Function words, you should understand, are words such as prepositions, conjunctions, and a few others that are used primarily to show relationships among other words. A few inflections, however, have survived. And when some word inflections come into conflict with word order, there may be trouble for the users of the language, as we shall see later when we turn our attention to such maters as WHO or WHOM and ME or I. The second fact we must consider is that as language itself changes, our attitudes toward language forms change also. The eighteenth century, for example, produced from various sources a tendency to fix the language into patterns not always set in and grew, until at the present time there is a strong tendency to restudy and re-evaluate language practices in terms of the ways in which people speak and write
1.In contrast to the earlier linguists, modern linguists tend to .
A. attempt to continue the standardization of the language
B. evaluate language practices in terms of current speech rather than standards or proper patterns
C. be more concerned about the improvement of the language than its analysis or history
D. be more aware of the rules of the language usage
2.Choose the appropriate meaning for the word inflection used in line 4 of paragraph 2.
A. Changes in the forms of words.
B. Changes in sentence structures.
C. Changes in spelling rules.
D. Words that have similar meanings.
3.Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage?
A. It is generally believed that the year 1500 can be set as the beginning of the modern English language.
B. Some other languages had great influence on the English language at some stages of its development.
C. The English language has been and still in a state of relatively constant change.
D. Many classes or groups have contributed to the development of the English language.
4. The author of these paragraphs is probably a .
A. historian B. philosopher C. anthropologist D. linguist
5.Which of the following can be best used as the title of the passage?
A. The history of the English language.
B. Our changing attitude towards the English language.
C. Our changing language.
D. Some characteristics of modern English.
参考答案
1.B 2.A 3.B 4.D 5.C
GRE阅读文章的略读技巧
GRE阅读常见的几种逻辑介绍
GRE阅读高分必知的十大技巧
通过外国背景知识提高GRE阅读
GRE阅读难句例句剖析
GRE阅读猜词有什么好的方法
GRE阅读中的四大类难句解析
GRE阅读中遇到陌生词汇要沉着应对
GRE阅读解题定位技巧分析
GRE阅读的五大境界突破
GRE阅读重点如何快速抓取
解答GRE阅读文体有什么技巧
GRE阅读理解需要了解的必要原则
GRE阅读机考流程分享
GRE阅读复习有什么妙招
GRE阅读主旨题如何准确解答
GRE阅读与客观题解答有什么技巧
如何把握GRE阅读出题规律
GRE阅读词汇怎样记忆最省时
GRE阅读高分技巧综合整理
GRE阅读虚拟语气详解
GRE阅读考试效率怎样提升
GRE阅读提高过程详解
GRE阅读如何定位精准排除
GRE阅读长句解析
GRE阅读时间如何合理掌控
GRE阅读相关参考书推荐
GRE阅读速度提升的有效途径介绍
教你如何甄别GRE阅读中的文字价值
GRE阅读标记技巧总结
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |