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.』① 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.』②
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.
九年级英语上完型填空练习七则
中考英语短文填空练习一
九年级英语句型转换专项二
英语课外辅导:中考 V-ing 形式考点分析
八年级英语单项选择专项练习一
九年级英语完成句子专项练习
九年级英语宾语从句专项练习
点击重点句式链接中考考点(三)
英语中考语法(四)数词专题复习
英语语法大全整本收录(五)动词
八年级英语上重点词组练习
英语语法大全整本收录(三) 代词
英语语法大全整本收录(七) 动词不定式
从词法和句法入手巧解短文改错题
八年级英语同义句转换
八年级英语上单选专项练习一
八年级英语上单选专项练习二
九年级英语上词汇专项练习
英语中考语法(五)动词专题复习(1)
名词考向分析与考点训练
中考英语短文填空练习二
英语宾语从句专题复习
中考英语词汇练习前三册
中考英语词汇练习后三册
八年级英语用词的适当形式填空
八年级英语同义句转换练习
初中教材中的八个IT句型
八年级英语用词适当形式填空
点击重点句式链接中考考点(二)
英语语法大全整本收录(四)形容词和副词
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