考研英语阅读-良心翻译加解析-Test 1 2.docVIP

Test One Part ⅡReading Comprehension Directions:There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice. Passage One Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. In his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English. （美国人对于英语的书面语和口语要求不再严格，不再把语言技巧当做能力。作家兼语言学家John McWhorter 新著《做自己的事：语言和音乐的退化——为何我们应该、喜欢或在意》，书中他持有保守和自由两种观点，认为1960年代反传统文化的兴盛造成了正式英语的退化。） Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter’s academic speciality is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of “whom,” for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case-endings of Old English. （大家都在谴责1960年代的消极影响，但是它还不至于导致教育的落后。McWhorter认为有些很讲究的代词（如whom）逐渐消失，是很自然的事，并非坏事。） 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 genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft. （然而，对于真实和个性的狂热追求，“做自己想做的事”，宣告了正式的演讲、书信、诗歌和音乐的消逝。在1960年代以前，即便是仅接受过基础教育的人也在试图用高雅的语调书写文字。但是在那之后，即使是被认为是最优雅的文字也试图变得更加口语化。同样的，在诗歌领域，高度个性化和极富表现力的文体，才被视为唯一真正有活力的文学形式。在英语口语和书面语中，交