問題詳情

Part B.Languages usually change very slowly over time, but they are alwaysevolving as long as they are in use. English is a perfect example of alanguage that has maneuvered through many changes. Students only have toread classic writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare to know that we don’tspeak, write, or spell as these authors did; the meanings of some of the wordsthese writers used can be quite elusive and unintelligible. After so manyyears of gradual change, it is unlikely this version of English will undergo aresurgence. If that is so, why should we be so disparaging of the notion ofchange in modern English?Types of changes include the weakening, strengthening, or changing ofthe meaning of a word over time. For example, “sick” used to only mean ill.Then it acquired the additional meaning of “mentally unbalanced” when thephrase “sick in the head” was shortened. From there it has been used to mean“gross” or “awful,” and today it is commonly used as its antonym. Whentoday’s generation says something is “sick,” they mean it is unbelievablyfantastic! Vocabulary too can change when words are shortened. In the U.S.,“radical” is often shortened to “rad.” Among Singaporean teens, “ex” is oftenused instead of “expensive.” To anyone unfamiliar with the abbreviation,these colloquialisms can get very confusing!Languages change when foreign influences get into the mix. The NormanFrench descended on and conquered England in 1066, and this had aprofound effect on the Anglo Saxon English of the time. The rugged nativelanguage was enriched with new vocabulary and grammatical structures.Sometimes languages can evolve in a short time—across just a fewgenerations or even a single generation. The development of Creole is anexample of such rapid change. Creole is the convergence of two differentlanguages in such a way that it becomes a new language in itself and has itsfirst-language speakers. In the U.S., adult slaves were brought together withno common language between them. They accumulated the vocabulary oftheir slave masters as a tool with which to communicate, but used thegrammar structures of their native languages. This new tongue that developeddiverged enough from its root languages to become a completely differentlanguage.Probably the biggest changes in the English language today are occurringwith the written word. Technology and the changes it has made in the way wecommunicate are having a dramatic effect on the way the language canunofficially be written. Sending text messages has become a preferred way tocommunicate. In addition, communication needs to be quick, so teens havefound new ways to shorten words in text messages and in Internet chat roomsfor the dual purpose of brevity and privacy from the prying eyes of parents.The written text has gradually morphed into a separate code understood onlyby those in the know and is probably on the brink of becoming its ownwritten language. As a result, punctuation rules are also being ignored and itis even suggested that in the future capital letters will no longer have a placein the written language.In 500 years, it is quite likely our ancestors will look at this page and,just like schoolchildren experiencing Shakespeare today, find deciphering itscontents extremely arduous!
56. Which of the following statements best summarizes the writer’s view?
(A) Language will always change.
(B) Language may change in a variety of ways.
(C) English has evolved several times since the 14th century.
(D) The English language is spoken differently in various parts of the world.

參考答案

答案：B
難度：困難0.333333
統計：A(4),B(4),C(3),D(0),E(0)

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