研究生英语阅读教程(基础级2版)课文01及其翻译(2)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Tom McArthur is founder editor of the Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992) and the quarterly English Today: The International Review of the English Language (Cambridge, 1985— ). His more than 20 published works include the Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English (1981), Worlds of Reference: Language, Lexicography and Learning from the Clay Tablet to the Computer (1986), and The English Languages (1998). He is currently Deputy Director of the Dictionary Research Center at the University of Exeter.

EXERCISES

I. Reading Comprehension

Answer the following questions or complete the, following statements.

1. It can be inferred from Glanville Price's statement that he is ______.

A. happy that English is everywhere in Britain and Ireland

B. worried about the future of the remaining Celtic languages

C. shocked by the diversity of languages in Britain and Ireland

D. amazed that many people in the UK still speak their Aboriginal languages

2. Cumbric is used as an example of ______.

A. a local dialect

B. a victim of the English language

C. a language that is on the verge of extinction

D. a language that is used by only a limited number of people

3. Which of the following is the major concern of the book Linguistic Imperialism?

A. English teaching overseas.

B. British government's language policies.

C. Dominance of English over other languages.

D. The role of English in technology advancement.

4. Both Price and Phillipson are ______.

A. government officials

B. advocates of linguistic imperialism

C. in support of language policies carried out by the British Council

研究生英语阅读教程(基础级2版)课文及翻译

D. concerned about the negative effect of English on smaller languages

5. According to the text, the EFL countries ______.

A. are large in number

B. is known as the "outer circle"

C. will be endangered by English

D. have made English their official language

6. According to McArthur, Chinese is different from English in that ______.

A. it has made a great contribution to the world

B. it has had positive influence on other languages C. it may result in the disappearance of other languages

D. it probably will not endanger the existence of other languages

7. When he said the jury is out in the trial" (Line 3, Paragraph 4), McArthur meant ______.

A. punishment is due B. the jury is waiting for a trial

C. no decision has been made yet

D. there is no one to make the decision

8. Australia might be used as an example to show that ______.

A. languages are changing all the time

B. some English words are derived from Latin C. English has promoted the progress of some nations

D. English should be blamed for the extinction of smaller languages

9. Many people see English as a blessing for people in ______. A. Australia B. East Asia

C. South Africa D. ESL countries

10. The main theme of this speech is that ______.

A. English should be taught worldwide

B. English as a world language does more harm than good

C. we should be objective to the internationalization of English

D. we should be aware of (realize) the danger of English as a world language

B. Questions on global understanding and logical structures

1. Why does McArthur introduce Glanville Price and Robert Phillipson's points of view on the spread of English? What is his? Intention?

McArthur quotes Price’s assertion and cites Pillipson’s viewpoint on the spread of English as sort of cons to initiate his argument. Cons are usually popularly believed arguments or opinions that are against the author’s point of view. Cons are commonly used writing techniques and are often employed in order to appeal the audience and highlight the author’s

viewpoint.

研究生英语阅读教程(基础级2版)课文及翻译

2. Does McArthur agree with what Price and Phillipson argued? From as early as which section does McArthur show his attitude? Toward the dominance of English as a world English?

No. McArthur’s opinion is different from Price and Pillipson’s arguments. He doesn’t believe that English is a killer and should be blamed for the extinction of smaller languages. He sees English as both a blessing and a curse, maybe as a blessing more than a curse. After introducing Price and Pillipson’s viewpoints, McArthur writes about his own ideas on the issue of English as a world language. From the sentence “For good or for ill, there has never been a language quite like English”, we can learn that McArthur does not curse English like Price and Pillipson and he has a different point of view.

3. By reading "It certainly isn't hard to look for situations where people might call English a curse", could we conclude that McArthur believes English is a curse?

No. This sentence is a kind of justification. Although McArthur literally justifies the fact that there are situations where people might call English a curse, he doesn’t believe that English is virtually a curse. By adding the word “certainly” McArthur shows his intent.

4. Could you pick up some words and expressions that signal change or continuation in McArthur's thought?

“For good or for ill”(paragraph 3) /“however” (paragraph 4) /“But”(paragraph 5) / “At the same time, however”(paragraph 6) /“Yet”(paragraph 7)

5. How many parts can this speech be divided? How are the parts organized?

Part One: paragraphs 1 and 2. These two paragraphs introduce the situation that many academics argue against English as a world language.

Part Two: paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Paragraph thr …… 此处隐藏：5480字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……