The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch (传统火鸡午餐).
The results were published (发表) in the Journal of Phonetics.
1.What is the text mainly about?
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A．The relationship between accents and social classes. |
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B．The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV. |
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C．The changes in a person’s accent. |
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D．The recent development of the English language. |
2.The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ______.
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A．she has been Queen for many years |
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B．she has a less upper-class accent now |
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C．her speeches are familiar to many people |
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D．her speeches have been recorded for 50 years |
3.Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?
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A．“dutay” |
B．“citee” |
C．“hame” |
D．“lorst” |
4.We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ______.
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A．speech sounds |
B．Christmas customs |
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C．TV broadcasting |
D．personal messages |
Prepare: Plan ahead and think about what you are going to say. In the words of Mark Twain, it usually takes you more than three weeks to prepare for it.
Know your subject: Always make sure that you know the subject and have background information at hand for question time.
Know you audience: Find out who you will be addressing so that you can tailor(适合) your comments accordingly.
Make a point: Keep your speech short and brief and have a few clear points that you need to convey(传达).
Practice: Never learn your speech by heart as your speech will become stilted, but do practice it a few times in front of the mirror, your parents or your dog.
Eye contact: If the thought of looking into a sea of faces scares you, adjust your gaze（注视）regularly at different points in the room to create the same effect.
First impressions: Your first impression is important when making a public presentation. Find out about dress codes(准则) at the place so that you look your best and, if possible, check the microphone beforehand to ensure you know how to use it.
Get help: If public presentations are a major part of your life, read up on the art of speech---writing and delivery to improve your skills.
1.The advice benefits (有益于)____________________.
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A．teachers |
B．actors |
C．speechmakers |
D．spokesmen |
2.Knowing your subject helps you __________.
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A．make a perfect speech |
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B．make better answers when asked questions about the subject. |
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C．keep a clear head |
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D．attract people’s attention |
3. The underlined word “stilted” probable means ________ here.
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A．unnatural |
B．unnecessary |
C．unpleasant |
D．undeveloped |
4.If asked for more advice besides what has been mentioned in the text, you may suggest ______.
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A．eye contact with the audience |
B．proper clothes |
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C．proper tones and body languages |
D．more practice |
79 Mayfair Road
Plumton, Kent
October 10th
Dear Rosemary,
I was very glad to get your letter this morning. I really ought to have written to you---it was my turn, I know----but I have been terribly busy. The children seem to take up all my time. I am thinking of sending Ann to a nursery school. She’ll be four next month. Baby has just started to walk and doesn’t give me a moment’s peace. But you know what it is like! How are all your children? I’m sure they love living in the country.
I’m afraid we can’t come over to see you next Sunday, as you suggest. Tom’s mother is coming to spend the day with us. What about the Sunday after that----- the twenty-second? We are free that day and should love to come. We’re longing to see your house.
Let me know, then, if the Sunday after next suits you. May we come for lunch? We’d like to leave fairly early in the evening to avoid the heavy traffic on the roads.
Love from us all,
Edna
1. Edna can not see Rosemary the following Sunday because_____.
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A．she is afraid of the traffic |
B．Tom’s mother is coming to see them that day |
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C．she prefers to come on 22nd |
D．she is terribly busy with the children |
2.What doesn’t give Edna a moment’s peace?
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A．That she has been thinking of sending Ann to a nursery school |
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B．That Tom’s mother will come soon |
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C．That she has been thinking of going to see Rosemary’s new house |
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D．That her baby has just started to walk |
3.We can infer from the letter that Tom is_________.
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A．Edna’s husband |
B．Edna’s son |
C．Edna’s neighbor |
D．Edna’s father |
阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Love cures people—both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.
——Dr. Karl Menninger
I was being interviewed by a senior manager for a major insurance company. I told him 41 that the main reason why I was 42 with them was my need to keep my family in Boston. My wife of 26 years old had recently died of a heart attack . A(n) 43 in Boston would also help me reduce some of the pain of the loss. Bruce ,the interviewer ,was politely sympathetic, and didn’t probe(探查) any 44 .He acknowledged my loss and ,with great respect ,moved on to another 45 .
After the next 46 of interview , Bruce took me to lunch with another manager .Then he asked me to take a 47 with him. He told me that he , 48 , had lost his wife .And he had also been married 20 years and had three children. In his sharing, I realized that he had 49 the same pain 50 I had , a pain that was almost 51 to explain to someone who had not 52 a loved 53 . He offered his business card and home phone number and 54 that, if I needed help or just wanted someone to 55 , I should feel 56 to give him a call. No matter whether I got the job or not, he wanted me to know that he was there if I 57 needed any help.
From that one act of kindness, when he had no idea 58 we would see each other again, he helped me 59 one of life’s greatest losses. He turned the normally 60 business interview process into an act of caring and support for another person in a time of need.
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—Mum, may I go out to play football for a while?
—______. You need some exercise.
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A．Never mind |
B．You’ve got it |
C．Go ahead |
D．It’s your turn |
With her anger ______, the thought of punishing him arose in her mind.
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A．disappearing |
B．adding |
C．growing |
D．boiling |
