Question

    The speaker, a teacher from a community college, addressed a sympathetic audience. Heads nodded in agreement when he said, “High school English teachers are not doing their jobs.” He described the inadequacies of his students, all high school graduates who can use language only at a grade 9 level. I was unable to determine from his answers to my questions how this grade 9 level had been established.

My topic is not standards nor its decline. What the speaker was really saying is that he is no longer young; he has been teaching for sixteen years, and is able to think and speak like a mature adult.

My point is that the frequent complaint of one generation about the one immediately following it is inevitable. It is also human nature to look for the reasons for our dissatisfaction. Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies. But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack.

The complainers think they have hit upon an original idea. As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate.

Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar to today’s young people, it naturally follows that today’s English teachers cannot be doing their jobs. Otherwise, young people would not have a poor command of English.

1.In the author’s opinion, the speaker ______.

A.gave a correct judgment of the English level of the students

B.had exaggerated the language problems of the students

C.was right in saying that English teachers were not doing their jobs

D.could think and speak intelligently

2.The author’s attitude towards the speaker’s remarks is ______.

A.neutral B.positive

C.critical D.compromising

3.It can be concluded from the passage that ______.

A.it is justifiable to include English as a school subject

B.the author disagrees with the speaker over the standard of English at Grade 9 level

C.English language teaching is by no means an easy job

D.language improvement needs time and effort

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.C

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文。一所社区大学的老师向富有同情心的听众发表了讲话。他说高中英语教师没有做好他们的工作。作者论述了自己不同的观点。

1.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的As their own command of the language improves, they notice that young people do not have this same ability. Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect. To the eyes and ears of sensitive adults the language of the young always seems inadequate.可知，随着他们对语言的掌握程度提高，他们注意到年轻人没有这种能力。他们不知道这些年来他们自己的能力已经发展了，他们认为新一代的年轻人在这方面一定是没有希望的。在敏感的成年人的眼睛和耳朵里，年轻人的语言总是显得不够得体。由此可知，作者认为演讲者夸大了学生的语言问题。故选B。

2.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中的Unaware that their own ability has developed through the years, they assume the new generation of young people must be hopeless in this respect.可知，他们没有意识到这些年来他们自己的能力已经发展了，他们认为新一代的年轻人在这方面一定是没有希望的。由此推知，作者认为这种妄自推测是不对的，作者不赞成演讲者发表的评论。故选C。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段中的Before English became a school subject in the late nineteenth century, it was difficult to find the target of the blame for language deficiencies. But since then, English teachers have been under constant attack. (在19世纪后期英语成为学校课程之前，很难找到语言缺陷的指责对象。但从那以后，英语教师一直受到攻击)及最后一段中的Since this concern about the decline and fall of the English language is not perceived as a generational phenomenon but rather as something new and peculiar to today’s young people, it naturally follows that today’s English teachers cannot be doing their jobs.(由于这种对英语语言的衰落的担忧并不是一种代际现象，而是今天的年轻人所特有的一种新现象，因此很自然地，今天的英语教师不能胜任他们的工作)可推知，英语教学绝不是一件容易的工作。故选C。