Question

    Radio newsreaders and television hosts at Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE are very angry at being told to pronounce words according to the Queen’s English.

A report in The Irish Sun newspaper says that RTE’s workers have been given an A-Z style guide of words which instructs them on how to pronounce certain words in an effort to make sure they are clearly understood. The A-Z comes with videos containing lessons of how to “properly” pronounce the “problem” words. An official at RTE told the Irish Sun that producers gave the guide to keep up standards. “The guide is there for anyone who needs it.” he said, “RTE often get letters from the public over how certain words were mispronounced. The word ‘issue’ is a big one at the moment, people don’t like how it’s pronounced. There is an expectation that as the national broadcaster we are correct.”

However, Irish linguistics expert Professor Raymond Hickey called the RTE’s actions “internalized colonialism (内化殖民主义)”. He expressed his disbelief that Irish speakers were being asked to use words with an English accent. He said: “The basic problem is RTE expects its workers to speak as if they were English. Why? We have our own form of English, which is different but fully reasonable and accepted worldwide.” Professor Hickey specially talked of some examples of the words Irish hosts are being asked to pronounce with a British English accent. He said: “The Irish don’t pronounce the TH [in ‘birthday’] as a fricative, but as a stop with no breath…The same is true of ‘news’ — the Irish pronunciation is and always has been ‘nooze’.”

1.When told to speak the Queen’s English, RTE’s newsreaders and hosts showed great ________.

A.anger B.interest

C.expectation D.disbelief

2.Why did RTE provide its workers with an A-Z style guide?

A.Because some newsreaders and hosts were angry.

B.Because the workers expressed the need clearly.

C.Because it expected the workers to speak in the British way.

D.Because they often make mistakes when reading the letters

3.The official at RTE mentioned the letters from the public ______.

A.to make sure the guide is clearly understood

B.to explain why RET needed to take actions

C.to show how some words are mispronounced

D.to show how difficult it is to be a host

4.In Hickey’s opinion, the Irish way of the word “news” is ________.

A.internalized colonialism

B.to be changed into the Queen’s English

C.reasonable and accepted

D.the same as the British way

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了爱尔兰广播电台RTE要求电台播音员和电视节目主持人要按照女王的英语发音，此举受到了RTE工作人员的强烈反对。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段中的Radio newsreaders and television hosts at Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE are very angry at being told to pronounce words according to the Queen’s English.可知，当爱尔兰广播电台RTE的电台播音员和电视节目主持人听到要按照女王的英语发音时，大多数都非常生气。故选A。

2.

细节理解题。根据第二段中的A report in The Irish Sun newspaper says that RTE’s workers have been given an A-Z style guide of words which instructs them on how to pronounce certain words in an effort to make sure they are clearly understood.可知，RTE给工作人员发A-Z单词的风格指南是为了让他们准确地发音以保证能够被清楚地理解。再根据上文提到要他们像英国女王一样发音。由此可知，此处所说准确发音就是指RTE期望工人们以英国的方式说话。故选C。

3.

推理判断题。根据第二段中的“RTE often get letters from the public over how certain words were mispronounced. The word ‘issue’ is a big one at the moment, people don’t like how it’s pronounced. There is an expectation that as the national broadcaster we are correct.”可知，RTE经常收到公众来信抱怨某些单词的发音错误。单词“issue”就是个大问题，人们不喜欢它的发音方式。公众期望国家广播员的发音是正确的。由此可知，官员提到公众来信就是为了解释为什么RTE需要采取行动。也就是要听取公众的意见。故选B。

4.

细节理解题。根据最后一段中的We have our own form of English, which is different but fully reasonable and accepted worldwide. 可知，Raymond Hickey教授认为，爱尔兰有自己的英语形式，但完全合理，而且被全世界所接受。所以单词“news”的爱尔兰式发音是完全合理，并且能被接受的。故选C。