阅读理解。
The English language is changing fast,thanks to the rapid progress of technology. We all have a rapid
choice:We can either bury our heads in the sand and spend the rest of our lives wishing Shakespeare were
alive and well. Or we can embrace (拥抱) the new English,enter into the spirit of the Internet age called
Weblish.
"You can't keep away from it, for the simple reason that whenever a new variety of language comes
along,it inevitably (不可避免地) influence the language as a whole." Says Dr David Crystal, honorary
professor of linguistics (语言学家) at the University of Wales in Bangor, whose book "Language and the
Internet" has just been published.
The trouble with keeping up with the new English is not so much that there are so many new words
but that the old words no longer mean what we thought they did. In the past, if someone said they did
not have Windows,you would have to suppose they lived in a cave. These days, it is probably because
they use a Mac (which is a computer, not a rain coat). Spam is as disliked as it ever was, but whereas
it once meant an unappetizing (引不起食欲的) canned meat. It now stands for unwanted "junk" email.
Spellings are changing, too. Not only is text-messaging playing "hvc with vrbs" (havoc (混乱) with
verbs), but the conventions (常规) of email communication place little emphasis on "perfect speaking".
Weblish loves to see nouns happily become verbs ("please bookmark this site"), and verbs become
nouns ("Send me the download"). Verbs and prepositions are regularly thrown together to become new
nouns or adjectives(dial-up, logon, print-on, pull-down, upload), while others are created from simply
pairing nouns: cyberspace, emit Internet, hyperlink, metatag, netspeak.
1. The best title of this passage would be _____.
A. Technology and English
B. Newly invented English Words
C. Keep Up with the Latest Weblish
D. Keep Up with the Latest Development in
2. We can infer from the first paragraph that _____.
A. all people welcome weblish English
B. weblish causes fear among people
C. some people wish Shakespeare were still alive
D. people may have different opinions towards weblish
3. The author thinks the main difficulty for people in keeping up with weblish is that _____.
A. there are so many new words
B. old words take on new meanings
C. the technology is changing too fast
D. weblish words are full of spelling mistakes
4. Dr. David Crystal would probably agree that _____.
A. people should not accept weblish
B. weblish will destroy the English language
C. people should know something about weblish
D. weblish can cause misunderstandings among people
