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 three is a transitional paragraph that initiates McArthur’s own argument. In these paragraphs McArthur argues that English is not only a curse as many people have believed, but a blessing as well.
Part Three: paragraph 10. McArthur concludes in the last paragraph that English may be a curse or a blessing depends on different situations and we should make advantages of world languages and avoid their disadvantages.
II. Vocabulary
A. Choose the best word from the four choices to complete each of the following sentences.
1. There has been much opposition from some social groups, ______ from the farming community.
A. straightforwardly B. notably(especially) C. virtually D. exceptionally
2. The ______ view in Britain and other Western countries associates aging with decline, dependency, isolation, and often poverty (property).
A. predominant B. credulous C. inclusive(<->exclusive) D. sustainable
3. But gifts such as these cannot be awarded to everybody, either by judges or by the most ___ of governments./ reward rewarding [a gifted / talented person]
A. tough B. demanding C. diverse D. benign (kind)