Feminist sociolinguists, over the course of the last few decades, have conducted studies that they believe support the conclusion that women are routinely discriminated against in English-speaking society. They point to the words used to describe women, as well as the words used to describe society as a whole, as indications that the English language, and therefore the English-speaking culture, is slanted towards the advantage of males.
The words used to describe women are used as instrument by feminist sociolinguists to denote an inherent sexism in the English language. Word pairs such as master and mistress and sir and madam, they claim, epitomize such sexism. All of the words in question once held positive connotations but, while the masculine forms have retained their respectable associations, the feminine forms have undergone pejoration and now imply sexual promiscuity (混杂) and other negative characteristics. Feminist researchers assume that such pejoration indicate that the status of women in English-speaking society is relatively low.
These researchers also find fault with the use of masculine words to describe unisex entities. For example, they feel that there is nothing inherently mainly about mankind, the best man for the job, or the common man. Similarly, the use of such constructions as the “the average students is worried about his grades” indicate to these researchers an inherent sexism in English that is reflective of the cultures in which they are produced.
Carolyn Jacobson, author of Non-sexist Language has proposed a solution to this conundrum (难题). She advocates the elimination of all sexed words in favor of gender-neutral terms. No longer should we refer to actors and actresses or waiters and waitresses, as such dichotomies (男女有别) allow for the possibility of negative connotations being associated with the feminine designation. Likewise, she believes that phrases such as mankind should give way to human kind and that the use of the masculine pronoun as the default should be abandoned in favor of neutral constructions. Thus, when sexism is eliminated from the English language, the culture will be more amenable to the deliverance of women as well.
1.The primary purpose of this passage is to( ).
2.According to the passage, gender-neutral constructions should be advocated because( ).
3.The author refers to mankind, the best man for the job, and the common man in order to( ).
4.The word “pejoration” most probably means( ).
5.In favor of gender-neutral terms, which of the following words can be used to describe unisex entities?
问题1选项
A.compare and contrast ideology in various cultures
B.prove a commonly held belief to be wrong
C.describe a problem and a possible solution
D.analyze the historical origins of a modern situation
问题2选项
A.the elimination of sexism in the English language will precede the elimination of sexism in the culture
B.they are more grammatically sound than sexed structures
C.unisex terms are less awkward in casual speech
D.sex-specific terms always carry negative connotations
问题3选项
A.demonstrate the superiority of males in English-speaking society
B.provide an example of speech that is slanted towards the advantage of males
C.list the characteristics of the feminist sociolinguist movement
D.discount the notion that the English language discriminates against women
问题4选项
A.negative connotation
B.positive connotation
C.sexual characteristic
D.respectable characteristic
问题5选项
A.mankind
B.chairperson
C.superman
D.dragon lady
第1题:C
第2题:A
第3题:B
第4题:A
第5题:B
1.主旨大意题。文章开头说到英语中存在对女性固有的性别歧视,接着提出了一个解决这一问题的办法,即消除所有性别词汇,而使用中性词汇。所以这篇文章的主要目的是描述了语言中存在的一个问题并提出了它的解决方法。因此C选项“描述一个问题和可能的解决方法”正确。A选项“比较和对比各种文化中的意识形态”,B选项“证明一个共同的信念是错误的”,D选项“分析近代形势的历史渊源”均和文章主题无关,所以A,B,D错误。
2.推理判断题。由题干关键词“neutral constructions”可以定位到文章最后一段倒数第一、二句Likewise, she believes that phrases such as mankind should give way to human kind and that the use of the masculine pronoun as the default should be abandoned in favor of neutral constructions. Thus, when sexism is eliminated from the English language, the culture will be more amenable to the deliverance of women as well.(同样地,她认为像mankind这样的短语应该让位于human kind,并且应该放弃默认使用男性代词的做法,而使用中性结构。因此,当性别歧视从英语语言中消失时,文化也会更容易接受女性的解放。),说明提倡使用中性结构是因为要消除英语语言中的性别歧视,这样才会消除文化中的性别歧视。因此A选项“消除英语中的性别歧视将先于消除文化中的性别歧视”正确。B选项“它们在语法上比有性别的结构更合理”,C选项“中性用语在随意说话时不那么尴尬”,D选项“特定性别的术语总是带有负面的含义”均在文中没有提及,所以B,C,D错误。
3.推理判断题。由题干关键词“mankind, the best man for the job, and the common man”可以定位到文章第三段第一、二句These researchers also find fault with the use of masculine words to describe unisex entities. For example, they feel that there is nothing inherently mainly about mankind, the best man for the job, or the common man.(这些研究者还批评了使用男性化的词语来描述中性实体的现象。例如,他们认为,人类、工作最优秀的人或普通人在本质上并不存在什么主要问题。),说明在英语中会使用男性化的词语来描述中性的概念,体现了英语语言会倾向于体现男性的优势。因此B选项“举例说明语言偏向于男性的优势”正确。A选项“表明英语社会中男性的优越性”,C选项“列举女权主义社会语言学运动的特点”,D选项“对英语歧视妇女的说法不置可否”均不符合题意,所以A,C,D错误。
4.语义推测题。由题干关键词“pejoration”可以定位到文章第二段最后一句Feminist researchers assume that such pejoration indicate that the status of women in English-speaking society is relatively low.(女性主义研究者认为,这种侮辱表明了女性在英语社会中的地位相对较低。),说明“pejoration”在文中是消极、贬义的意思。因此A选项“消极的内涵”正确。B选项“积极的内涵”,C选项“性特征”,D选项“可敬的特点”均不符合题意,所以B,C,D错误。
5.推理判断题。由原文可知,gender-neutral terms(中性词语)指的是不带有性别的词汇。A选项mankind和C选项superman含有man(男人),D选项dragon lady含有lady(女人),所以A,C,D错误。B选项chairperson用的是中性词汇person,可以男女通用。因此B选项正确。