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 generations 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 commit offenses against the language.
1. The speaker the author mentioned in the passage believed that ________.
2. In the author’s opinion, the speaker ________.
3. It can be concluded from the passage that ________.
4. The author’s attitude towards the speaker’s remarks is ________.
问题1选项
A.the language of the younger generation is usually inferior to that of the older generation
B.the students had a poor command of English because they didn’t work hard enough
C.the was an excellent language teacher because he had been teaching English for sixteen years
D.English teachers should be held responsible for the students’ poor command of English
问题2选项
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
问题3选项
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
问题4选项
A.neutral
B.positive
C.critical
D.compromising
第1题:
【选项释义】
The speaker the author mentioned in the passage believed that ________. 作者在文中提到的演讲者认为________。
A. the language of the younger generation is usually inferior to that of the older generation A. 年轻一代的语言通常不如老一代的语言
B. the students had a poor command of English because they didn’t work hard enough B. 这些学生的英语水平很低，因为他们不够努力
C. the was an excellent language teacher because he had been teaching English for sixteen years C. 他是一位优秀的语言老师，因为他已经教了16年英语了
D. English teachers should be held responsible for the students’ poor command of English D. 英语教师应该对学生英语不好负责
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干中信息词The speaker定位到第一段第一句，该处讲到“演讲者（The speaker）是一所社区大学的教师”，结合该段第二句“他说，高中英语老师没有做好他们的工作（High school English teachers are not doing their jobs）。”，可知他认为学生英语不好是高中老师的责任，因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“年轻一代的语言通常不如老一代的语言”：文中没有提到，属于无中生有；
B选项“这些学生的英语水平很低，因为他们不够努力”：演讲者认为其原因在于老师没教好，而不是学生不努力，属于偷换概念；
C选项“他是一位优秀的语言老师，因为他已经教了16年英语了”：对应第二段最后一句“他已经教书十六年了（teaching for sixteen years），能像成年人一样思考和说话（think and speak like a mature adult）。”，能像成年人一样思考和说话不等同于是一位优秀的语言老师，演讲者没有这样的意思，属于偷换概念。
第2题:
【选项释义】
In the author’s opinion, the speaker ________. 在作者看来，演讲者________。
A. gave a correct judgment of the English level of the students A. 对学生的英语水平做出了正确的判断
B. had exaggerated the language problems of the students B. 夸大了学生的语言问题
C. was right in saying that English teachers were not doing their jobs C. 说英语老师没有做好他们的工作是对的
D. could think and speak intelligently D. 能聪明地思考和说话
【答案】B
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干中信息词author’s opinion定位到第三段第一、二句，该处讲到“我的观点是（My point is that），一代人对下一代人的频繁抱怨（frequent complaint）不可避免（inevitable）。寻找不满（look for dissatisfaction）也是出于人的天性（human nature）。”，可知作者认为上一代人找理由抱怨下一代人的语言能力是出于天性，而不是因为这些学生的英语水平真的很低，夸大了学生的语言问题，因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“对学生的英语水平做出了正确的判断”：作者认为没有正确、客观地评价，反而夸大了学生的语言问题，属于反向干扰；
C选项“说英语老师没有做好他们的工作是对的”：对应该段第三、四句“在19世纪末英语成为一门学科（English became a school subject）之前，很难找到语言缺陷的指责对象。但从那以后（But since then），英语教师一直受到攻击（have been under constant attack）。”，可知作者认为对英语老师的批评不公正、不客观，并非正确，属于反向干扰；
D选项“能聪明地思考和说话”：对应第二段最后一句“说话者真正想说（speaker was really saying）的是……他能像成年人一样思考和说话。”，可知这是演讲者自己认为的，而不是作者认为的，属于张冠李戴。
第3题:
【选项释义】
It can be concluded from the passage that ________. 从文章中可以得出结论：________。
A. it is justifiable to include English as a school subject A. 把英语作为一门学科很合理
B. the author disagrees with the speaker over the standard of English at Grade 9 level B. 作者不同意演讲者对九年级英语水平标准的看法
C. English language teaching is by no means an easy job C. 英语教学绝不是一件容易的工作
D. language improvement needs time and effort D. 提高语言需要时间和努力
【答案】D
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】此题定位到第四段第三句，该处讲到“他们没有意识到自己的能力已经发展了这么多年（ability has developed through the years），并且认为新一代的年轻人在这方面肯定是没有希望了（hopeless in this respect）。”，可知语言能力的提高需要长时间的努力，因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“把英语作为一门学科很合理”：文中没有探讨英语作为一门学科的问题，属于无中生有；
B选项“作者不同意演讲者对九年级英语水平的看法”：对应第一段最后一句“我无法确定（unable to determine）这个9年级的水平是如何判定的。”，可知作者对此的态度是不确定，而非不同意，属于偷换概念；
C选项“英语教学绝不是一件容易的工作”：文中没有提到英语教学的要求和难度，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The author’s attitude towards the speaker’s remarks is ________. 作者对演讲者言论的态度是________。
A. neutral A. 中立的
B. positive B. 肯定的
C. critical C. 批判的
D. compromising D. 有失体面的，不宜泄露的
【答案】C
【考查点】观点态度题。
【解题思路】此题定位到第一段最后一句“我无法确定（unable to determine）这个9年级的水平是如何判定的。”，以及第三段“我的观点是（My point is that），一代人对下一代人的频繁抱怨不可避免。寻找不满也是出于人的天性……但（But）从那以后，英语教师一直受到攻击（constant attack）。”，可知作者并不赞同演讲者对于学生语言水平的判定，并且反对演讲者对英语老师所做工作的否定，因此C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“中立的”：作者有明确的观点，并没有保持中立，属于反向干扰；
B选项“肯定的”：作者明确地反对，属于反向干扰；
D选项“有失体面的”：作者并没有认为演讲者的言论是错误的，所以不能公开，属于无中生有。
