An English schoolboy would only ask his friend: “Wassa time then?” To his teacher he would be much more likely to speak in a more standardized accent and ask: “Excuse me, sir, may I have the correct time please?” People are generally aware that the phrases and expressions they use are different from those of earlier generations, but they concede less that their own behavior also varies according to the situation in which they find themselves. People have characteristic ways of talking, which are relatively stable across varying situations. Nevertheless, distinct contexts, and different listeners, demand different patterns of speech from one and the same speaker.
Not only this, but, in many cases, the way someone speaks affects the response of the person to whom he is speaking in such a way that “modeling” is seen to occur. This is what Michael Argyle has called “response matching”. Several studies have shown that the more one reveals about oneself in ordinary conversation, and the more intimate these details are, the more personal secrets the other person will divulge.
Response matching has, in fact, been noted between two speakers in a number of ways, including how long someone speaks, the length of pauses, speech rate and voice loudness. The correspondence between the length of reporters’ questions when interviewing President Kennedy, and the length of his replies has been shown to have increased over the duration of his 1961-63 news conferences. Argyle says this process may be one of “imitation”. Two American researchers, Jaffe and Feldstein, prefer to think of it as the speaker’s need for equilibrium. Neither of these explanations seems particularly convincing. It may be that response matching can be more profitably considered as an unconscious reflection of speakers’ needs for social integration with one another.
This process of modeling the other persons’ speech in a conversation could also be termed speech convergence. It may only be one aspect of a much wider speech change. In other situations speech divergence may occur when certain factors encourage a person to modify his speech away from the individual he is dealing with. For example, a retired brigadier’s wife, renowned for her incessant snobbishness, may return her vehicle to the local garage because of inadequate servicing, voicing her complaint in elaborately phrased, yet mechanically unsophisticated language, with a high soft-pitched voice. These superior airs and graces may simply make the mechanic reply with a flourish of almost incomprehensible technicalities, and in a louder, more deeply-pitched voice than he would have used with a less irritating customer.
1. What does the example of the English schoolboy in Paragraph 1 indicate?
2. In Paragraph 2, several studies have shown that the more ____, the more personal “secrets” one person will divulge.
3. According to the passage, what is the probable reason for the longer replies of President Kennedy?
4. The speech of the mechanic addressed to the retired brigadier’s wife is an example of ____.
5. Which of the following can be an appropriate heading for the passage?
问题1选项
A.Nowadays, English schoolboys are impolite towards people except towards their teachers.
B.The way of asking time is different from that of earlier generations.
C.People’s speaking styles vary according to the different situations.
D.People’s ways of speaking are relatively stable on varying occasions.
问题2选项
A.intimate their relationship is
B.ordinary their conversation is
C.quick the other’s response is
D.personal “secrets” the other person reveals
问题3选项
A.The reporters asked some difficult and embarrassing questions.
B.President Kennedy unconsciously sought social integration with other people.
C.President Kennedy was imitating the reporters.
D.President Kennedy preferred talking equilibrium in his conversation.
问题4选项
A.response matching
B.speech convergence
C.speech divergence
D.need for equilibrium
问题5选项
A.Different Patterns of Speech in Different Situations
B.Response Matching and Speech Divergence
C.Social Integration or Imitation
D.Ways of Speaking: Present and Past
第1题:C
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:C
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
What does the example of the English schoolboy in Paragraph 1 indicate? 第一段中英国男生的例子说明了什么？
A. Nowadays, English schoolboys are impolite towards people except towards their teachers. A. 现在的英国小学生除了对老师以外，对别人都很不礼貌。
B. The way of asking time is different from that of earlier generations. B. 询问时间的方式与上一代人不同。
C. People’s speaking styles vary according to the different situations. C. 人们的说话方式因场合不同而不同。
D. People’s ways of speaking are relatively stable on varying occasions. D. 人们在不同场合的说话方式相对稳定。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】在第一段中，男学生在向朋友询问时间时使用了非正式的、口语化的表达（Wassa time then?），而在向老师询问时间时则使用了更标准、更正式的英语（Excuse me, sir, may I have the correct time please?）。由此可知，作者通过英国男学生的例子来说明人们根据不同的情境改变他们的说话方式，C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“现在的英国小学生除了对老师以外，对别人都很不礼貌”是对例子的错误解释。例子并没有表明男学生除了对老师之外对其他人都是无礼的，而是说明他们在不同的情境中使用不同的说话风格，属于曲解原文；
B选项“询问时间的方式与上一代人不同”例子本身并没有直接说明这一点。例子关注的是同一人在不同情境下的说话风格变化，而不是不同代际之间的变化，属于曲解原文；
D选项“人们在不同场合的说话方式相对稳定”与文章的主张相矛盾。文章指出，尽管人们的说话方式在变化的情况下相对稳定，但不同的情境和听众要求同一个人使用不同的说话模式，属于反向干扰。
第2题:
【选项释义】
In Paragraph 2, several studies have shown that the more ____, the more personal “secrets” one person will divulge. 在第二段中，几项研究表明，____，一个人泄露的个人“秘密”就越多。
A. intimate their relationship is A. 他们的关系越亲密
B. ordinary their conversation is B. 他们的谈话越普通
C. quick the other’s response is C. 对方的反应越快
D. personal “secrets” the other person reveals D. 对方透露的个人“秘密”越多
【考查点】细节事实题
【解题思路】在第二段中，文章提到“Several studies have shown that the more one reveals about oneself in ordinary conversation, and the more intimate these details are, the more personal secrets the other person will divulge.”。这句话的意思是，研究表明，在普通对话中，一个人透露关于自己的信息越多，这些细节越私密，另一个人就会透露更多的个人“秘密”。由此可知，D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“他们的关系越亲密”提到的是关系亲密的程度，而文章中讨论的是在对话中透露信息的程度，而不是关系的亲密程度，属于无中生有；
B选项“他们的谈话越普通”提到的是对话的普通程度，但文章的重点是透露信息的程度和私密性，而不是对话是否普通，属于无中生有；
C选项“对方的反应越快”提到的是反应的速度，而文章中并没有提到反应的速度与透露个人秘密的数量之间的关系，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, what is the probable reason for the longer replies of President Kennedy? 根据这篇文章，肯尼迪总统的回答时间较长的原因可能是什么？
A. The reporters asked some difficult and embarrassing questions. A. 记者们问了一些刁钻难堪的问题。
B. President Kennedy unconsciously sought social integration with other people. B. 肯尼迪总统不自觉地寻求与其他人的社会融合。
C. President Kennedy was imitating the reporters. C. 肯尼迪总统在模仿记者。
D. President Kennedy preferred talking equilibrium in his conversation. D. 肯尼迪总统喜欢在谈话中保持平衡。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】在第三段中，文章提到了肯尼迪总统在新闻发布会上回答问题长度的变化：“The correspondence between the length of reporters’ questions when interviewing President Kennedy, and the length of his replies has been shown to have increased over the duration of his 1961-63 news conferences.”，这句话表明，记者提问的长度和肯尼迪回答的长度之间存在对应关系，并且这种关系在新闻发布会的期间有所增加。接下来，文章提到了两种解释：“Argyle says this process may be one of ‘imitation’. Two American researchers, Jaffe and Feldstein, prefer to think of it as the speaker’s need for equilibrium.”。但是，文章最后指出：“Neither of these explanations seems particularly convincing. It may be that response matching can be more profitably considered as an unconscious reflection of speakers’ needs for social integration with one another.”，这表明，作者认为这两种解释都不够有说服力，而更可能的原因是，反应匹配是一种无意识的反映，说话者需要与他人进行社会整合，故B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“记者们问了一些刁钻难堪的问题”文章中没有提到记者提出的问题是否困难或令人尴尬，因此这个选项没有依据，属于无中生有；
C选项“肯尼迪总统在模仿记者”虽然提到了“模仿”作为一种可能的解释，但文章明确表示这种解释并不特别令人信服，属于答非所问；
D选项“肯尼迪总统喜欢在谈话中保持平衡”提到了对话平衡的需要，这是Jaffe和Feldstein的观点，但作者认为这种解释也不够有说服力，属于答非所问。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The speech of the mechanic addressed to the retired brigadier’s wife is an example of ____. 机械师对退休准将妻子的讲话就是____的一个例子。
A. response matching A. 反应匹配
B. speech convergence B. 语言趋同
C. speech divergence C. 语言分歧
D. need for equilibrium D. 平衡的需要
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】文章中提到了不同的言语现象：response matching（反应匹配）和speech convergence（语言趋同），以及speech divergence（语言分歧）。Response matching是指说话者在对话中根据对方的言语模式进行调整，以实现更好的沟通和社会整合；Speech convergence是response matching的另一种表述方式，指的是说话者在对话中模仿对方的言语特征；而speech divergence则发生在特定情况下，当某些因素促使一个人调整其言语，使其与所交流的人有所不同。在文章的例子中，退休准将的妻子因其不断的势利行为，可能在返回当地车库时因服务不足而投诉，她可能会使用精心措辞但技术上不复杂、声音高而柔和的语言来表达她的抱怨。这种优越的态度和风度可能使技工用几乎难以理解的技术术语回应，并且使用比对待不那么令人恼火的客户更响亮、更深沉的声音。这个例子展示了技工如何通过改变他的言语风格来与退休准将的妻子保持距离，这正好符合speech divergence的定义，故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“反应匹配”是指说话者在对话中根据对方的言语模式进行调整，以实现更好的沟通和社会整合，与文中描述的情况不符，属于答非所问；
B选项“语言趋同”是response matching的同义词，也不符合文中描述的情况，属于答非所问；
D选项“平衡的需要”是指说话者寻求平衡的需求，同样不符合文中描述的情况，属于答非所问。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following can be an appropriate heading for the passage? 以下哪项可以作为这篇文章的标题？
A. Different Patterns of Speech in Different Situations A. 不同情况下的不同说话方式
B. Response Matching and Speech Divergence B. 反应匹配和语言分歧
C. Social Integration or Imitation C. 社会融合或模仿
D. Ways of Speaking: Present and Past D. 说话方式：现在和过去
【考查点】主旨大意题
【解题思路】文章开始于描述一个英国学校男孩如何根据不同的对话对象（朋友或老师）改变他的说话方式，这说明了在不同的情境中使用不同的说话模式。接着，文章讨论了“response matching”和“speech convergence”的概念，这些都是人们在对话中根据不同的情境和对话者调整自己说话方式的现象。最后，文章又提到了“speech divergence”，这是另一种说话方式的变化，它发生在人们故意改变自己的说话方式以区别于对话对方的情况下。综上可知，文章主要讨论了人们在不同的情境下会使用不同的言语模式，以及这种变化如何影响对话双方的交流，A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“反应匹配和语言分歧”只涵盖了文章中提到的两个概念，但没有涵盖文章的整体主题，即言语在不同情境下的变化，属于以偏概全；
C选项“社会融合或模仿”只关注了文章中提到的两种可能的解释，而没有涵盖文章的整体内容，属于以偏概全；
D选项“说话方式：现在和过去”提到了说话方式的现在和过去，但文章并没有进行这样的对比。文章主要关注的是说话方式如何根据不同的情境和对话者而变化，而不是随时间的变化，属于无中生有。
