英语听力精选进阶版 6409

Have you learnt a lot of English words? Well, many more are being created right now! Neologisms appear all the time, especially linked to new technology. This not only represents more work for you but also annoys some native speakers of English.

Every age has its purists. Tom Chatfield, author of "Netymology: A Linguistic¹ Celebration of the Digital World ", says that in the 16th Century, many people frowned upon neologisms with foreign influences. The poet Richard Willies said that they were "smelling too much of the Latin".

In the 19th Century, the English poet William Barnes suggested that the word "photograph" should be replaced by "sun print" in order to achieve proper "Englishness". It didn't catch on.

Now the debate about speech and writing is livelier than ever, says Mr Chatfield. He thinks the Digital Revolution is as significant as the Industrial Revolution, and there are many inventions and processes which have to be named.

From text messages and email to chat rooms and video games, technology has over the past few decades brought about an extraordinary new arena² of verbal exchange. The controversy³ is not so much about foreign influence but informality and abbreviation. The Oxford⁴ English Dictionary acknowledged in 2011 the use of initials such as "oh my God" (OMG), "laughs out loud" (LOL) and "for your information" (FYI).

We are moving away from spoken words and towards the act of typing on to a screen. We've already grown so used to saying phrases like dotcom out loud that we forget we are speaking punctuation⁵ marks. And punctuation took a life of its own with emoticons.

The speed of communication today is matched by the speed with which new words are taken up. Bicycles, automobiles⁶ and telephones took decades to become a part of daily life as words and objects. With online offerings, new words are adopted in a matter of months. The verb "to google" has become a part of dozens of languages across the world.

Where habit leads, language follows. Only time will tell what endures. Meanwhile, as a student of the English language, you've got a lot of catching⁷ up to do.

Quiz 测验

1. Who wanted the word 'photograph' replaced?

The English poet William Barnes.

2. What are the causes of controversy about English?

Foreign influence, informality, the use of abbreviation, technology and increasing speed of communication.

3. Is this statement true or false? OMG, LOL and FYI were never officially adopted as words in the English language.

False. These expressions were included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011.

4. What are symbols like :-) and :-( called?

Emoticons.

5. Which word in the article means "more animated"?

Livelier.

Glossary 词汇表

a neologism 一个新词或旧词新意

a native speaker 一个说母语的人

a purist 语言纯正癖者

to frown upon 对某事物表现出不满

Latin 拉丁语

proper 正式的、规矩的

to catch on 开始流行

a text message 一个短信

an email 一封电子邮件

a chat room 一个聊天室

a video game 一个电子游戏

informality 不拘礼节

abbreviation 缩写

OMG (Oh my God) “我的天”的英文缩写

LOL (Laughing out loud) “哈哈大笑”的英文缩写

FYI (For your information) “供参考”的英文缩写

dotcom 网站

a punctuation mark 一个标点符号

punctuation 标点

an emoticon 一个表情符

to catch up 追赶上

1 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

6 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。