为了帮助广大考生有效备考2012年全国职称英语考试，小编特编辑整理了职称英语考试复习资料，希望对您系统掌握2012年职称英语考试的重点内容，顺利通过职称英语考试有所帮助。
第3篇：Some things we know about language
Many things about language are a mystery, and many will always remain SO．
But some
things we do know．
First，we know that all human beings have a language of some sort．There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language，no set of speech sounds by which the people communicate with one mother．Furthermore，in historical times，there has never been a race of men without a language．
Second，there is no such thing as a primitive language．There are many people whose
cultures are undeveloped，who are，as we say，uncivilized, but the languages they speak are not primitive．In all known 1anguages we can see complexities that must have been tens of thousands of years in developing．
This has not always been well understood；indeed, the direct contrary has often been stated．Popular ideas of the 1anguage of the American Indians will illustrate．Many people have supposed that the Indians communicated in a very primitive system of noises．Study has proved this to be nonsense．There are，or were，hundreds of American Indian languages，and a11 of them turn out to be very complicated and very old. They are certainly different from the languages that most of us are familiar with，but they are no more primitive five than English and Greek．
A third thing we know about language is that all languages are perfectly adequate．That is, each one is a perfect means of expressing the culture of the people who speak the language．
Finally, we know that language changes．It is natural and normal for language to change；
the only languages which do not change are the dead ones．This is easy to understand if we look backward in time．Change goes on in all aspects of language．Grammatical features change as do speech sounds，and changes in vocabulary are sometimes very extensive and may occur very rapidly．Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language．
词汇：
race／n．种族
primitive／adj．原始的
uncivilized／adj．不开化的，落后的
complexity／n．复杂性，复杂现象
nonsense／n．胡说，没有根据的话
extensive／adj．广泛的
vocabulary／n．词汇
练习：
1． In the second paragraph the author thinks that
A)some backward race doesn’t have a language of its own．
B)some race in history didn’t possess a language of its own．
C)any human race，whether backward or not，has a language．
D)some races on earth call communicate without language．
2． According to the author, people of undeveloped cultures can have___ languages.
A)complicated
B)uncivilized
C)primitive
D)well—known
3．The author has used American Indian languages as an example to show that they are
A)just as old as some well-known languages．
B)just as sophisticated as some well-known languages．
C)more developed than some well-known languages．
D)more complex than some well-known languages．
4. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
A)A language is a means of expressing a particular culture．
B)All languages can well express their respective cultures．
C)American Indian languages are as sophisticated as English．
D)Some languages are better than other languages．
5． According to the author, language changes are most likely to occur in
A)grammar．
B)pronunciation．
C)vocabulary．
D)intonation．
答案及分析：
1．C作者在第二段中认为，任何人种不管落后与否都有语言。文中的原句是：There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language…
2．A此题的答案来自第三段。
3．B 作者例举美国印第安人的语言的目的是证明这些语言和一些着名的语言一样先进。原句是：They are certainly different from the languages that most of US are familiar with，but they are no more primitive than English and Greek．
4．D D项的说法是错误的，因为作者在文章中的观点是不同的语言没有好与坏的差别。原句参照题解3。
5． C词汇是语言中最容易发生变化的部分。文中的原句是：Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language．
相关内容：
编辑推荐：
