嘿，阿研来了。
上一期我们把2004年的英语客观题挖完了，今天继续——2005年考研英语客观题。
2005年是考研英语“题型定型”后的第三年。试卷结构延续了2004年的格局：完形填空（20题×0.5分，共10分）+ 阅读理解A节（4篇×5题×2分，共40分） ，客观题部分共50分。完形填空主题为人类鼻子的嗅觉能力，四篇阅读则分别涉及动物公平意识、全球变暖、梦境控制、正式英语衰落，题材广泛、难度较大。
今天阿研带你一次性挖完2005年英语试卷的完形填空和阅读理解A节（4篇文章） 。每道题附上答案、解析、知识点定位、以及一句“人话版”总结。
一、完形填空（20题×0.5分，共10分）
2005年的完形填空主题是人类鼻子的嗅觉能力被低估。
📖 原文
The human nose is an underrated tool. Humans are often thought to be insensitive smellers compared with animals, 1 this is largely because, 2 animals, we stand upright. This means that our noses are 3 to perceiving those smells which float through the air, 4 the majority of smells which stick to surfaces. In fact, 5 , we are extremely sensitive to smells, 6 we do not generally realize it. Our noses are capable of 7 human smells even when these are 8 to far below one part in one million.
Strangely, some people find that they can smell one type of flower but not another, 9 others are sensitive to the smells of both flowers. This may be because some people do not have the genes necessary to generate 10 smell receptors in the nose. These receptors are the cells which sense smells and send 11 to the brain. However, it has been found that even people insensitive to a certain smell 12 can suddenly become sensitive to it when 13 to it often enough.
The explanation for insensitivity to smell seems to be that the brain finds it 14 to keep all smell receptors working all the time but can 15 new receptors if necessary. This may 16 explain why we are not usually sensitive to our own smells—we simply do not need to be. We are not 17 of the usual smell of our own house, but we 18 new smells when we visit someone else‘s. The brain finds it best to keep smell receptors 19 for unfamiliar and emergency signals 20 the smell of smoke, which might indicate the danger of fire.
📝 逐题解析
第1题：Humans are often thought to be insensitive smellers compared with animals, ______ this is largely because...
A．although B．as C．but D．while
✅ 答案：C
📖 解析：本题考查逻辑衔接。前文说“人类常被认为嗅觉不如动物”，后文说“这主要是因为……”。两者之间是转折关系——前半句是人们的普遍看法，后半句要揭示真正的原因。A“although”引导让步状语从句，B“as”表示原因或时间，D“while”表示对比或时间——都不如“but”准确表达转折。
💡 人话版：人们觉得我们鼻子不灵——但是，其实是因为我们直立行走。转折点，选but。
第2题：this is largely because, ______ animals, we stand upright.
A．above B．unlike C．excluding D．besides
✅ 答案：B
📖 解析：句意：这很大程度上是因为，与动物不同，我们是直立行走的。B“unlike”表示“与……不同”，符合语境。A“above”（在……之上）、C“excluding”（除……之外）、D“besides”（除……之外还有）——都不符合“与动物不同”的对比关系。
💡 人话版：unlike animals = 跟动物不一样。动物趴着，我们站着。
第3题：our noses are ______ to perceiving those smells which float through the air
A．limited B．committed C．dedicated D．confined
✅ 答案：A
📖 解析：句意：我们的鼻子仅限于感知漂浮在空气中的气味。“be limited to”是固定搭配，表示“限于”。D“be confined to”也有“限制”的意思，但更强调空间或范围上的局限，与“感知气味”的语境不完全匹配。B“be committed to”（致力于）、C“be dedicated to”（奉献于）——都不符合。
💡 人话版：limited to = 仅限于。我们的鼻子只能闻到飘在空气里的味道。
第4题：______ the majority of smells which stick to surfaces
A．catching B．ignoring C．missing D．tracking
✅ 答案：C
📖 解析：句意：我们的鼻子只能闻到空气中的气味，错过了大部分附着在表面的气味。前半句说“只能闻到空气中的”，后半句自然是对比——错过了表面的气味。A“catching”（抓住）、B“ignoring”（忽视，通常指主动忽视）、D“tracking”（追踪）——都不如“missing”准确。
💡 人话版：missing = 错过。飘在空中的能闻到，粘在桌上的——闻不到，错过了。
第5题：In fact, ______, we are extremely sensitive to smells
A．anyway B．though C．instead D．therefore
✅ 答案：B
📖 解析：句意：然而，事实上我们对气味极其敏感。“though”在此作副词，表示“然而”，用于转折——前面说鼻子“不灵”，这里说“实际上很敏感”。A“anyway”（无论如何）、C“instead”（相反）、D“therefore”（因此）——都不符合转折逻辑。
💡 人话版：though = 然而。前面说“不行”，这里来个大转折——“其实很行”。
第6题：______ we do not generally realize it
A．even if B．if only C．only if D．as if
✅ 答案：A
📖 解析：句意：尽管我们通常没有意识到这一点。“even if”表示“尽管、即使”，引导让步状语从句。B“if only”（要是……就好了）、C“only if”（只有……才）、D“as if”（好像）——都不符合让步逻辑。
💡 人话版：even if = 尽管。鼻子很灵，尽管我们没意识到。
第7题：Our noses are capable of ______ human smells
A．distinguishing B．discovering C．determining D．detecting
✅ 答案：D
📖 解析：句意：我们的鼻子能够察觉人类的气味。“detecting”表示“察觉、探测”，最符合“鼻子感知气味”的语境。A“distinguishing”（区分，通常需要两者对比）、B“discovering”（发现）、C“determining”（决定、确定）——都不如“detecting”准确。
💡 人话版：detecting = 察觉。鼻子能“侦测”到人的气味。
第8题：even when these are ______ to far below one part in one million
A．diluted B．dissolved C．dispersed D．diffused
✅ 答案：A
📖 解析：句意：即使这些气味被稀释到百万分之一以下。“diluted”表示“稀释、冲淡”，最符合“气味浓度降低”的语境。B“dissolved”（溶解，通常指固体溶于液体）、C“dispersed”（分散）、D“diffused”（扩散）——都不如“diluted”准确。
💡 人话版：diluted = 稀释。气味被冲淡到百万分之一，鼻子还能闻到。
第9题：______ others are sensitive to the smells of both flowers
A．when B．since C．for D．whereas
✅ 答案：D
📖 解析：句意：有些人只能闻到一种花香，而另一些人对两种花香都敏感。“whereas”表示“而、然而”，用于对比两种不同情况。A“when”、B“since”、C“for”——都不符合对比关系。
💡 人话版：whereas = 而（对比）。有人只闻得到一种，而有人两种都闻得到。
第10题：the genes necessary to generate ______ smell receptors in the nose
A．unusual B．particular C．unique D．typical
✅ 答案：B
📖 解析：句意：产生鼻子里特定气味感受器所必需的基因。“particular”表示“特定的、某一种”，最符合语境——每个人缺少的是针对某种特定气味的基因。A“unusual”（不寻常的）、C“unique”（独特的）、D“typical”（典型的）——都不如“particular”准确。
💡 人话版：particular = 特定的。有些人缺的是针对“某一种”气味的基因。
第11题：send ______ to the brain
A．signs B．stimuli C．messages D．impulses
✅ 答案：C
📖 解析：句意：向大脑发送信息。“send messages to the brain”是固定搭配，表示“向大脑传递信息”。A“signs”（标志）、B“stimuli”（刺激）、D“impulses”（冲动、神经脉冲）——虽然都有一定道理，但“send messages”是最地道的表达。
💡 人话版：messages = 信息。感受器把气味信息“发”给大脑。
第12题：even people insensitive to a certain smell ______ can suddenly become sensitive to it
A．at first B．at all C．at large D．at times
✅ 答案：A
📖 解析：句意：即使是一开始对某种气味不敏感的人，也能突然对它敏感起来。“at first”表示“起初、一开始”，与后文“突然变得敏感”形成时间上的对比。B“at all”（根本）、C“at large”（总体上）、D“at times”（有时）——都不符合“起初 vs 后来”的对比。
💡 人话版：at first = 一开始。一开始闻不到，后来突然闻到了。
第13题：when ______ to it often enough
A．subjected B．left C．drawn D．exposed
✅ 答案：D
📖 解析：句意：当接触这种气味足够频繁时。“be exposed to”是固定搭配，表示“接触、暴露于”。A“be subjected to”（遭受）、B“be left to”（被留给）、C“be drawn to”（被吸引）——都不如“exposed to”准确。
💡 人话版：exposed to = 接触。多闻几次，就闻得到了。
第14题：the brain finds it ______ to keep all smell receptors working all the time
A．ineffective B．incompetent C．inefficient D．insufficient
✅ 答案：C
📖 解析：句意：大脑发现让所有气味感受器一直工作效率很低。“inefficient”表示“效率低的”，最符合“资源浪费”的语境。A“ineffective”（无效的）、B“incompetent”（无能力的）、D“insufficient”（不足的）——都不如“inefficient”准确。
💡 人话版：inefficient = 效率低。所有感受器一直开着——太浪费了，大脑不干。
第15题：but can ______ new receptors if necessary
A．introduce B．summon C．trigger D．create
✅ 答案：C
📖 解析：句意：但在必要时可以触发新的感受器。“trigger”表示“触发、激活”，最符合“根据需要启动新感受器”的语境。A“introduce”（引入）、B“summon”（召唤）、D“create”（创造）——都不如“trigger”准确，因为感受器是现成的，只是“被激活”。
💡 人话版：trigger = 触发。不是“造新的”，是“把现有的激活”。
第16题：This may ______ explain why we are not usually sensitive to our own smells
A．still B．also C．otherwise D．nevertheless
✅ 答案：B
📖 解析：句意：这或许也能解释为什么我们通常对自己的气味不敏感。“also”表示“也”，承接前文——前面解释了“对某些气味不敏感”，这里说“也能解释对自己的气味不敏感”。A“still”（仍然）、C“otherwise”（否则）、D“nevertheless”（然而）——都不符合“也”的承接关系。
💡 人话版：also = 也。这个解释也能说明“为什么闻不到自己的味道”。
第17题：We are not ______ of the usual smell of our own house
A．sure B．sick C．aware D．tired
✅ 答案：C
📖 解析：句意：我们意识不到自己家里通常的气味。“be aware of”是固定搭配，表示“意识到”。A“be sure of”（确定）、B“be sick of”（厌倦）、D“be tired of”（厌倦）——都不符合“没意识到”的语境。
💡 人话版：aware of = 意识到。自己家的味道——闻不到，因为太熟悉了。
第18题：but we ______ new smells when we visit someone else’s
A．tolerate B．repel C．neglect D．notice
✅ 答案：D
📖 解析：句意：但当我们去别人家时，会注意到新的气味。前文说“意识不到自己家的气味”，这里转折——去别人家时，新气味会被注意到。A“tolerate”（容忍）、B“repel”（排斥）、C“neglect”（忽视）——都不如“notice”准确。
💡 人话版：notice = 注意到。自己家闻不到，别人家一进门就闻到了。
第19题：The brain finds it best to keep smell receptors ______ for unfamiliar and emergency signals
A．available B．reliable C．identifiable D．suitable
✅ 答案：A
📖 解析：句意：大脑发现最好让气味感受器随时可用，以应对不熟悉和紧急的信号。“available”表示“可用的、可获得的”，最符合“随时准备接收信号”的语境。B“reliable”（可靠的）、C“identifiable”（可识别的）、D“suitable”（合适的）——都不如“available”准确。
💡 人话版：available = 可用。感受器得“待命”，随时准备接收危险信号。
第20题：______ the smell of smoke, which might indicate the danger of fire
A．similar to B．such as C．along with D．aside from
✅ 答案：B
📖 解析：句意：例如烟的气味，它可能意味着火灾的危险。“such as”表示“例如”，用于举例。A“similar to”（与……相似）、C“along with”（与……一起）、D“aside from”（除……之外）——都不符合举例关系。
💡 人话版：such as = 例如。紧急信号——比如烟味，可能意味着着火。
📌 考古笔记：2005年的完形填空延续了考研完形的经典考查方式——逻辑衔接（1题but、5题though、6题even if、9题whereas）、固定搭配（3题limited to、13题exposed to、17题aware of）和词义辨析（7题detecting、14题inefficient、15题trigger）。三大核心，一题没少。完形的本质不是词汇量，是“词在语境中的正确用法”。
二、阅读理解（4篇 × 5题 × 2分，共40分）
Text 1：动物公平意识
📖 文章大意：本文通过卷尾猴实验，探讨了动物是否具有公平意识。研究发现，当一只猴子看到同伴因为同样的任务得到更好的奖励（如葡萄而非黄瓜）时，它会表现出不满甚至拒绝参与实验。这表明“憎恨不公平”可能不仅仅是人类的天性，也是猴子的天性。
📖 原文
Everybody loves a fat pay rise. Yet pleasure at your own can vanish if you learn that a colleague has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he has a reputation for slacking, you might even be outraged. Such behaviour is regarded as “all too human,” with the underlying assumption that other animals would not be capable of this finely developed sense of grievance. But a study by Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it is all too monkey, as well.
The researchers studied the behaviour of female brown capuchin monkeys. They look cute. They are good-natured, co-operative creatures, and they share their food readily. Above all, like their female human counterparts, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of “goods and services” than males.
Such characteristics make them perfect candidates for Dr. Brosnan‘s and Dr. de Waal’s study. The researchers spent two years teaching their monkeys to exchange tokens for food. Normally, the monkeys were happy enough to exchange pieces of rock for slices of cucumber. However, when two monkeys were placed in separate but adjoining chambers, so that each could observe what the other was getting in return for its rock, their behaviour became markedly different.
In the world of capuchins, grapes are luxury goods (and much preferable to cucumbers). So when one monkey was handed a grape in exchange for her token, the second was reluctant to hand hers over for a mere piece of cucumber. And if one received a grape without having to provide her token in exchange at all, the other either tossed her own token at the researcher or out of the chamber, or refused to accept the slice of cucumber. Indeed, the mere presence of a grape in the other chamber (without an actual monkey to eat it) was enough to induce resentment in a female capuchin.
The researchers suggest that capuchin monkeys, like humans, are guided by social emotions. In the wild, they are a co-operative, group-living species. Such co-operation is likely to be stable only when each animal feels it is not being cheated. Feelings of righteous indignation, it seems, are not the preserve of people alone. Refusing a lesser reward completely makes these feelings abundantly clear to other members of the group. However, whether such a sense of fairness evolved independently in capuchins and humans, or whether it stems from the common ancestor that the species had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question.
第21题：In the opening paragraph, the author introduces his topic by ______.
A．posing a contrast
B．justifying an assumption
C．making a comparison
D．explaining a phenomenon
✅ 答案：C
💡 人话版：作者用“人类不喜欢别人加薪比自己多”来引入，然后说“猴子也这样”——这是在类比。
第22题：The statement “it is all too monkey” (Last line, Paragraph 1) implies that ______.
A．monkeys are also outraged by slack rivals
B．resenting unfairness is also monkeys‘ nature
C．monkeys, like humans, tend to be jealous of each other
D．no animals other than monkeys can develop such emotions
✅ 答案：B
💡 人话版：猴子也会“憎恨不公平”——这是猴子的天性。
第23题：Female capuchin monkeys were chosen for the research most probably because they are ______.
A．more inclined to weigh what they get
B．attentive to researchers’ instructions
C．nice in both appearance and temperament
D．more generous than their male companions
✅ 答案：A
💡 人话版：雌性卷尾猴更在意“得到了什么”——所以最适合做公平实验。
第24题：Dr. Brosnan and Dr. de Waal have eventually found in their study that the monkeys ______.
A．prefer grapes to cucumbers
B．can be taught to exchange things
C．will not be co-operative if feeling cheated
D．are unhappy when separated from others
✅ 答案：C
💡 人话版：猴子如果觉得被“坑”了，就不合作了。
第25题：What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．Monkeys can be trained to develop social emotions.
B．Human indignation evolved from an uncertain source.
C．Animals usually show their feelings openly as humans do.
D．Cooperation among monkeys remains stable only in the wild.
✅ 答案：B
💡 人话版：人类的“义愤”从哪来的？——还没答案。可能是独立演化，也可能来自共同祖先。
Text 2：全球变暖
📖 文章大意：本文通过类比“吸烟危害”的历史教训，论证了全球变暖问题的紧迫性。作者指出，当年吸烟的危害被质疑了几十年，导致数百万人过早死亡；如今全球变暖也面临类似的质疑，但如果等到100%的证据齐全才行动，可能就太晚了。
📖 原文
Do you remember all those years when scientists argued that smoking would kill us but the doubters insisted that we didn‘t know for sure? That the evidence was inconclusive, the science uncertain? That the antismoking lobby was out to destroy our way of life and the government should stay out of the way? Lots of Americans bought that nonsense, and over three decades, some 10 million smokers went to early graves.
There are upsetting parallels today, as scientists in one wave after another try to awaken us to the growing threat of global warming. The latest was a panel from the National Academy of Sciences, enlisted by the White House, to tell us that the Earth’s atmosphere is definitely warming and that the problem is largely man-made. The clear message is that we should get moving to protect ourselves. The president of the National Academy, Bruce Alberts, added this key point in the preface to the panel‘s report: “Science never has all the answers. But science does provide us with the best available guide to the future, and it is critical that our nation and the world base important policies on the best judgments that science can provide concerning the future consequences of present actions.”
Just as on smoking, voices now come from many quarters insisting that the science about global warming is incomplete, that it’s OK to keep pouring fumes into the air until we know for sure. This is a dangerous game: by the time 100 percent of the evidence is in, it may be too late. With the risks obvious and growing, a prudent people would take out an insurance policy now.
Fortunately, the White House is starting to pay attention. But it‘s obvious that a majority of the president’s advisers still don‘t take global warming seriously. Instead of a plan of action, they continue to press for more research—a classic case of “paralysis by analysis.”
To serve as responsible stewards of the planet, we must press forward on deeper atmospheric and oceanic research. But research alone is inadequate. If the Administration won’t take the legislative initiative, Congress should help to begin fashioning conservation measures. A bill by Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, which would offer financial incentives for private industry, is a promising start. Many see that the country is getting ready to build lots of new power plants to meet our energy needs. If we are ever going to protect the atmosphere, it is crucial that those new plants be environmentally sound.
第26题：An argument made by supporters of smoking was that ______.
A．there was no scientific evidence of the correlation between smoking and death
B．the number of early deaths of smokers in the past decades was insignificant
C．people had the freedom to choose their own way of life
D．antismoking people were usually talking nonsense
✅ 答案：A
💡 人话版：吸烟支持者说——“没有确凿的科学证据证明吸烟会死”。
第27题：According to Bruce Alberts, science can serve as ______.
A．a protector
B．a judge
C．a critic
D．a guide
✅ 答案：D
💡 人话版：科学不能解答所有问题，但能提供最好的指导。
第28题：What does the author mean by “paralysis by analysis” (Last line, Paragraph 4)?
A．Endless studies kill action.
B．Careful investigation reveals truth.
C．Prudent planning hinders progress.
D．Extensive research helps decision-making.
✅ 答案：A
💡 人话版：“分析导致麻痹”——研究来研究去，就是不行动。
第29题：According to the author, what should the Administration do about global warming?
A．Offer aid to build cleaner power plants.
B．Raise public awareness of conservation.
C．Press for further scientific research.
D．Take some legislative measures.
✅ 答案：D
💡 人话版：政府不能光让国会搞研究——自己得采取立法行动。
第30题：The author associates the issue of global warming with that of smoking because ______.
A．they both suffered from the government‘s negligence
B．a lesson from the latter is applicable to the former
C．the outcome of the latter aggravates the former
D．both of them have turned from bad to worse
✅ 答案：B
💡 人话版：吸烟的教训——等到证据齐全就太晚了——同样适用于全球变暖。
Text 3：梦境控制
📖 文章大意：本文探讨了梦境是否可以被人为控制。研究表明，梦是大脑情绪调节机制的一部分，可以帮助人们处理白天的负面情绪。芝加哥医疗中心的心理学主任Cartwright认为，人们可以有意识地控制反复出现的噩梦——通过识别梦中令人不安的元素，并想象一个更好的结局。
📖 原文
Of all the components of a good night‘s sleep, dreams seem to be least within our control. In dreams, a window opens into a world where logic is suspended and dead people speak. A century ago, Freud formulated his revolutionary theory that dreams were the disguised shadows of our unconscious desires and fears; by the late 1970s, neurologists had switched to thinking of them as just “mental noise”—the random byproducts of the neural-repair work that goes on during sleep. Now researchers suspect that dreams are part of the mind’s emotional thermostat, regulating moods while the brain is “off-line.” And one leading authority says that these intensely powerful mental events can be not only harnessed but actually brought under conscious control, to help us sleep and feel better, “It‘s your dream,” says Rosalind Cartwright, chair of psychology at Chicago’s Medical Center. “If you don‘t like it, change it.”
Evidence from brain imaging supports this view. The brain is as active during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep—when most vivid dreams occur—as it is when fully awake, says Dr. Eric Nofzinger at the University of Pittsburgh. But not all parts of the brain are equally involved; the limbic system (the “emotional brain”) is especially active, while the prefrontal cortex (the center of intellect and reasoning) is relatively quiet. “We wake up from dreams happy or depressed, and those feelings can stay with us all day,” says Stanford sleep researcher Dr. William Dement.
The link between dreams and emotions shows up among the patients in Cartwright’s clinic. Most people seem to have more bad dreams early in the night, progressing toward happier ones before awakening, suggesting that they are working through negative feelings generated during the day. Because our conscious mind is occupied with daily life we don‘t always think about the emotional significance of the day’s events—until, it appears, we begin to dream.
And this process need not be left to the unconscious. Cartwright believes one can exercise conscious control over recurring bad dreams. As soon as you awaken, identify what is upsetting about the dream. Visualize how you would like it to end instead; the next time it occurs, try to wake up just enough to control its course. With much practice people can learn to, literally, do it in their sleep.
At the end of the day, there‘s probably little reason to pay attention to our dreams at all unless they keep us from sleeping or “we wake up in a panic,” Cartwright says. Terrorism, economic uncertainties and general feelings of insecurity have increased people’s anxiety. Those suffering from persistent nightmares should seek help from a therapist. For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep—or rather dream—on it and you‘ll feel better in the morning.
第31题：Researchers have come to believe that dreams ______.
A．can be modified in their courses
B．are susceptible to emotional changes
C．reflect our innermost desires and fears
D．are a random outcome of neural repairs
✅ 答案：A
💡 人话版：梦可以被改变——这是文章的核心观点。
第32题：By referring to the limbic system, the author intends to show ______.
A．its function in our dreams
B．the mechanism of REM sleep
C．the relation of dreams to emotions
D．its difference from the prefrontal cortex
✅ 答案：C
💡 人话版：大脑边缘系统（情绪中心）在梦中活跃——说明梦和情绪有关。
第33题：The negative feelings generated during the day tend to ______.
A．aggravate in our unconscious mind
B．develop into happy dreams
C．persist till the time we fall asleep
D．show up in dreams early at night
✅ 答案：D
💡 人话版：白天的负面情绪会在晚上早段的梦里出现。
第34题：Cartwright seems to suggest that ______.
A．waking up in time is essential to the ridding of bad dreams
B．visualizing bad dreams helps bring them under control
C．dreams should be left to their natural progression
D．dreaming may not entirely belong to the unconscious
✅ 答案：D
💡 人话版：梦不一定完全属于潜意识——你可以有意识地控制它。
第35题：What advice might Cartwright give to those who sometimes have bad dreams?
A．Lead your life as usual.
B．Seek professional help.
C．Exercise conscious control.
D．Avoid anxiety in the daytime.
✅ 答案：A
💡 人话版：偶尔做噩梦？照常生活就好——大脑自己会处理。
Text 4：正式英语的衰落
📖 文章大意：本文探讨了正式英语的衰落。语言学家John McWhorter认为，20世纪60年代反文化运动的胜利导致了正式英语的衰退。但他并不主张进行激进的教育改革——他只是在哀悼某种美好事物的逝去，而非某种实用事物的丧失。文章最后指出，正式语言并非严格必要，它的衰落或许遗憾，但可能不可避免。
📖 原文
Americans no longer expect public figures, whether in speech or in writing, to command the English language with skill and gift. Nor do they aspire to such command themselves. In his latest book, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should Like, Care, John McWhorter, a linguist and controversialist of mixed liberal and conservative views, sees the triumph of 1960s counter-culture as responsible for the decline of formal English.
Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter‘s academic speciality is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of “whom”, for example, to be natural and no more regrettable than the loss of the case-endings of Old English.
But the cult of the authentic and the personal, “doing our own thing”, has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, performative genre is the only form that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft.
Illustrated with an entertaining array of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the question of his subtitle, why we should, like, care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive—there exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey complex ideas. He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper.
Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English-speakers. Mr. McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical education reforms—he is really grieving over the loss of something beautiful more than useful. We now take our English “on paper plates instead of china”. A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevitable one.
第36题：According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English ______.
A．is inevitable in radical education reforms
B．is but all too natural in language development
C．has caused the controversy over the counter-culture
D．brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s
✅ 答案：B
💡 人话版：正式英语的衰落是语言发展中的自然现象——就像古英语词尾消失一样自然。
第37题：The word “talking” (Line 6, Paragraph 3) denotes ______.
A．modesty B．personality C．liveliness D．informality
✅ 答案：D
💡 人话版：talking = 非正式的口语。说话（talking）战胜了演讲（speaking）。
第38题：To which of the following statements would McWhorter most likely agree?
A．Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk.
B．Black English can be more expressive than standard English.
C．Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining.
D．Of all the varieties, standard English can best convey complex ideas.
✅ 答案：A
💡 人话版：说话方式不一定影响逻辑思维——这是McWhorter的核心观点。
第39题：The description of Russians‘ love of memorizing poetry shows the author’s ______.
A．interest in their language
B．appreciation of their efforts
C．admiration for their memory
D．contempt for their old-fashionedness
✅ 答案：B
💡 人话版：俄罗斯人爱背诗——作者赞赏这种对语言的珍视。
第40题：According to the last paragraph, “paper plates” is to “china” as ______.
A．“temporary” is to “permanent”
B．“radical” is to “conservative”
C．“functional” is to “artistic”
D．“humble” is to “noble”
✅ 答案：C
💡 人话版：纸盘子是“实用”的，瓷器是“艺术”的——现在的英语就像纸盘子。