A
(广东省六校2019－2020学年高三上学期第二次联考)
Jonathan Agnew recently described “unofficial interviews” as those where you agree that it’s “between you and I”．And a Times journalist wrote about someone who had “made Jenny and I feel so welcome”．They are both intelligent people with the ability to express ideas fluently and logically.And yet they wrote “I” where they meant “me”．
It’s happening more and more.We are scared of the mistake like “Terry and me went to the pub”．We’ve all been taught that it should be “Terry and I went to the pub”．Plus we’ve heard the Queen say “my husband and I” a lot.So we begin to use “and I” even when it should be “and me”．
But my point here is not to support the correct usage.It’s the opposite：I want to reject the idea that there’s such a thing as “correct” English at all.Language isn’t like maths，where you can show that two plus two is four.Language has no fundamental rights and wrongs，only conventions.You cannot definitively prove that any are “right” and others “wrong”．
Sometimes correct language sounds absurd.Look at Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education，Children’s Services and Skills) who came up with a new rule.Primary school children now have to be taught that “inverted commas” is right，while “speech marks” is wrong.You and I know that those terms are interchangeable.And the child who looks at those marks on the page can see that both make perfect sense.That’s because a primary school child is more intelligent than the Ofsted turkey who came up with this rule.
As the teacher who told me about the ludicrous rule pointed out，there is no doubt that in a few years’ time，the “incorrect” term will become the “correct” one.But the truly horrible thing about an education system like this is that it destroys children’s love of language.It tells them they have to worry about rules，instead of encouraging them to read and write for its own sake.Let them read for fun and they’ll absorb the rules—or conventions—anyway.Have them shaking in fear about English tests，and you’ll increase their insecurity about getting language “right”．
Then one day that insecurity will have them saying “and I” even though they mean “and me”．
1．Why do people use “and I” when it should be “and me” according to the text?
A．The Ofsted sets a rule.
B．“and I” is the correct English.
C．The Queen makes a similar mistake.
D．People feel insecure about using “and me”．
2．What can we learn from paragraphs 3 and 4?
A．Rules benefit children’s language learning.
B．Language learning is more complicated than maths.
C．Language is based on commonly accepted rules.
D．A primary school child is smarter than the Ofsted.
3．What does the underlined word “ludicrous” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A．Influential. B．Particular.
C．Conventional. D．Ridiculous.
4．Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude towards the correct English?
A．Critical. B．Objective.
C．Favourable. D．Indifferent.
【答案】 1.D 2.C 3.D 4.A
【解析】 这是一篇议论文。文章首先提出了有一些能够流利和有逻辑地表达想法的聪明人，用“I”来代替“me”，用的越来越多时，人们就开始在该用“I”的时候用了“me”。作者认为语言不像数学，没有对错，只有惯例。太讲究语言规则，会破坏孩子们对语言的热爱。
1．细节理解题。根据文章第二段中的“It’s happening more and more.We are scared of the mistake like ’Terry and me went to the pub’．We’ve all been taught that it should be ’Terry and I went to the pub.’” 可知，人们使用“and I”这样的表达方式是害怕犯错误，与D选项中的“feel insecure(没有安全感)”相呼应。故选D项。
2．推理判断题。根据第三段中的“Language has no fundamental rights and wrongs，only conventions.”(语言没有基本的对错，只有惯例。)和第四段中的主题句“Sometimes correct language sounds absurd.”(有时所谓的正确的语言听起来很荒谬。)可知，作者想表达的是语言并无对错，只要被人们普遍认可即可。与C项Language is based on commonly accepted rules.(语言是基于普遍接受的规则。)意义相近。故选C项。
3．词义猜测题。在第四段中，作者举例论证了“Sometimes correct language sounds absurd.”有时所谓的正确语言听起来很荒谬。作者还用讽刺的口吻说道“那是因为小学生比提出这些规则的人要聪明。”结合划线词所在句后一句“毫无疑问，再过几年，不正确的术语又变成了正确的术语”可知，第五段中的划线词“ludicrous”的意思是“荒唐的，可笑的”。故选D项，Ridiculous可笑的，荒谬的。
4．推理判断题。根据文章第三段中的“I want to reject the idea that there’s such a thing as ’correct’ English at all.”(我想拒绝那种认为英语“正确”的观点。)和第四段中的“Sometimes correct language sounds absurd.”(有时所谓的正确的语言听起来很荒谬。)可知作者是不赞成“正确英语”这种观点的。critical批评的； objective客观的；favourable赞许的； indifferent漠不关心的。故选A项。
