Linguists have understood for decades that language and thought are closely related. Humans construct reality using thought and express these thoughts through the use of language. Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Whorf are credited with developing the most relevant explanation outlining the relationship between thought and language, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. The hypothesis consists of two parts, linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism. Supporters of linguistic relativity assume that culture is shaped by language. Terwilliger defines linguistic determinism as the process by which "the functions of one’s mind are determined by the nature of the language which one speaks." In simpler terms, the thoughts that we construct are based upon the language that we speak and the words that we use. In its strongest sense, linguistic determinism can be interpreted as meaning that language determines thought. In its weakest sense, language partially influences th
A. It has no empirical evidence in its favor.
B. It is formulated on the basis of only one case study.
C. Its applicability has been greatly exaggerated.
D. No convincing examples can be found to support its claim.
Linguists have understood for decades that language and thought are closely related. Humans construct reality using thought and express these thoughts through the use of language. Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Whorf are credited with developing the most relevant explanation outlining the relationship between thought and language, the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. The hypothesis consists of two parts, linguistic relativity and linguistic determinism. Supporters of linguistic relativity assume that culture is shaped by language. Terwilliger defines linguistic determinism as the process by which "the functions of one’s mind are determined by the nature of the language which one speaks." In simpler terms, the thoughts that we construct are based upon the language that we speak and the words that we use. In its strongest sense, linguistic determinism can be interpreted as meaning that language determines thought. In its weakest sense, language partially influences th
A. supportive
B. objective
C. suspicions
D. critical
In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing U.S. minority. As their children began moving up through the nation schools, it became clear that a new class of academic achievers was emerging. Their achievements are reflected in the nation’s best universities, where mathematics, science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character. This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U.S. with a sol id grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English. They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college. Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively. And the return on the investment in education is more immediate in something like engineering than with an arts degree.
Most Asian-American students owe
A. They are afraid that they would again be isolated from American society in general.
B. People would think that Asian students rely on their parents for success.
C. Asian Americans would be a threat to other minorities.
D. American academic achievements have taken on too strong an Asian character.
Passage Five
In order to learn a foreign language well, it is necessary to overcome the fear of making mistakes. If the primary goal (目标) of language use is communication (交际), then mistakes are secondary considerations that may be dealt with gradually. On the other hand, students should not ignore their mistakes. The language learner may observe how native speakers express themselves, and how native expressions differ from the way the learner might say them. For example, a Spanish speaker who has been saying "I do it" to express willingness to do something in the immediate future, could, by communicating with native speakers of English, observe that native speakers actually say "I’ll do it". The result can serve as a basis for the student to change his way of using the present tense in English. But a student who is unwilling to communicate in the first place would lose this opportunity to learn by trial and error.
我来回答: