Today is October 14. My friend, Fei Junlong and I have spent four days in space. I’m 41 years old. He is one year younger than me. Shenzhou Ⅵ circled around the earth 80 times at the height of 347 kilometers above the earth. We are amazed at everything in space. For the first time, we take off our space suits and move around freely. We have as many as 50 dishes to choose from and we can now tell which foods and drinks are better for a long space journey. When my daughter sang "Happy Birthday" to me, I was very excited. We will have a five-day journey in space. We will return tomorrow. I believe Shenzhou Ⅶ will make the Chinese explore space further in the future. |
Today my subject is language, or rather the misuse of language. My remarks will, of course, be limited to the English language only. However, they may well apply to other languages also. Why worry about the English language Well, it’s true that English has been developing in scope and color and precision for centuries. It is rich and flexible. Its health is being spoiled by semi-literates with lazy minds and fuzzy thoughts. These semi- literates can’t be grouped under any social classifications. Some are simply the victims of poor education. But a far more influential group occupies important positions in universities, governments and industry, many have degrees attesting to their high intellectual accomplishments. Yet others sit behind type-writers, writing news, advertising copies, speeches, scripts, popular journalism and books.
Part of the linguistic problem is that it’s no easy task to select just the right word or phrase that will precisely convey
A. it spreads fast all over the world
B. it is misused
C. it has been developing in scope and color
D. it is rich and flexible
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