Whilemanyofusmayhavebeenawaysomewherenicelastsummer,...
問題詳情：
While many of us may have been away somewhere nice last summer, few would say that we’ve “summered.” “Summer” is clearly a noun, more precisely, a verbed noun.
Way back in our childhood, we all learned the difference between a noun and a verb. With such a tidy definition, it was easy to spot the difference. Not so in adulthood, where we are expected to “foot” bills, “chair” committees, and “dialogue” with political opponents. Chances are you didn’t feel uncomfortable about the sight of those verbed nouns.
“The verbing of nouns is as old as the English language,” says Patricia O’Conner, a former editor at The New York times Book Review. Experts estimate that 20 percent of all English verbs were originally nouns. And the phenomenon seems to be snowballing. Since 1900, about 40 percent of all new verbs have come from nouns.
Even though conversion (轉化) is quite universal, plenty of grammarians object to the practice. William Strunk Jr. and E.B．White, in The Elements of Style — the Bible for the use of American English — have this to say: “Many nouns lately have been pressed into service as verbs. Not all are bad, but all are suspect.” The Chicago Manual of Style takes a similar standpoint, advising writers to use verbs with great care.
“Sometimes people object to a new verb because they resist what is unfamiliar to them,” says O’Conner. That’s why we’re comfortable “hosting” a party, but we might feel upset by the thought of “medaling” in sports. So are there any rules for verbing? Benjamin Dreyer, copy chief at Random House, doesn’t offer a rule, but suggests that people think twice about “verbifying” a noun if it’s easily replaceable by an already existing popular verb. Make sure it’s descriptive but not silly-sounding, he says.
In the end, however, style is subjective. Easy conversion of nouns to verbs has been part of English grammar for centuries; it is one of the processes that make English “English.” Not every coinage (新創的詞語) passes into general use, but as for trying to end verbing altogether, forget it.
1．What can we learn about the verbing of nouns?
A．It hasn’t recently been opposed by many grammarians.
B．It is more commonly accepted by children than adults.
C．It hasn’t been a rare phenomenon in the past century.
D．It is easily replaced by existing verbs in practice
2．What is most leading experts’ attitude towards the practice of the verbing of nouns?
A．Cautious. B．Satisfied.
C．Disappointed. D．Unconcerned.
3．What does the author think of ending the verbing of nouns?
A．Predictable. B．Practicable.
C．Approaching. D．Impossible.
4．What is the best title for the text?
A．Are 40 Percent of all new verbs from nouns？
B．Are Summering and Medaling Annoying?
C．Are You Comfortable about a New Verb?
D．Are There Any Rules for Verbing?
【回答】
1．C
2．A
3．D
4．B
【分析】
本文是一篇議論文。主要內容是英語語言中“名詞動用”的語言現象，據專家估計20%的英語動詞原本是名詞，但大多數專家對“名詞動用”這類名詞的使用持有謹慎態度。也有人反對新動詞，因為他們抗拒自己不熟悉的東西。文章就此展開了討論。
1．推理判斷題。根據第三段的Since 1900, about 40 percent of all new verbs have come from nouns.（自1900年以來，大約40%的新動詞來自名詞）可知，我們知道在過去的一個世紀裏，名詞動用並不是罕見的現象。故選C。
2．推理判斷題。根據第四段的Not all are bad, but all are suspect.（不是所有的都是壞的，但所有的都是可疑的）和The Chicago Manual of Style takes a similar standpoint, advising writers to use verbs with great care.（《芝加哥文體手冊》也持類似觀點，建議作者小心使用動詞）可知，對於名詞動用的用法，大多數的專家持謹慎的態度。故選A。
3．推理判斷題。根據最後一段的Not every coinage (新創的詞語) passes into general use, but as for trying to end verbing altogether, forget it.（並不是所有的造詞都被廣泛使用，但是想要完全停止動詞的使用，還是算了吧）可知，作者認為結束名詞動用用法的使用是不可能的，故選D。
4．主旨大意題。通讀全文以及文章的可知，英語語言中“名詞動用”的語言現象，據專家估計20%的英語動詞原本是名詞，但大多數專家對“名詞動用”這類名詞的使用持有謹慎態度，但是完全杜絕這類詞的使用又是不可能的。也有人反對新動詞，因為他們抗拒自己不熟悉的東西，用正反兩個觀點來説明這類名詞動用的語言現象是否受人歡迎，故引用文章中的名詞動用的兩個詞Summering和Medaling來進行概括，故B選項（Summering和Medaling很討厭嗎？）可以作為本文標題，故選B。
知識點：語言學習
題型：閲讀理解
