英語閱讀與寫作考試

北京大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院英語系大學(xué)英語教研室

“高級英語一閱讀與寫作”期末考試

2006年12月

姓名學(xué)號班級系別

ReadingTask

Directions:Readthefollowingarticle,andpayspecialattentiontothesentencesor

phrasesunderlined.Youwillheaskedtoexplainthemafterreading.Eachparagraphis

numberedatitsbeginning.

TheLanguageofOppression

HaigA.Bosmajian

1"Sticksandstonesmaybreakmybones,butwordscanneverhurtme.^^Toaccept

thisadageasvalidissheerfolly.“What'sinaname?thatwhichwecallarosebyany

othernamewouldsmellassweet."(1)Theanswer\oJuliet'squestionis“Plenty!”andto

herownresponsetothequestionwecanonlysaythatthisisbynomeansinvariablytrue.

Theimportance,significance,andramificationsofnaminganddefiningpeoplecannotbe

overemphasized.FromGenesisandbeyond,tothepresenttime,thepowerwhichcomes

fromnaminganddefiningpeoplehashadpositiveaswellasnegativeeffectsonentire

populations.

2Themagicofwordsandnameshasalwaysbeenanintegralpartofboth

“primitive”and"civilized“societies.AsMargaretSchlauchhasobserved,"fromtime

immemorialmenhavethoughtthereissomemysteriousessentialconnectionbetweena

thingandthespokennameforit.Youcouldusethenameofyourenemy,notonlyto

designatehimeitherpassionatelyordispassionately,butalsotoexerciseabaleful

influence.^^

3Biblicalpassagesaboundinwhichnamesandnamingareendowedwithgreat

power;fromtheveryoutset,inGenesis,naminganddefiningareattributedasignificant

potency“AndoutofthegroundtheLordGodformedeverybestofthefieldandevery

fowloftheair;andbroughtthemuntoAdamtoseewhathewouldcallthem:and

whatsoeverAdamcalledeverylivingcreature,thatwasthenamethereof.^^Amisdstthe

admonitionsinLeviticusagainsttheft,lying,andfraudisthewarning:"Andyeshallnot

swearmynamefalsely,neithershaltthouprofanethenameofthyGod:IamtheLord.^^

Soimportantisthenamethatitmustnotbeblasphemed;thosewhocurseandblaspheme

shallbestoned“andhethatblasphemedththenameoftheLord,heshallsurelybeputto

death,and(2)allthecongregationshallcertainlystonehim."Soimportantisthename

thatthedenialofitisconsideredaformofpunishment:"Butyearetheythatforsakethe

Lord,thatforgetmyholymountain...Thereforewill(3)Inumberyoutotheswovd,and

yeshallallbowdowntotheslaughter:becausewhenIcalled,yedidnotanswer;whenI

spake,yedidnothear...ThereforethussaiththeLordGod,behold,myservantsshalleat,

butyeshallbehungry...Andyeshallleaveyournameforacurseuntomychosen:for

theLordGodshallslaythee,andcallhisservantsbyanothername.”

4Tobeunnamedistobeunknown,tohavenoidentity.WilliamSaroyanhas

observedthat“thewordnameless,especiallyinpoetryandinmuchprose,signifiesan

alien,unknown,andalmostunwelcomecondition,aswhen,fbrinstance,awriterspeaks

of'anamelesssorrow.'”“HumanbeingsJcontinuesSaroyan,"areforthefactofbeing

namedatall,howevermeaninglessly,liftedoutofanareaofmystery,doubt,or

undesirabilityintoanareainwhichbelongingtoeverybodyelseistakenforgranted,so

thatoneofthefirstquestionsaskedbynewpeople,two-year-oldseven,whethertheyare

speakingtoothernewpeopleortopeoplewhohavebeenaroundforagreatmanyyears,

is'Whatisyourname?^^^

5Toreceiveanameistobeelevatedtothestatusofahumanbeing;withoutaname

one'sidentityisquestionable.Instressingtheimportanceofanameandthesignificance

ofhavingnone,JoyceHertzlerhassaidthat“amongbothprimitivesandmoderns,an

individualhasnodefinition,novalidityfbrhimself,withoutaname.Hisnameishis

badgeofindividuality,themeanswherebyheidentifieshimselfand(4)entersupona

trulysubjectiveexistence.Myownname,forexample,standsforme,aperson.Divesting

meofitreducesmetoameaningless,evenpathological,nonentity.^^

6InhisbookWhatIsinaName?FarhangZabeehremindsusthat“theRoman

slavesoriginallywerewithoutnames.Onlyafterbeingsoldtheytooktheirmaster's

praenomeninthegenitivecasefollowedbythesuffix-'por'(boy)e.g.,"Marcipor/

whichindicatesthatsomemen,solongassoonastheybecameservantssome

designationwascalledforth.^^Tothisdayoneoftheformsofpunishmentmetedoutto

wrongdoerswhoareimprisonedistotakeawaytheirnamesandtogivethemnumbers.In

anincreasinglycomputerizedagepeoplearebecomingmerenumbers-creditcard

numbers,insurancenumbers,bankaccountnumbers,studentnumbers,etcetera.

Identificationofhumanbeingsbynumbersisanegationoftheirhumanityandtheir

existence.

7PhilologistMaxMullerhaspointedoutthatuifweexaminethemostancientword

for'name,'wefinditisnamaninSanskrit,nomeninLatin,namoinGothic.Thisnaman

standsforgnamanandisderivedfromtheroot,gna,toknow,andmeantoriginallythat

bywhichweknowathing."Inthecourseoftheevolutionofhumansociety,R.RMasani

tellsus,theearlyneedfornames“appearstohavebeenfeltalmostsimultaneouslywith

theoriginofspeech...personalityandtherightsandobligationsconnectedwithitwould

notexistwithoutthename.^^InhisclassicworkTheGoldenBoughJamesFrazerdevotes

severalpagestotabooednamesandwordsinancientsocieties,taboosreflectingthe

powerandmagicpeoplesawinnamesandwords.Frazernotes,forexample,that“the

NorthAmericanIndianregardshisname,notasamerelabel,butasadistinctpartofhis

personality,justasmuchasarehiseyesorhisteeth,andbelievesthat(5)injurywill

resultassurelyfromthemalicioushandlingofhisnameasfix)mawoundinflictedonany

partofhisphysicalorganism.”

8Anamecanbeusedasacurse.Anamecanbeblasphemed.Namecallingisso

seriousamatterthatstatutesandcourtdecisionsprohibit"'fightingwords”tobeuttered.

In1942theUnitedStatesSupremeCourtupheldtheconvictionofapersonwhohad

addressedapoliceofficeras"aGoddamnedracketeer^^and“adamnedFascisf.Such

namecalling,suchepithets,saidtheCourt,arenotprotectedspeech.Soimportantisone's

“goodname^^thatthelawprohibitslibel.

9Historyaboundswithinstancesinwhichthemereutteranceofanamewas

prohibited.InancientGreece,accordingtoFrazer,“thenamesofthepriestsandother

highofficialswhohadtodowiththeperformanceoftheEleusinianmysteriesmightnot

beutteredintheirlifetime.Topronouncethemwasalegaloffense.^^JorgenRuudreports

inTaboo:AStudyofMalagasyCustomsandBeliefsthatamongtheAntandroypeoplethe

fatherhasabsoluteauthorityinhishouseholdandthat"childrenareforbiddentomention

thenameoftheirfather.Theymustcallhimfather,daddy...Thechildrenmaynot

mentionhishouseorthepartsofhisbodybytheirordinarynames,butmustuseother

terms,i.e.,euphemisms.^^

10ItwasIagowhosaidinOthello:

Whostealsmypursestealstrash;utissomethingnothing;

'Twasmine,"tishis,andhasbeenslavetothousands;

Buthethatfilchesfrommemygoodname

Robsmeofthatwhichnotenricheshim

Andmakesmepoorindeed.

11Alice,InLewisCarrolPsThroughtheLookingGlass,hadtrepidationsabout

enteringthewoodswherethingswerenameless:"Thismustbethewood,“shesaid

thoughtfullytoherself,“wherethingshavenonames.Iwonderwhafllbecomeofmy

namewhenIgoin?Ishouldn'tliketoloseitatall-becausethey'dhavetogiveme

another,anditwouldalmostbecertaintobeanuglyone.”

12ANazidecreeofAugust17,1938,stipulatedthat"Jewsmayreceiveonlythose

firstnameswhicharelistedinthedirectivesoftheMinistryoftheInteriorconcerningthe

useoffirstnames.^^Further,thedecreeprovided:"IfJewsshouldbearfirstnamesother

thanthosepermitted...theymust...adoptanadditionalname.Formales,thatnameshall

beIsrael,forfemalesSara."AnotherNazidecreeforbadeJewinGermany“toshow

themselvesinpublicwithoutaJew'sstar...[consisting]ofasix-pointedstarofyellow

clothwithblackborders,equivalentinsizetothepalmofthehand.Theinscriptionisto

read'JEW'inblackletters.Itistobesewntotheleftbreastofthegarment,andtobe

wornvisibly.”

13Thepowerwhichcomesfromnamesandnamingisrelateddirectlytothepower

todefineothers-individuals,races,sexes,ethnicgroups.Ouridentities,whoandwhat

weare,howothersseeus,aregreatlyaffectedbythenameswearecalledandthewords

withwhichwearelabeled.Thenames,labelsandphrasesemployedto“identify”a

peoplemayintheenddeterminetheirsurvival.Theword“define“comesfromtheLatin

definire,meaningtolimit.Throughdefinitionwerestrict,wesetboundaries,wename.

14"WhenIuseaword,^^saidHumptyDumptyinThroughtheLookingGlass.64it

meansjustwhatIchooseittomean-neithermorenorless.”"Thequestionis,"said

Alice,"whetheryoucanmakewordsmeansomanydifferentthings.”"Thequestionis,“

saidHumptyDumpty,“whichistobemaster-thafsall.”

15Duringhisdaysasacivilrights-blackpoweractivist,StokelyCarmichael

accuratelyassertedIt[definition]isvery,veryimportantbecauseIbelievethatpeople

whocandefinearemasters.Self-determinationmustincludeself-definition,theability

andrighttonameoneself;themaster-subjectrelationshipisbasedpartlyonthemaster's

powertonameanddefinethesubject.

16Whilenames,words,andlanguagecanbeandareusedtoinspireus,tomotivate

ustohumaneacts,toliberateus,theycanalsobeusedtodehumanizehumanbeingsand

to“justify”theirsuppressionandeventheirextermination.(6)Itisuotagreatstepfrom

thecoercivesuppressionofdissenttotheexterminationofdissenters;norisitalargestep

fromdefiningapeopleasnon-humantotheirsubjugationorannihilation.Oneofthefirst

actsofanoppressoristoredefinethe“enemy“sotheywillbelookeduponascreatures

warrantingseparation,suppression,andeveneradication.

17TheNazisredefinedJewsas"bacilli,”"parasites,"disease,“"demon,"and

“plague.”Inhisessay"TheHollowMiracle,GeorgeSteinerinformsusthatthe

Germans“whopouredquicklimedowntheopeningsofthesewersinWarsawtokillthe

livingandstiflethestinkofthedeadwroteaboutit.Theyspokeofhavingto"liquidate

vermin/...Gradually,wordslosttheiroriginalmeaningandacquirednightmarish

definitionsJude,Pole,Russecametomeantwo-leggedlice,putridverminwhichgood

Aryansmustsquash,asa[Nazi]Partymanualsaid,'likeroachesonadirtywall/'Final

solution/endgiiltigeLosung,cametosignifythedeathofsixmillionhumanbeingsin

gasovens.”

18Thelanguageofwhiteracismhasforcenturiesbeenusedto“keeptheniggerin

hisplace."Oursexistlanguagehasallowedmentodefinewhoandwhatawomanisand

mustbe.Labelslike“traitors,“"saboteurs,“"queers,"and"obscenedegenerates^^were

appliedindiscriminatelytostudentswhoprotestedthewarinVietnamordenounced

injusticesintheUnitedStates.Aresuchpeopletobelistenedto?Consulted?Arguedwith?

Obviouslynot!Onedoesnotlistento,muchlesstalkto,traitorsandoutlaws,sensualists

andqueers.Oneonlypunishesthemor,asSpiroAgnewsuggestedinoneofhis1970

speeches,therearesomedissenterswhoshouldbeseparated“fromoursocietywithno

moreregretthanweshouldfeeloverdiscardingrottenapples.”

19Whatdoesitmeantoseparatepeople?WhentheJapanese-Americanswere

roundedupin1942andsentoffto^relocationcamps"theywere“separated."TheJews

inNaziGermanywere“separated."TheIndiansoftheUnitedStates,theoccupantsofthe

NewWorldbeforeColumbus“discovered"it,havebeensystematically"separated."As

“chattels“andslaves,theblacksintheUnitedStateswere^<separated^^;legallyablack

personwasapieceofproperty,(7)althoughhumanenoughtobecountedasthree?fifths

ofapersonincomputingthenumberofpeoplerepresentedbywhilelegislators.

20Howistheforcibleisolationofhumanbeingsfromsocietyatlargejustified?To

maketheseparationprocessmorepalatabletothepopulace,whatmusttheoppressorfirst

do?Howdoeshemakethepopulaceaccepttheseparationofthe“creatures,“or,ifnot

acceptit,atleastnotprotestit?Considerationofsuchquestionsisnotanacademic

exercisewithoutpracticalimplications.Thereisaclosenexusbetweenlanguageand

self-perception,self-awareness,self-identity,andself-esteem.Justasourthoughtsaffect

ourlanguage,sodoesourlanguageaffectourthoughtsandeventuallyouractionsand

behavior.AsEdwardSapirhasobserved,weareall“atthemercyoftheparticular

languagewhichhasbecomethemediumofexpression“inoursociety.The"realworld,“

hepointsout,"istoalargeextentunconsciouslybuiltuponthelanguagehabitsofthe

group...Weseeandhearandotherwiseexperienceverylargelyaswedobecause(8)the

languagehabitsofourcommunitypredisDosecertainchoicesofinterDretation."George

Orwellhaswritteninhisfamousessay“PoliticsandtheEnglishLanguage^^:“amanmay

taketodrinkbecausehefeelshimselftobeafailure,andthenfailallthemore

completelybecausehedrinks.ItisratherthesamethingthatishappeningtotheEnglish

language.Itbecomesuglyandinaccuratebecauseourthoughtsarefoolish,butthe

slovenlinessofourlanguagemakesiteasierforustohavefoolishthoughts.^^Orwell

maintainsthat“thedecadenceinourlanguageisprobablycurable“andthat“sillywords

andexpressionshaveoftendisappeared,notthroughanyevolutionaryprocessbutowing

totheconsciousactionofaminority."WilmaScottHeide,speakingaspresidentofthe

NationalOrganizationforWomenseveralyearsago,indicatedthatfeministswere

undertakingthisconsciousaction:"Inanysocialmovement,whenchangesareeffected,

thelanguagesoonerorlaterreflectsthechange.Ourapproachisdifferent.Insteadof

passivelynotingthechange,wearechanginglanguagepatternstoactivelyeffectthe

changes,asignificantpartofwhichistheconceptualtoolofthought,ourlanguage.^^

21Thisthenisourtask-toidentifythedecadenceinourlanguage,theinhumane

usesoflanguage,the“sillywordsandexpressions^^whichhavebeenused(9)tojustify

theunjustifiable,tomakepalatabletheunpalatable,tomakereasonabletheunreasonable,

tomakedecenttheindecent.Hitler's"FinalSolution,,appearedreasonableoncetheJews

weresuccessfullylabeledbytheNazisassub-humans,as“parasites,''"vermin,“and

“bacilli."ThesegregationandsuppressionofblacksintheUnitedStateswasjustified

oncetheywereconsidered“chattels"and"inferiors."Thesubjugationofthe''American

Indians^^wasdefensiblesincetheyweredefinedas“barbarians"and"savages."AsPeter

Farbhassaid,"cannibalism,torture,scalping,mutilation,adultery,incest,sodomy,rape,

filth,drunkenness-suchacatalogueofaccusationsagainstapeopleis(10)anindicalion

notsomuchoftheirdepravityasthattheirlandisupforgrabs."Aslongasadultwomen

are“chicks,“"girls,“"dolls,“"babes,"and"ladies,“theirstatusinsocietywillremain

“inferior“'theywillgoonbeingtreatedassubjectsinthesubject-masterrelationshipas

longasthelanguageofthelawplacesthemintothesameclassaschildren,minors,and

theinsane.

22Itismyhopethatanexaminationofthelanguageofoppressionwillresultina

consciouseffortbythereadertohelpcurethisdecadenceinourlanguage,especiallythat

languagewhichleadstodehumanizationofthehumanbeing.Onewayforustocurtail

theuseofthelanguageofoppressionisforthosewhofindthemselvesbeingdefinedinto

subjugationtorebelagainstsuchlinguisticsuppression.Itisn'tstrangethatthosepersons

whoinsistondefiningthemselves,whoinsistonthiselementalprivilegeofself-naming,

self-definition,andself-identityencountervigorousresistance.Predictably,theresistance

usuallycomesfromtheoppressororwould-beoppressorandisaresultofthefactthathe

orshedoesnotwanttorelinquishthepowerwhichcomesfromtheabilitytodefine

others.

SententialUnderstanding

Directions:ExplaininEnglishthefollowingwords,expressionsandsentencesasthey

areusedinthetext.

1.TheanswertoJuliet'squestionis“Plenty!”andtoherownresponsetothequestion

wecanonlysaythatthisisbynomeansinvariablytrue.

Explanation:

2.allthecongregationshallcertainlystonehim.

Explanation:

3.1numberyoutothesword

Explanation:

4.entersuponatrulysubjectiveexistence.

Explanation:

5.injurywillresultassurelyfromthemalicioushandlingofhisnameasfromawound

inflictedonanypartofhisphysicalorganism.

Explanation:

6.Itisnotagreatstepfromthecoercivesuppressionofdissenttotheexterminationof

dissenters.

Explanation:

7.althoughhumanenoughtobecountedasthree-fifthsofapersonincomputingthe

numberofpeoplerepresentedbywhitelegislators.

Explanation:

8.thelanguagehabitsofourcommunitypredisposecertainchoicesofinterpretation.

Explanation:

9.tojustifytheunjustifiable,tomakepalatabletheunpalatable,tomakereasonablethe

unreasonable,tomakedecenttheindecent

Explanation:

10.anindicationnotsomuchoftheirdepravityasthattheirlandisupforgrabs

Explanation:

II.Multiple-ChoiceQuestions

Directions:Choosethemostappropriateanswerandwritethecorrespondingletterin

thebrackets.

1.()2.()3.()4.()5.()

1.Themainpurposeofthisarticleisto

A.demonstratethatlanguagecanbesociallyoppressivewhenitisusedto

defineothers.

B.showthatthestudyoflanguageisimportant,particularlythatoftheEnglish

language.

C.arguethatacloseexaminationofthenamingpowerofalanguagecanbe

rewarding.

2.Theauthorbelievesinthisarticlethattheoppressiveuseoflanguagecan

A.resultinthefurtheruncertaintyoflanguageitself.

B.maketheoppressedpeopleregardtheirnamesaslabels.

C.reducetheoppressedpeopletomerenumbersinadehumanizationprocess.

3.Accordingtotheauthor,thereasonwhypeoplealwaysaskforthenameofnew

peopleisthatthey

A.wanttoelevateotherpeopletothestatusofhumanbeings.

B.arewillingtocreateasenseofidentity,belongingandfriendliness.

C.intendtoquestiontheidentityofotherpeople.

4.Accordingtotheauthor,theoppressors'verbaljustificationoftheiroppressive

act(suchastherelocationofJapanese-AmericansandIndians)couldbe

effectivebecause

A.thepopulaceusuallyacceptsuchactbyauthority.

B.suchactusuallyhaspracticalimplications.

C)thereiscloseinteractionbetweenlanguageandthoughts.

5.Generally,whatwritingstrategydoestheauthorusetodevelophisidea?

A.Comparisonandcontrast.

B.Exemplification.

C.Problem-solving.

III.EssayQuestions

Directions:Choosetwoessayquestionsfromthefivebelowandwriteabriefresponseto

eachone(about120-130wordseach).

1.GiveabriefaccountofhowBosmajianillustrateshisargumentthatalanguagecanbe

oppressivelyusedtonameanddefineothersforthepurposeofdehumanizingand

enslaving.Whatexamplesareusedandhowaretheyarrangedtoachievethe

purpose?

2.Bosmajianholdsthat"Tobeunnamedistobeunknown,tohavenoidentity.^^Healso

quotesfromWilliamSaroyanthat“thewordnameless,especiallyinpoetryandin

muchprose,signifiesanalien,unknown,andalmostunwelcomecondition.(4lh

paragraph)Whatdoyouthinkofthisassertion?Towhatextentdoyouthinkthat

one'snameisrelatedtohis/hersocialidentity?Giveexamples.

3.Writingin1974,Bosmajianseemedtoanticipatethepresentlivingconditionwhere

weChinesefindourselvesininbigcities.Thatis,ournamesaregraduallyreplaced

bynumbers.Hebelievesthatthe''identificationofhumanbeingsbynumbersisa

negationoftheirhumanityandtheirexistence.^^(6lhparagraph)Towhatextenddo

youthinkweareplungedintothislivingconditionandhowcouldwefindawayout,

ifany?

4.FromthevariedexamplesgivenbyBosmajian,pickuponethatyoufeelyouare

mostlyinformedof(Hitler9sgenocideofJews,forinstance).Elaborateonitwith

yourowninformation,understandingan