5.21 考研英语题源外刊模拟试题【难度8.1】重大人生事件影响说话方式 feat. Faker 李相赫 2020 卷发限定

Section II Reading Comprehension 

Part A 

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. 

Text 3

No one expects a teenager and a senior citizen to sound the same, but the question of exactly how age influences our language use is more complex than it might at first seem. While age is often included in many studies of contemporary language change, the reasons that aging affects language are often left underexplored. It’s not the process of biological aging by itself that is likely to cause us to shift our speech patterns, adopt new words, or change our attitudes about languages and dialects. Instead, it's far more likely that the types of behaviors, experiences and activities we are involved in at different points across our lives trigger these shifts, regardless of the exact age at which we experience them.

For instance, major life changes like shifting from high school, where non-conformity and slang is often valued, to the job market, where more standard language usually reigns, is more influential on the speech features you pick up than the fact that you aged from 17 to 19. In this new study, two linguists at the University of Salzburg in Austria – Mason Wirtz and Simon Pickl – were interested in identifying which “Major Life Events” were more impactful on language patterns across the lifespan as well as what types of language changes they were more likely to instigate. In the U.S., standard American English co-exists with regional dialects like Southern English or a Boston accent. Similarly, in Austria, local dialects like Bavarian are widely used in addition to Austrian Standard German. Also as in the U.S., people in Austria often equate standard language use with intelligence. But at the same time, use of standard language can be perceived as arrogant, while local dialects convey feelings of warmth and community.

Previous studies have found that individuals do not remain stable in their usage of local vs. standard language as they age, and no two people change their linguistic behavior in the same way or at the same time. Since tracking people and their language over the course of their entire lives is not a very feasible research approach, the researchers in this case instead asked participants to reflect on how they thought past life expierences affected their own language use and their feelings about their language choices. In other words, they asked participants to think retrospectively about how and which major life changes affected their use of and attitudes towards standard vs. local Austrian German dialects. They first presented participants with a list of major events drawn from different categories such as educational shifts (like transitioning from high school to college), work shifts (first job or changing jobs), and personal shifts (romantic involvement, relocations, having children) and then asked them whether they changed their language use or attitudes.

About eighty percent of respondents indicated that a major life event had impacted them linguistically in the last 10 to 20 years. The overall trend was that people shifted toward more standard language following events related to profession, education, and parenthood. Yet, retirement and personal events like new romances or friendships often moved people toward more dialect usage – regardless of participants’ chronological age. Another finding was that most significant life events resulted in people increasingly accommodating their speech to that found in their new situation. In other words, as we change jobs, change relationships or change locations, we typically have to adapt to more diverse communicative contexts from those we started with, leading to not just new emotional and behavioral responses, but new linguistic ones as well.

Notably, the researchers found that many of their participants’ important life events, such as getting a first job, having children or retiring, actually occured within similar chronological age ranges. This suggests that the frequent correlations between age and language changes found in many studies might be an artifact of when such life events tend to happen rather than the influence of chronological age itself.

31. According to the author, the shifts in an individual's speech patterns are fundamentally driven by ________.
[A] the inevitable biological deterioration associated with the aging process
[B] the transformative experiences and roles assumed at various life stages
[C] the transition from a rebellious adolescence to a disciplined workplace
[D] the innate desire to project an image of warmth in new environments

32. What can be inferred about the Austrian linguistic landscape from Paragraph 2?
[A] The dominance of Standard German has severely marginalized regional dialects.
[B] Linguistic variations are imbued with divergent social and psychological perceptions.
[C] Residents inherently favor standard language to foster a cohesive community.
[D] American English serves as a cultural benchmark for intellectual superiority in Austria.

33. Why did Wirtz and Pickl adopt a retrospective approach in their research?
[A] Continuous lifetime monitoring of subjects presented insurmountable logistical hurdles.
[B] Retrospective reflection offered a more objective measurement of chronological age.
[C] Participants' immediate linguistic reactions to life events were often misleading.
[D] Previous longitudinal studies failed to incorporate regional dialect variations.

34. The study found that individuals are more likely to revert to local dialects when they ________.
[A] navigate the rigorous demands of parenthood and education
[B] transition from educational institutions to professional settings
[C] attempt to assert intellectual authority in diverse contexts
[D] retreat from the workforce or engage in new intimate bonds

35. Which of the following best encapsulates the researchers' ultimate conclusion?
[A] Chronological age remains the primary catalyst for lifelong linguistic evolution.
[B] Individuals inevitably sacrifice linguistic autonomy to conform to societal norms.
[C] The perceived link between age and speech is essentially mediated by life milestones.
[D] The acquisition of standard language guarantees smoother transitions in later life.

附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。

参考答案见以下。

Quick look: BBADC

31.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第一段最后一句“Instead, it's far more likely that the types of behaviors, experiences and activities we are involved in at different points across our lives trigger these shifts...”
分析： 原文明确否定了生物学衰老本身（biological aging by itself）是改变语言模式的原因，而指出是我们在生命不同阶段所参与的“行为、经历和活动（behaviors, experiences and activities）”引发了这些转变。选项 B“在各个生命阶段所承担的变革性经历和角色（transformative experiences and roles assumed at various life stages）”是对原文细节的高度抽象概括，完美契合了这一核心论点。
干扰项：[A] 与衰老相关的不可避免的生物学退化，反向干扰，第一段倒数第二句明确排除了 biological aging 的决定性作用；[C] 从叛逆的青春期向纪律严明的工作场所的过渡，以偏概全，这只是第二段举出的一个例子，不能涵盖所有人生阶段的根本驱动力；[D] 在新环境中展现温暖形象的本能渴望，张冠李戴，展现“温暖”只是第二段末尾提及方言时的一种情感属性，并非驱动整体语言转变的根本原因。

32.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：推理判断题
定位： 第二段最后两句“...people in Austria often equate standard language use with intelligence. But at the same time, use of standard language can be perceived as arrogant, while local dialects convey feelings of warmth and community.”
分析： 原文指出，在奥地利，人们往往将标准语与“智力（intelligence）”画等号，但同时也可能显得“傲慢（arrogant）”；而当地方言则传达出“温暖和社群感（warmth and community）”。这表明，不同形式的语言承载着截然不同的社会评价和心理感受。选项 B“语言变体蕴含着不同的社会和心理认知（divergent social and psychological perceptions）”精准地提炼了这一段落的深层逻辑。
干扰项：[A] 标准德语的主导地位严重边缘化了当地方言，程度篡改，原文明确指出两者“共存（co-exists）”且方言被“广泛使用（widely used）”；[C] 居民天生偏爱标准语言以培养有凝聚力的社群，修饰错位，原文中培养社群感的是“当地方言（local dialects）”，而非标准语言；[D] 美式英语在奥地利被作为智力优越感的文化基准，概念混淆，原文是拿美国的情况“做类比（Also as in the U.S.）”，并非说奥地利人使用美式英语。

33.【正确答案】A
【解析】题型：因果推断题
定位： 第三段第二句“Since tracking people and their language over the course of their entire lives is not a very feasible research approach, the researchers in this case instead asked participants to reflect...”
分析： 题目询问研究者为何采用回顾性（retrospective）的方法。原文用“Since（因为）”给出了直接原因：在人的一生中持续追踪他们及其语言“不是一种非常可行的研究方法（not a very feasible research approach）”。选项 A“对受试者进行连续的终生监测带来了难以克服的后勤障碍（insurmountable logistical hurdles）”是对“not a very feasible research approach”的绝佳高阶同义替换。
干扰项：[B] 回顾性反思提供了一种更客观的生理年龄测量方法，无中生有，研究目的并非测量生理年龄，而是寻找生活事件与语言的联系；[C] 参与者对生活事件的即时语言反应往往具有误导性，凭空捏造，文中未提及即时反应具有误导性；[D] 以前的纵向研究未能纳入地区方言差异，脱离文本，原文并未指责过去的纵向研究缺少方言元素，只是说这种追踪方法本身不具有可行性。

34.【正确答案】D
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位： 第四段第三句“Yet, retirement and personal events like new romances or friendships often moved people toward more dialect usage...”
分析： 原文指出，与职业、教育和为人父母相关的事件会让人们转向更标准的语言；然而（Yet），退休以及新恋情或友谊等个人事件往往会使人们“转向更多的方言使用（moved people toward more dialect usage）”。选项 D“退出劳动力市场或建立新的亲密关系（retreat from the workforce or engage in new intimate bonds）”精准地抽象替换了原文的“retirement（退休）”和“new romances or friendships（新恋情或友谊）”。
干扰项：[A] 应对为人父母和教育的严格要求，张冠李戴，原文明确指出这些事件会导致人们转向“更标准的语言（more standard language）”；[B] 从教育机构过渡到专业工作环境，同上，教育和工作同样促使人们使用标准语言；[C] 试图在各种背景下确立智力权威，张冠李戴，树立智力权威对应的是第二段中的“标准语言”，而非方言。

35.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：主旨推断/结论题
定位： 第五段（最后一段）“This suggests that the frequent correlations between age and language changes found in many studies might be an artifact of when such life events tend to happen rather than the influence of chronological age itself.”
分析： 文章最后得出结论：许多研究中发现的年龄与语言变化之间的频繁相关性，可能只是一种“假象（artifact）”，其本质上是由“这些生活事件往往在何时发生”所介导的，而非生理年龄本身的影响。选项 C“人们所感知的年龄与言语之间的联系，本质上是由人生里程碑所介导的（mediated by life milestones）”完美且深刻地概括了这一学术结论。
干扰项：[A] 生理年龄仍然是终生语言演变的主要催化剂，直接反驳，这正是作者在最后一段极力推翻的旧有观点；[B] 个人不可避免地牺牲语言自主权以顺应社会规范，偏离主旨，虽然文章提到了对新环境的适应，但全文的最终结论是“生活事件（而非年龄）决定语言变化”，并非探讨顺从性的悲观论调；[D] 标准语言的习得保证了晚年生活更平稳的过渡，无中生有，文章从未声称标准语言能保证晚年生活的平稳。

【词汇注释】

【参考译文】

没有人会指望一个青少年和一个老年人说话的腔调完全相同，但年龄究竟是如何影响我们的语言使用的，这个问题比乍看起来要复杂得多。尽管年龄经常被纳入许多当代语言变化的研究中，但衰老影响语言的原因却往往未得到充分的探讨。很可能并不是生物学衰老的过程本身导致我们改变说话模式、采用新词汇，或者改变我们对语言和方言的态度。相反，我们在生命中不同节点所参与的行为、经历和活动的类型，才更有可能引发这些转变，而无论我们经历这些转变的确切年龄是多大。

例如，诸如从高中（那里往往推崇不墨守成规和使用俚语）步入就业市场（那里通常是更标准的语言占据主导）这样的人生重大转变，对你所习得的语言特征的影响，要远大于你从17岁长到19岁这一事实。在这项新研究中，奥地利萨尔茨堡大学的两位语言学家——梅森·维尔茨和西蒙·皮克尔——致力于找出哪些“重大生活事件”对人一生的语言模式影响更大，以及它们更有可能引发何种类型的语言变化。在美国，标准美式英语与南部英语或波士顿口音等地区方言共存。同样，在奥地利，除了奥地利标准德语外，巴伐利亚语等当地方言也被广泛使用。与美国一样，奥地利人经常将使用标准语言与高智商等同起来。但与此同时，使用标准语言可能会被视为傲慢，而当地方言则能传达出温暖和社群感。

先前的研究发现，个体在变老的过程中，其对当地方言与标准语言的使用并不会保持稳定，而且没有哪两个人是以相同的方式或在相同的时间改变他们的语言行为的。由于在人的一生中持续追踪他们及其语言并不是一种非常可行的研究方法，因此本案例中的研究人员转而要求参与者反思：他们认为过去的生活经历是如何影响他们自己的语言使用，以及他们对自己语言选择的感受的。换句话说，他们要求参与者回顾性地思考，哪些重大生活转变如何影响了他们对标准奥地利德语与当地方言的使用及态度。他们首先向参与者展示了一份从不同类别中提取的重大事件清单，如教育转变（如从高中升入大学）、工作转变（第一份工作或换工作）以及个人转变（恋爱、搬家、生孩子），然后询问他们是否改变了语言使用或态度。

大约百分之八十的受访者表示，在过去10到20年中，某项重大生活事件对他们的语言产生了影响。总体趋势是，在经历了与职业、教育和为人父母相关的事件后，人们会转向使用更标准的语言。然而，退休以及诸如新恋情或新友谊之类的个人事件，往往会使人们转向使用更多的方言——而不管参与者的实际生理年龄多大。另一个发现是，大多数重大生活事件导致人们越来越倾向于使自己的语言顺应新环境中的语言。换句话说，当我们换工作、改变人际关系或搬迁时，我们通常必须适应与最初不同的、更多样化的交际语境，这不仅会导致新的情感和行为反应，也会导致新的语言反应。

值得注意的是，研究人员发现，许多参与者的重要生活事件，如获得第一份工作、生孩子或退休，实际上都发生在相似的生理年龄段内。这表明，在许多研究中发现的年龄与语言变化之间的频繁相关性，可能只是“这些生活事件往往在何时发生”所造成的一种假象，而不是生理年龄本身的影响。

附注：