Just as the English language has changed quickly in the previous century, so has the use of it.
After the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was founded in 1927, the particular style of speech of the BBC announcers was recognized as standard English or Received Pronunciation (RP) English. Now, most people still consider that the pronunciation and delivery of BBC announcers is the clearest and most understandable spoken English.
English has had a strong relationship with classes and social positions. However, since the Second World War there has been a clear change of attitude towards speech snobbery(自我优越感), and marks of class distinction(区别) such as styles of speech have been gradually diminishing, especially in the younger generation.
By the end of the 1960s, it had become clear that it was not necessary to speak standard English or even correct grammar to become popular, successful and rich. The fashionable speech of the day was no longer the special right of a special class but rather a defiant(反抗的) expression of classlessness.
The greatest single influence of the shaping of the English language in modern times is the American English. Over the last 25 years the English used by many people, particularly by those in the media, advertising and show business, has become more and more mid-Atlantic in style, delivery and accent.
In the 1970s, fashion favored careless pronunciation and a language full of jargon, slang and “in” words, a great quantity of which couldn’t be understood by the outside world. What is considered modern and fashionable in Britain today is often not the kind of English taught in schools and colleges.
小题1:Which of the following is NOT true?
A．The use of the English language has not changed much in the previous century.
B．BBC announcers speak standard English.
C．English has no relationship with classes and social positions now.
D．Young people don’t like class distinction.小题2:What does the author imply by saying “there has been a clear change of attitude towards speech snobbery”?
A．Everyone speaks English as the BBC announcers do.
B．There has been a great change of attitudes towards the status of English.
C．Most people don’t believe the way of speaking by BBC announcers is much better than that of other people.
D．It is necessary to speak standard English with correct grammar.小题3:According to the author, there was a trend in the US for young people ________.
A．to speak standard English
B．to speak English with grammatical mistakes
C．to speak old English
D．to speak English without class distinction小题4:It can be concluded from the passage that________.
A．standard English is taught only in schools and colleges
B．there has been a great change in the English language in the previous century
C．the English language has not been influenced by the American English in the last 25 years
D．young people are defiant because they refuse to speak standard English
