题目内容

Even before Alan Greenspan's admission that America's red-hot economy is cooling, lots of working folks had already seen signs of the slowdown themselves. From car dealerships to gap out- lets, sales have been lagging for months as shoppers temper their spending'. For retailers, who last year took in 24 percent of their revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the cautious approach is coming at a crucial time. Already, experts say, holiday sales are off 7 percent from last year's pace. But don't sound any alarms just yet. Consumers seem only mildly concerned, not panicked, and many say they remain optimistic about the economy's long-term prospects even as they do some modest belt-tightening.
Consumers say they're not in despair because, despite the dreadful headlines, their own for- tunes still feel pretty good. Home prices are holding steady in most regions. In Manhattan, "there's a new gold rush happening in the $4 million to $10 million range, predominantly fed by Wall Street bonuses," says broker Barbara Corcoran. to San Francisco, prices are still rising even as frenzied overbidding quiets. "Instead of 20 to 30 Offers, now maybe you only get two or three," says John Tealdi, a Bay Area real-estate broker. And most folks still feel pretty comfortable about their ability to find and keep a job.
Many folks see silver linings to this slowdown. Potential home buyers would cheer for lower interest rates. Employers wouldn't mind a little fewer bubbles in the job market. Many consumers seem to have been influenced by stock-market swings, which investors now view as a necessary ingredient to a sustained boom. Diners might see an upside, too. Getting a table at Manhattan's hot new Alain Ducasse restaurant used to be impossible. Not anymore. For that, Greenspan & Co. may still be worth toasting.
By "Ellen Speroisn't biting her nails just yet" Line 1-2, Paragraph 1 ), the author means

A. Spero can hardly maintain her business
B. Spero is too much engaged in her work
C. Spero has grown out of her bad habit
D. Spero is not in a desperate situation

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How de the public feel about the current economic situation?

A. Confused.
B. Optimistic.
Carefree.
D. Panicked.

To which of the following statements is the author likely to agree?

A new boom, on the horizon.
B. Tighten the belt, the single remedy.
Caution all right, panic not.
D. The more ventures, the more chances.

Blaming the permissive 1960s is nothing new, but this is not yet another criticism against the decline in education. Mr. McWhorter's academic specialty is language history and change, and he sees the gradual disappearance of "whom", for example, to be natural and no more regreuable than the loss of the case-endings of Old English.
But the cult of the authentic and the personal, "doing our own thing", has spelt the death of formal speech, writing, poetry and music. While even the modestly educated sought an elevated tone when they put pen to paper before the 1960s, even the most well regarded writing since then has sought to capture spoken English on the page. Equally, in poetry, the highly personal, per- formative genre is the only form. that could claim real liveliness. In both oral and written English, talking is triumphing over speaking, spontaneity over craft.
Illustrated with an entertaining array of examples from both high and low culture, the trend that Mr. McWhorter documents is unmistakable. But it is less clear, to take the quietist of his subtitle, Why We Should, Like, Care. As a linguist, he acknowledges that all varieties of human language, including non-standard ones like Black English, can be powerfully expressive—there exists no language or dialect in the world that cannot convey comp]ex ideas, lie is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk properly.
Russians have a deep love for their own language and carry large chunks of memorized poetry in their heads, while Italian politicians tend to elaborate speech that would seem old-fashioned to most English-speakers. Mr. McWhorter acknowledges that formal language is not strictly necessary, and proposes no radical education reforms—he is really grieving over the loss of something beautiful more than useful. We now take our English "on paper plates instead of china". A shame, perhaps, but probably an inevitable one.
To which of the following statements would McWhorter most likely agree?

A. Logical thinking is not necessarily related lo the way we talk.
Black English can be more expressive than standard English.
C. Non-standard varieties of human language are just as entertaining.
D. Of all the varieties, standard English can best convey complex ideas.

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Dark blue means tradition.
B. Dark blue represents night.
C. Dark blue brings tragedy.
Dark blue indicates quietness.

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