Questions are based on the following passage. The intimate rela-考呗网题库移动版

单选题Questions are based on the following passage.
The intimate relationship between speakers and their speech has led some scholars to suggest that language determines the view we have of the world around us. Different languages segment natural phenomena differently. We name seven colors in the rainbow: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red in this order or the reverse. Speakers of other languages may see only four, as did Turkish before our system was introduced, or even as few as two, roughly the lighter shades versus the darker. There is nothing in nature to demonstrate how we should chop up the spectrum of the rainbow, which is made up of a scale of various wavelengths. But when we have learned a given language, we distinguish the shades it designates, both in the rainbow and elsewhere. Many students of language assume from such a situation and other similar situations that language determines much of the shapes and patterns we see in the world around us, that it directs our concepts and actions.
Changes in the choice of language, then, might modify behavior. Today gasoline tracks are generally labeled "flammable (易燃的)". The in- prefix was often taken as equivalent, to that of words like"inanimate" and"inaccurate", where in- means "not". It is actually the in- of words like"intense" and, "inflect", where it
strengthens the meaning. The word "inflammable", then, means "highly flammable". The faulty interpretation of language, however, determined the attitudes of many speakers, who thereupon adjusted their behavior in relation to the language. Prudent truck owners have taken notice and changed the warning to "flammable".
Such observations led Whorf to a concern with deeper patterns of language, such as the use of tenses in the languages of Europe. Tense is the linguistic expression of time. English and other European languages generally require their speakers to identify the time of an event, whether present: It's raining; past: It rained; or future: It will rain. By contrast, many languages, such as the Hopi language of New Mexico, lack expression for tense. Nor do such languages objectify (使具体化.time. In Hopi one cannot count day, minutes, years as though they were
objects like stones or bottles. Everyday expressions like "I'11 wait two days" or "Three years went by" are impossible in Hopi.
Comparing such languages Whorf proposed that our use of tense, "our objectified view of time is favorable to historicity ( 史实性 .and to everything connected with the keeping of records. " That is to say, because of the patterns for referring to time in English and other languages, their speakers maintain records and emphasize
bookkeeping, accounting, and the like. Further, we are interested in calendars, clocks, and time graphs as well as in history and archaeology (考古学). In accordance with it one's conceptions of the world is relative to the language
one learns.
While the relativity hypothesis has attracted considerable attention, it has never been experimentally demonstrated to the valid. A large scale attempt to test the outlook of Hopi-speaking children versus English-speaking children turned out to be inconclusive ( 不确定性). It remains a task of future scholars to determine
whether the hypothesis is valid and also whether one should assume a weak or strong position with regard to it. Clearly we are deeply tied to our native language. But whether it regulates our perceptions or our view of the world is still an open question.
According to some language students, what is the consequence of learning a new language?

A．We can learn different expressions of the same thing.
B．It can influence our concepts and actions.
C．It contributes to a creation of new language systems.
D．It becomes possible to distinguish differences between languages.

参考答案B

解析:【参考译文】
讲话者与他们所讲的话之间存在的密切关系使一些学者提出语言决定了我们的世界观。不同语言对于自然现象的划分也是不同的。我们说彩虹依次有以下七种颜色：紫罗兰色、靛蓝色、蓝色、绿色、黄色、橙色及红色。当然，颜色顺序也可以反过来说。说其他语言的人可能就只看见四种颜色，就像我们这种七色体系被引进之前，土耳其人就只看到四种颜色；又或者甚至只能看到两种颜色：大致是浅色和深色。彩虹的光谱是由一系列不同的波长组成的，自然中没有什么事物向我们示范应该如何进行分割。但是，当我们学了某门特定的语言时，我们区分它所指定的色度，不管是在彩虹上还是其他地方。[51]许多学语言的学生从这种情况及其他相似情况中臆断，我们在周边世界所见的大部分形状及图案都是由语言决定的，而这引导了我们的观念及行为。
语言选择的变化可能会改变行为举止。如今，运油车上一般会标示 “flammable”(易燃物)。人们经常认为前缀in-的意思就是在“inanimate”(无生命的)及“inaccurate”(不正确的)这样的词中的意思，表示“不”。事实上，诸如“intense”(强烈的)及“inflect”(弯曲)里的in一则强化了单词的意思。因此，“inflammable”这个词意为“高度易燃物”。[52]然而，对于语言的错误解读决定了很多说话者的态度，他们随即针对语言调整自己的行为。谨慎的运油车主注意到这个问题，把这个警示改成“flammable”(易燃物)。
这些观察结果促使沃尔夫关注语言的深层模式，比如欧洲语言中时态的使用。时态是时间的语言表达形式。英语及其他欧洲语言一般要求说这门语言的人要确定一件事发生的时间，不管它是现在的：正在下雨；过去的：下过雨；或者未来的：天会下雨。相比之下，很多语言，诸如新墨西哥州的霍皮语，却没有时态的表现形式。这样的语言也没有把时间具体化。 [53]在霍皮语里，人无法把天数、分钟数或年份当成石头或瓶子这类的物体计算。像“我会等两天”或“三年过去了”这样的日常表达在霍皮语里是不可能出现的。
对比了这样的语言，沃尔夫提出，我们的时态使用、 “我们具体化的时间观对于确保史实性以及做与记录相关的一切都是有利的。”也就是说，由于英语及其他语言提及时间的模式，说这些语言的人会保管记录并强调记账、会计等等。而且，我们对日历、时钟、时间表、历史及考古学也感兴趣。[54]与此相一致的是，人的世界观是与人所学的语言相关的。
[55]尽管“语言相对论”假说引起了相当大的关注。却从未有实验结果证明它是有根据的。有人针对讲霍皮语的孩子及讲英语的孩子的世界观做了大量的对比尝试，却没有得到确定的结果。确定这个假说是否有效及人们对此立场是否该坚定仍然是未来学者的一个任务。显而易见的一点是，我们与本族语是紧密联系在一起的。但是，语言是否会控制我们的世界观仍然是个有争议的问题。
【答案解析】
定位：根据题干信息词language students定位到第一段最后一句。
解析：该句指出： “许多学语言的学生从这种情况及其他相似情况中臆断，我们在周边世界所见的大部分形状及图案都是由语言决定的，而这引导了我们的观念及行为。”由此可见，学习语言的学生认为语言会影响我们的世界观和行为，故B项符合文意，为正确答案。

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单选题The case of the label "flammable" proves that

A．language can indeed affect our choices of actions
B．prefixes if used incorrectly may lead to disaster
C．some truck drivers are potential experts of languages
D．misunderstanding can happen even among workers

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单选题It can be inferred that the use of tense

A．is completely unnecessary in some local languages
B．converts abstract ideas into objective things
C．helps avoid certain ambiguity in concepts or ideas
D．makes it possible to modernize Hopi language

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单选题Based on Whorf's conclusion, the author thinks that different languages

A．result from different ideas on time and space
B．result in different accounting systems
C．have different approaches to history recording
D．lead to different views towards the world

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