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 question 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 complex ideas. He is not arguing, as many do, that we can no longer think straight because we do not talk proper.

    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.  (391 words)

    Notes: aspire to (after) 渴望成就…。degradation n. 退化；堕落，贬低，降低。permissive 放任的。specialty (=speciality)专业。no more … than …与…一样都不…。cult n. 膜拜。authentic adj. 真实的。spell vt. 招致；意味着。elevated adj. 高架的；有修养的。put pen to paper（开始）写信。performative 有表演力的。genre 种类；风格，体裁。triumph over胜过。spontaneity 自发性。craft工艺性。 entertaining adj. 令人感兴趣的。array n. 系列；大量。subtitle 副标题。dialect 方言。think straight 有条理地思维。talk proper 说话规范。chunk n. 相当数量。

1. According to McWhorter, the decline of formal English

  [A] is inevitable in radical education reforms.             [B] is but all too natural in language development.
  [C] has caused the controversy over the counter-culture.     [D] brought about changes in public attitudes in the 1960s.

2. The word "talking" (Line 4, Paragraph 3) denotes

  [A] modesty.            [B] personality.              [C] liveliness.           [D] informality.

3. To which of the following statements would McWhorter most likely agree?

  [A] Logical thinking is not necessarily related to the way we talk.
  [B] 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.

4. The description of Russians' love of memorizing poetry shows the author's

  [A] interest in their language.                          [B] appreciation of their efforts.