高级英语第二册期末复习资料.doc

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L 3 Pub Talk and the King’s English
About the Title
1) What is King's English?
The King’s English---this term is generally regarded by most people as referring to standard /correct English as to grammar and pronunciation. i.e. good English which everyone should try to imitate. When the ruling monarch (['mɔnək]) is a queen, it is called “the Queen’s English”.
2) How do you think of the title?
The title of this piece is not very aptly chosen. It misleads the readers into thinking that the writer is going to demonstrate some intrinsic (本质的，内在的) or linguistic relationship between pub talk and the kings’ English. Whereas the writer, in reality, is just discussing on what makes good conversation. He feels that bar conversation in the pub has a charm of its own.
A better title would be “The Art of Good Conversation” or “The Charms of Conversation”.

1. Conversation is the most … human activities: More than any other human activities, conversation helps to promote an agreeable, pleasant and informal relationship among people.
2. And it is an activity only of humans: And conversation is an activity which is found only among human beings. (Animals and birds are not capable of conversation.)
3. However intricate …name of conversation: No matter how complicated the manner in which animals make known their intentions to each other, they do not go in for any activity which might rightly be called conversation.
4. The charm of conversation … or just glow: Conversation does not need a special topic to start a conversation. Anything may start a good conversation. And once started no one knows how or where it will end. That’s why conversation is delightful and charming.
(Here a mixed metaphor is used)
*meanders or leaps: (like a stream) flow placidly and aimlessly or flow swiftly and joyously onwards
*sparkles or just glows: (like fire) to burn steadily without flame or to burn brightly throwing off sparks
5. The enemy good conversation… sth to say: Good conversation is generally spoilt by people who think they have a lot of important things to say.
6. Conversation is not for making a point: Conversation is not for persuading others to accept our ideas or point of view.
7. There is no winning in conversation: In a conversation one doesn’t try to prove oneself right and the others wrong. We may argue but we needn’t try to convince others that they are wrong and we are right.
8. In fact, the best conversationalists…to lose: In fact, a person who really enjoys and is skilled at conversation will not argue to win or force others to accept his point of views.
9. They are ready to let it go: They are ready to give up the opportunity to tell one of their best anecdotes because the conversation has moved on to other subjects.
10. Perhaps it is because … of its own: Perhaps it is because I have spent so much of my time in English pubs that I think bar conversation has a special charm.
11. Bar friends are not… other’s lives: People who meet each other for a drink in the bar of a pub are not intimate friends for they are not deeply absorbed in each other’s lives.
12.The fact that their marriages… not a concern: It is not a matter of interest or importance if their marriages are breaking up, or their love affairs have been broken or they are just in a bad temper or grouchy (不高兴的) for the day.
*on the rock: to be in a condition of ruin [metaphor] comparing a marriage to a ship wretched on the rocks
*get up on the wrong side of the bed: (idiomatic expression) be in a bad temper for the day
13. They are like musketeers … and feelings: Bar friends, like the three musketeers in Dumas’ novel, do not probe into each other’s lives nor do they try to find out the inmost thoughts and feelings of their drinking companions.
*musketeers:[allusion] from Dumas the senior
14. the conversation move desultorily… there was a focus: The conversation moved along aimlessly without a focal subject. They talked about the most common things and also made some remarks about the planet Jupiter. Then suddenly a magical transformation took place and there was a focal subject to talk about.
15. The glow of the conversation burst into flames: The conversation became spirited (生机勃勃的) and exciting.
[metaphor] Conversation is compared to a fire.
16. That would settle it: By looking up reference books one could settle the right or wrong of an argument.
17. it could still go ignorantly on：The conversation could go on without anyone knowing who was right or wrong.
18. It was an Australian who…descendants of convicts: When the speaker explained that the definition was given to her by an Australian, her listeners immediately made some sharp replies, saying it was not surprising to hear Australians talk such nonsense because they were descendents of convicts.
(descendents of convicts: implying that the Australians are crude, uneducated people.)
19. We had traveled in five minutes to Australia: Though they were in an English pub, they were soon talking about Australia and the Australians. (在五分钟内，大家便像到澳大利亚游览了一趟。)
20. Of course, there would be…in such a society: Of course, in Australia where the people are descendents of convicts, hence belonging to the low classes, there will be resistance to the use of the King’s English, a language used by the upper class.
21. Look at the language barrier…Norman conquerors: The Norman rulers, kings and nobles, spoke French at court and the conquered Saxons peasants spoke English and refused to learn the French of their masters, hence they had difficulty communicating with each other.
22. The conversation was on wings: [metaphor] The conversation soon became spirited (生机勃勃的) and exciting.
23. Even if our menus…Norman English: In English restaurants, esp. in high-class restaurants, the names of the dishes on the menus are quite often in French. This is done out of snobbery because in western countries people consider French food to be the best. But even if they wrote their menus in English, they would have to use many words derived from French words or words which were first introduced into English by the Norman ruler.
24. What all this tells us… Norman conquest: After the Norman conquest, the Norman kings and nobles used French and tried to impose this language on the conquered English who persisted in using their own language. This resulted in a widening of the class gap in the culture of England.
25. The Saxon peasants who tilled…Norman tables: The poor Saxon peasants could not afford the meat the Norman conquerors ate. Hence the names of meat, derived from French, reflect the class difference at that time.

26. As we listen today … the Saxon peasant：When we listen to the merits and demerits of bilingual education, we should try to think as the Saxon peasants did when two languages were being used in England.
*bilingual education: using two languages in teaching
*into the shoes: to think as if one were another person换位思考 (The original expression is “ to be in another’s shoes”, meaning to be in another’s position.)
eg. I'm glad I'm not in his shoes just now.
27. The New ruling class…his own language: The new ruling class by using French instead of English made it difficult for the English to accept or absorb the culture of the rules.
28. There must have been…Hereward the Wake: The English must have felt greatly humiliated when they were forced to listen to and use a foreign language and to accept a foreign culture. So they took up arms against this cultural humiliation. The leader is Hereward the Wake.
29. “The King’s English…become French: If the term “the King’s English” had existed at that time, its meaning would be different for the king spoke French and not English.
30. And here in America … heirs to it:
The reference of “it” is unclear. Therefore the sentence may either mean
(1) The English we speak and write in America today also shows the French influence of that time. We have inherited this French influence on the English language; or (2) In America today we are facing the same problem that existed in England 900 years ago, the problem of having two languages (English and Spanish in some parts of the U.S.) existing side by side.
31. “Strange Newes…letters”: archaic（[a:'keiik] 古代的）spelling. It should read: “Strange News of the Intercepting Certain Letters.” （截获信函奇闻）
32. “thou clipst the King’s English”: Middle English (中古英语). It should read: “you clip (修剪；简化) the King’s English”.
33. That would be…in general use: That (if the phrase is in Shakespeare) would prove that the term “the King’s English” was in general use at that time.
34. Mistress Quickly: a character (the servant) in Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor which is said to have been written at the request of Queen Elizabeth.
35. “here will be…King’s English”: There will be a great trying (考验) of one’s patience and plentiful misuse of the King’s English.
abusing: It is used in two senses:1)take unfair advantage of (不公平地利用) one’s patience 2)improper or incorrect use of language (the King’s English)
God’s patience: No matter how patient you are, you won’t be able to bear him, because he will even try God’s patience. God is more patient than any human being.
36. it rings true: It sounds true. It gives people the impression that Mistress Quickly ’s statement is true.
37. After five centuries…the conqueror: After 500 years of development, after struggling and contending with the French of the Norman rulers, English succeeded in absorbing the French elements. English survived and became once more the universal language of England.
the conquered conquering the conqueror: This is true in both senses. The Norman rulers and the French language they used were both absorbed by the English.
38. English had come royally into its own: The English language received proper recognition and was used by the king once more.
come into its own: receive what properly belongs to one, esp acclaim or recognition (获得应得的) eg. With the success of the Model T Ford, the automobile industry came into its own. 随着T型福特汽车的成功，汽车工业受到了应得的重视。
39. There was…proud of: The English of this period (Shakespeare’s time), whether called the King’s (or Queen’s) English, was something Englishmen could be proud of.
40. The Elizabethans … of the earth: The Elizabethan writers spread the English language far and wide. [simile] To spread the English language is compared to the blowing of a dandelion clock.
41. “The King’s English”…racial discrimination: The use of “the King’s English” was no longer a form of racial discrimination. The use of English was no longer restricted to a certain race or class. (After the Norman conquest the king and nobles used French and the oppressed Saxon peasants used English. Now, English is used both by the king and common people in England.)

42. The phrase has always…lower classes: The phrase, the King’s English, has always been used disparagingly (disrespectfully) and jokingly by the lower classes. The working people very often make fun of the proper and formal language of the educated people.
43. will lose control…ordinary folk: Dr. Caius may lose control of himself and use the strong language (强硬措辞) that ordinary people would use in such circumstances. (The language of the ordinary people is more vigorous, direct and straightforward. The educated people would speak euphemistically or in a roundabout way.)
44. If the King’s English…should be spoken: The educated people insist that one must use the King’s English, i.e. speak English as it should be spoken. But the working people, members of the so-called lower classes mock and jeer at the people by replying in non-standard English that one should speak “English as it should be spoke.” (The deliberate poor grammar used here reflects the desire of the lower classes to strip (剥去) the language of any pretence, to keep it from being used in snobbish way.)
45. The rebellion against…still there: There still exists in the working people, as in the early Saxon peasants, a spirit of opposition to the cultural authority of the ruling class.
46. There is always…things for us: There exists a kind of danger. That is words will become concrete things. // There is always a great danger that we might forget that words are only symbols and take them for things they are supposed to represent. (For example, the word “dog” is a symbol representing a kind of animal. We mustn’t regard the word “dog” as being the animal itself.) *Carlyle: a Scottish essayist and historian
47. the King’s English, like…representation of reality: The term “the King’s English” or the Anglo-French used by the Norman rulers only represent the language used by the ruling class (or the king). It represents the language used by a certain class.
48. it should not be laid…change from below: People should not be ordered to speak the King’s English and they should be allowed to introduce changes into the language.
*lay down an edict: to issue an order or decree (by an official authority)
*made immune: exempt from or protected against (something harmful)
49. The King’s English is a model…an ultimatum: The King’s English sets up an excellent standard for us to imitate for we can gain a lot of useful knowledge or information by studying it, but people shouldn’t be forced to accept it.
50. I have an unending…with dictionaries: I’ve always had an intense and eager interest in dictionaries. [metaphor] his eager interest in dictionaries compared to having a love affair.
51. So we may return…beginning: The writer realizes he has been digressing from his subject, so he comes back to his central theme -- conversation.
52. Even with the most educated…in conversation: Even the most educated and literate people use non-standard, informal, colloquial English in their conversation. (Even the most educated and literate people do not use standard, formal English all the time in their conversation.)
*the King’s English slips and slides: [metaphor] to slide on a slippery surface, to lose footing, hence to make a mistake, fall into error
53. punctuates his words: insert (插入) punctuation marks in his speech to emphasize what he is saying
54. “the sinister corridor of our age”: In our age people are traveling along a sinister road doing all kinds of evil things. [metaphor] comparing the things we do, and the road we travel in this age to a corridor.
55. We sit up at the… in the image: We become suddenly alert and interested because the phrase is so vivid and the image created by the metaphor in one’s mind is powerful and even frightening. *sit up: (colloquial) to become suddenly alert
56. we would be justified in asking him to leave: If E.M. Forster in an ordinary conversation used this kind of formal literary language we would have every right to ask him to leave our house. (He would be behaving in a very improper manner.)
57. Other people may celebrate… 18th century Paris: Other people m