A
While many of us may have been away somewhere nice last summer, few would say that we’ve “summered”. “Summer” is clearly a noun, more precisely, a verbed noun.
Way back in our childhood, we all learned the difference between a noun and a verb. With such a tidy definition, it was easy to spot the difference. Not so in adulthood, where we are expected to “foot” bills, “chair” committees, and “dialogue” with political opponents. Chances are you didn’t feel uncomfortable about the sight of those verbed nouns.
“The verbing of nouns is as old as the English language, ” says Patricia O’Conner, a former editor at The New York Times Book Review. Experts estimate that 20 percent of all English verbs were originally nouns. And the phenomenon seems to be snowballing. Since 1900, about 40 percent of all new verbs have come from nouns.
Even though conversion (转化) is quite universal, plenty of grammarians object to the practice. William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, in The Elements of Style—the Bible for the use of American English — have this to say, “Many nouns lately have been pressed into service as verbs. Not all are bad, but all are suspect. ” The Chicago Manual of Style takes a similar standpoint, advising writers to use verbs with great care.
“Sometimes people object to a new verb because they resist what is unfamiliar to them, ” says O’Conner. That’s why we’re comfortable“hosting” a party, but we might feel upset by the thought of “medaling” in sports. So are there any rules for verbing? Benjamin Dreyer, copy chief at Random House, doesn’t offer a rule, but suggests that people think twice about “verifying” a noun if it’s easily replaceable by an already existing popular verb. Make sure it’s descriptive but not silly-sounding, he says.
In the end, however, style is subjective. Easy conversion of nouns to verbs has been part of English grammar for centuries; it is one of the processes that make English “English”. Not every coinage (新创的词语) passes into general use, but as for trying to end verbing altogether, forget it.
【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文。主要内容是英语语言中“名词动用”的语言现象。据专家估计20%的英语动词原本是名词, 但大多数专家对“名词动用”这类名词的使用持有谨慎态度。也有人反对新动词, 因为他们抗拒自己不熟悉的东西。文章就此展开了阐述。
1. From this passage we know that the verbing of nouns _________.
A. is accepted by many grammarians
B. is more accepted by children than adults
C. hasn’t been rare in the past century
D. will easily be replaced by existing verbs
【解析】选C。推理判断题。根据第三段的“Since 1900, about 40 percent of all new verbs have come from nouns. ”(自1900年以来, 大约40%的新动词来自名词)可知, 在过去的一个世纪里, 名词动用并不是罕见的现象。故选C。
2. What does the author think of ending the verbing of nouns?
A. Predictable. B. Practicable.
C. Approaching. D. Impossible.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据最后一段“并不是所有的新创词语都被广泛使用, 但是想要完全停止动词的使用, 还是算了吧”可知, 作者认为结束名词动用用法的使用是不可能的, 故选D。
3. What is the best title for the text?
A. Are There Any Rules for Verbing?
B. Are You Comfortable about a New Verb?
C. Are Summering and Medaling Annoying?
D. Are 40 Percent of All New Verbs from Nouns?
【解析】选C。标题归纳题。通读全文可知, 英语语言中有“名词动用”的语言现象, 大多数专家对“名词动用”的使用持谨慎态度, 但是完全杜绝这类词的使用又是不可能的。也有人反对新动词, 因为他们抗拒自己不熟悉的东西。本文用正反两个观点来说明这类名词动用的语言现象是否受人欢迎, 故引用文章中的名词动用的两个词Summering和Medaling来进行概括, 故C选项(Summering和Medaling很讨厌吗? )可以作为本文标题, 故选C。
