题目内容
Love it or hate it, there is no escape from Internet slang(俚语).
This is especially true among young people in some English-speaking countries such as Australia, the UK and the US. These days, if they haven’t caught up with the latest popular Internet slang, chances are that they often feel behind the times.
Take these posts by The Washington Post for example: “David Bowie dying is totes tradge” and “When Cookie hugged Jamal, it made me totes emosh. ”
What on earth do these mean? Well, “totes” is a short form of the adverb “totally”. Likewise, “tradge” means “tragic” and “emosh” means “emotional”.
It seems that, for millennials (those born between the early 1980s and late 1990s), typing in this abbreviated form is not only time-saving but also in.
Many millennial slang words are formed by what linguists(语言学家) call the practice of “totesing” —the systematic abbreviation of words, according to a recent article in The Washington Post.
Some people think that millennial slang affects the English language negatively. However, Melbourne University linguist Rosey Billington doesn’t agree.
“When you are able to use language in a creative way, you show you are linguistically knowledgeable because you know the language rules well enough to use words in a different way.” Billington told News.com.au.
Her view is supported by two linguists, Lauren Spradlin and Taylor Jones, from the City University of New York and the University of Pennsylvania respectively. The two believe that totes-speak is a highly-organized system that can only be used by speakers who have mastered English pronunciation.
The ability to break apart syllables(音节) and mix different sounds together is key. “Totesing is about sounds, and it follows the sometimes-complex sound system of English,” Jones told The Washington Post. “Totesing is considered random by some people, but it’s not true. Instead, it has strict rules to follow. You need to be very fluent in the English language to be able to understand totes-speak. ”
1.How does the author explain the meaning of totesing?
A. With comparisons.
B. Through examples.
C. By listing facts.
D. By analyzing causes and effects.
2.What is Lauren Spradlin’s attitude toward the practice of totesing?
A. Worried. B. Indifferent(漠不关心的).
C. Positive. D. Doubtful.
3.The underlined word “random” in the last paragraph probably means _______.
A. complex B. organized
C. irregular D. meaningless
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A. The reasons why totesing is popular among the young.
B. The ways that the young use in totesing.
C. The popularity of totesing and linguists’ attitude to it.
D. The definition(定义) and practice of totesing.