2011 年天津商业大学语言学及翻译考研真题 Linguistics (100 marks) I. Studying linguistics, we have come across a lot of technical terms, some of which are listed below. Please write out the most acceptable definitions for each of them. (10 %) a) duality; b) synchronic study; c) langue; d) allophone e) phrase f) surface structure; g) utterance h) register; i) culture j) creole II. Studying linguistics we have been acquainted with many linguists, some of whom are listed below. Write out a phrase that may best represent their contributions to linguistics. a) Noam Chomsky b) M. A. K. Halliday c) John Searle d) Ferdinand de Saussure e) H. P. Grice f) J. Firth g) William Labov h) E. Sapir i) John Austin 

j) Dell Hymes III. Linguistics as a specified discipline has its own technical ways of operation. Try to fill the blanks to demonstrate your technical sense of linguistics. (15%) 1. Please give the corresponding sound segments according to the descriptions: voiced alveolar fricative: a)________ voiced bilabial stop: b)_________ nasal velar: c)__________ 2. In student /t/ is articulated as [th]; in tear, /t/ is articulated as [tl]. [th] and [tl] are therefore d)____________ of e)_________ because they are not distinctive in f)______________. 3. There are 4 maxims carried out when we speck, they are maxim of quantity, maxim of g)_________, maxim of relation, and maxim of h)__________. 4. Please divide the following words into their separate morphemes by placing a “+” between each morpheme and the next:i) industrialization __________; j) impossibility__________. 5. From the perspective of lexical sense relation, kid and offspring are in the relation of k)___________; night and knight are in the relation of l)_________________. 6. In syntax, it is believed that word-level categories are divided into two kinds, they are m)___________ and n)__________. 7. In morphology, the ways words are formed are called o)____________, which determine how morphemes combine to form words. IV. To be a student of linguistics, it is important to develop a sense of critical thinking. Please answer the following questions to demonstrate your critical potentials. (35%) 1. What are the design features of human language according to American linguist Charles Hockett? (7%) 2. Try to use tree diagram to illustrate the meaning of Happy dogs and cats live on the farm. (5%) 

3. Why is the notion of context essential to the pragmatic study of language? (8%) 4. The English language has not stood still during the last 50 years. It has undergone many changes. What are the main changes that have come about in normal English usage? Please explain your ideas with examples. (7%) 5. Please exhibit at least 4 pieces of linguistic evidence of eastern and western cultural differences. (8 %) V. Write two short essays on the following topics to demonstrate your potential of doing linguistics. (30%) 1. We sometimes encounter many terms related with language, such as ‘language’, ‘discourse’, ‘text’. How do you understand these terms? (15%) 2. What are F. de Saussure’s contributions to modern linguistics? (15%) VI Translate the following passage into Chinese. Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the Website you've visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits. In fact, it's likely some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission?It might be a spouse, a girl friend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen—the 21st century equivalent of being caught naked. Psychologists tell us that boundaries are healthy, that it's important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread crumbs（碎屑）you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, 

where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret. The key question is：Does that matter？ For many Americans, the answer apparently is "no." When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found an overwhelming pessimism about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is "slipping away, and that bothers me." But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny fraction of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few peopl e turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站❑) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobilemovements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal that people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon （优惠券） VII.Translate the folowing passage into English.(25%) 一个小小的古镇，一条小小的河，一座小小的石桥，一株 500 年古樟。石桥亦是长寿的， 建于 200 年前还是 300 年前，不清楚了。反正它就造在古樟边，两条树根，犹如两根钢梁， 一直架到河对岸。这桥就变成了名副其实的"石木结构"，而究竟是先有桥，树根搭过了岸， 还是树根先伸展到对岸，石桥顺势而建，也不清楚了。 记忆中清楚的是，上世纪 60 年代，曾经有人要砍了树去劈木柴烧火炼钢的，因为它与桥连 成了一体，怕树砍了，桥也塌了，就逃过了一劫。
上世纪 80 年代，有人建古桥博物馆， 出高价想把石桥移走。动手时才发现，所有石头的缝隙都爬满了粗粗细细的树根，离开大树， 这座桥就变成了一堆毫无意义的石头，根本无法复原。就又逃过了一劫。 

小镇位于经济发达的沿海地带，上世纪 9 年代，这一带的古镇，随着人们钱袋鼓胀，都旧貌 换新颜。小镇也想大动干戈的，但心疼这祖宗传下来的桥和树，更怕轻举妄动坏了风水，想 来想去定不好方案，其间还拒绝了一些投资者，一拖再拖，更赶上了古民居修复保护的黄金 时代。