改错练习

Language is fantastically complex. Its built-in means of combining and recombining (nesting) of its various levels have suggested to many leading linguists that language is theoretically infinite though not practical so in everyday usage.(1)____(2)____ It almost sounds too complex to be able to detect any significant leveling out of language any more than one could detect by observation that the sun is burning itself out.
As far as I am conscious no linguist seriously purports that the restructuring process of language overrides the streamlining process resulted in a qualitative positive development of language.(3)____(4)____ If we decide that language did originally develop, possibly evolving animal communication, we can only do so by assuming evolution to be a universally valid principle This type of a priori reasoning was the basic fallacy of pre-Nineteenth Century "speculative grammar" which was pre-scientific in modern sense of the word.(5)____(6)____(7)____
However, the observable data neither indicate that such a period of pre-historic development even existed, nor they suggest a cause of the subsequent state of equilibrium or process of simplification that would have to have come into operation at some time after such a pre-historic development.(8)____(9)____ Noam Chomsky, one of the most prominent linguists of the twentieth century, has indicated that human language and animal communication are not even comparative entities, they are so different.(10)____

答案解析

文章大意
本文讨论的是语言的起源。语言是极其复杂的，语言各层次嵌入式的组合和重组表明语言理论上是无限的，虽然实际日常使用中并不是如此。没有一个语言学家声称语言的重构过程优先于精简过程，从而导致语言质的发展。如果我们认为语言是由动物语言进化而来，那就只能假定进化是一个普遍有效的原则，此类推理正是19世纪前思辩语法的基本谬误。而观察得到的数据既未表明前历史发展时期的存在，也没有为此后的平衡状态或简化过程提供原因。
答案详解
1．have→has语法错误。此句的主语核心词为means，表示“方式，手段”，是单数名词，根据主谓一致原则，谓语动词也应该用单数形式，故把have改为has。
2．practical→practically词汇错误。此处和前面的theoretically（理论上）相对，用来修饰so，故应该用副词形式practically，表示“实际上”。
3．conscious→aware词汇错误。as far as I am aware为固定短语，表示“就我所知”，相当于as far as I know。aware在此处意为“知道的，明白的”，侧重“感官所意识到的外界事物”，而conscious侧重“小理感知”，故应该把conscious改为aware。注意as far as I am concerned表示“就我而言”，表达的是自己的观点，而下文是关于语言学家的观点，故不宜改为concerned。
4．resulted→resulting语法错误。此处分词短语作状语，表示结果，与句子前面的部分是主动关系，相当于which results in，应该用现在分词形式，故改为resulting。
5．evolving∧→from词汇错误。evolve作“进化”解时，常为不及物动词，此处需加上介词from与后面的animal communication搭配，表示“由动物语言进化而来”，符合上下文语义。
6．by→by，词汇错误。此句中分词短语assuming...to be...（假定，认为）作状语，表示条件，相当于if we assume...，by在此处是多余的，故应该删掉。
7．∧modern→the词汇错误。sense在此处作名词，意为“意义，意思”，是可数名词，此处特指evolution这个词的现代意义，故前面应该加上定冠词the。
8．However→Furthermore/Moreover语篇错误。由上下文语义判断．此段与前段之间应该是递进关系，不是转折关系。前段指出“人类语言是由动物语言进化而来”的观点是一种谬误：本段接着指出观察得到的数据也不能论证人类语言起源于动物语言这一观点，是对前段更进一步的解释说明，故应改为表示递进关系的副词Furthermore或Moreover。
9．∧they→do语法错误。此句用了neither...nor...的结构，表示“既不……也不……”，nor是表示否定意义的连词，放在句首时主谓语应该部分倒装，故此处应该在主语they前面加上助动词do。
10. comparative→comparable词汇错误。comparative意为“比较的，相对的”，comparable表示“可比较的，比得上的”，此句要表达的意思是“人类语言和动物语言甚至都不是可以比较的实体，二者之间的差别太大了。”故应该用comparabl