2010年英语专八真题听力原文

2010年英语专八真题听力原文

　　Section A Mini-lecture 听力原文

　　Paralinguistic features of languages

　　Good morning, everyone. Today we'll continue ourdiscussion on describing language. Last week weexamined such features of language as grammar, vocabulary, the sounds of language, etc. Inthis lecture, we'll look at another important aspect of language. Perhaps some of you maywonder what is this important aspect of language. Let me tell you.It refers to features ofcommunication that takes place without the use of grammar and vocabulary.They are called‘paralinguistic features of language'.These features fall into two broad categories:those thatinvolve voice and those that involve the body.

　　Now, the first category, is what we call vocal paralinguistic features.Vocal features are actuallytones of voice. While they are, perhaps, not central to meaning in communication in the sameway as grammar or vocabulary, they may, nevertheless, convey attitude or intention in someway. Let me give you some examples. The first iswhispering, which indicatesthe needs forsecrecy. The second isbreathiness. This is to showdeep emotion. The third ishuskiness, whichis to showunimportants. The fourth isnasality. This is to indicate anxiety. The last isextra lip-rounding, which expressesgreater intimacy, expecially with babies, for example. So we can seethat there are a number of ways of altering our tone of voice. And when we do thisconsciously, we do it to create different effects in communication.

　　Now, let's come tothe second category, physical paralinguistic features, which involves thebody. In addition to convey meanings with tone of voice, we can also express our intentionsthrough the ways in which we use our bodies. You may ask: what are the ways, then? Let mesight some brief examples. The expression on our face, the gestures we make and evenproximity or way we sit, are some of the ways we send powerful messages. About how we feel,or what we mean. Let me explain some of these in more detail. First,facial expression. Facialexpression is a powerful conveyer of meaning. We all knowsmilingis an almost universal signalofpleasure or welcome. But there are other facial expressions that may not be so common. Forinstance,raising eye-brows- suggest that you aresurprised or interested in something. Otherfacial actions, such asbiting your lip, which indicates that you aredeep in thinking, orareuncertainabout something;compressing the lips, which show that you aremaking decisions;and a visibleclenching of the teeth, to show that you areangry, are all powerful conveyers ofmeaning, too. The second in this category is gesture. You see, we usegestureto indicate awide range of meanings. Though I have to emphasize that the actual gestures we use may bespecific to particular cultures. That is to say different cultures have their own favoritegestures in conveying meaning. Here, a few examples may show you how powerful gestures canbe. In British English behavior,shrugging shouldersmay indicate an attitude of ‘I don't care', or‘I don't know'.Crossing your armsmay indicaterelaxation. But it can also powerfully show youarebored.Wavingcan meanwelcome and farewell. Whilescratching your headmay indicate thatyou areat a loss. In other cultures,placing your hand upon your heartis to indicate that youaretelling the truth.Pointing your finger at your nosemeansit's a secret. That's why we saythatgestures are culture bound. The third isproximity, posture and echoing. Proximityreferstothe physical distance between speakers.This can indicate a number of things and can also beused to consciously send messages about intent.Closeness, for example, indicatesintimacyor threatto many speakers. But distance may showformality, orlack of interest. Once again, I'dlike to say,proximity is also both a matter of personal style, and is often culture bound. So,what may seem normal to a speaker from one culture may appear unnecessarily close or distantto a speaker from another. And standing close to someone may be quite appropriate in somesituations such as an informal party, but completely out of place in other situations, such as ameeting with a superior. Next, posture.Posture means the way in which someone holds his orher body,especially the back, shoulders and head, when standing, walking or sitting. A fewexamples.Hunched shoulders and a hanging headgive a powerful indication of whether theperson ishappy or not.A lowered headwhen speaking to a superior,with or without eye contactcan convey the appropriate relationshipin some cultures. On the other hand,direct level eyecontact, changes the nature of interaction, and can been seen as eitheropen or challenging.Last, echoing. Now, what is echoing? Let me start with an example. Some of you may havenoticed this phenomenon in your experience. When two people are keen to agree each other,they would likely, though unconsciously adopt the same posture, as if an imitation of eachother. They sit or stand in the same manor. When used in this way,echoing appears tocomplement the verbal communication. Of course, when such imitation is carried outconsciously, it often indicates that someone is marking at another speaker.

　　Ok, in today's lecture,we looked at some paralinguistic features, such as tone of voice, gestureand posture. These features, together with linguistic features of language, like grammar, orvocabulary, are all part of the way we communicate with each other in face to face encounters.In our next lecture, we'll watch some video material, and see how people actually useparalinguistic means in communication to express their intention or desire or mood.

　　笔记：

　　I. Vocal Paralinguistic Features

　　1. whispering- the needs for secrecy

　　2. breathiness- deep emotion

　　3. huskiness- unimportants

　　4. nasality- anxiety

　　5. extra lip-rounding- greater intimacy

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