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Sign has become a scientific hot button. Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique—a speech of the hand. They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy: whether language, complete with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a learned behavior. The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D. C., the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people.
When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing. But Stokoe noticed something odd: among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher.
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English. At the time, American Sign Language (ASL) was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English (混杂英语). But Stokoe believed the “hand talk” his students used looked richer. He wondered: Might deaf people actually have a genuine language? And could that language be unlike any other on Earth? It was 1955, when even deaf people dismissed their signing as “substandard”. Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy (异端邪说).
It is 37 years later. Stokoe—now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture—is having lunch at a cafe near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution. For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation (调节) of sound. But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space. “What I said,” Stokoe explains, “is that language is not mouth stuff—it’s brain stuff.”
21. The study of sign language is thought to be ________.
A) a new way to look at the learning of language
B) a challenge to traditional views on the nature of language
C) an approach to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language
D) an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language
22. The present growing interest in sign language was stimulated by ________.
A) a famous scholar in the study of the human brain
B) a leading specialist in the study of liberal arts
C) an English teacher in a university for the deaf
D) some senior experts in American Sign Language
23. According to Stokoe, sign language is ________.
A) a Substandard language
B) a genuine language
C) an artificial language
D) an international language
24. Most educators objected to Stokoe’s idea because they thought ________.
A) sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people
B) sign language was too artificial to be widely accepted
C) a language should be easy to use and understand
D) a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds
25. Stokoe’s argument is based on his belief that ________.
A) sign language is as efficient as any other language
B) sign language is derived from natural language
C) language is a system of meaningful codes
D) language is a product of the brain
这篇文章内容核心是手语，以一位手语专家的研究历程为线索，粗略介绍了手语研究的新观点：手语是独立于语音的另一种语言。材料一共四段。开头介绍了手语研究的进展以及意义，“进展”指过去的20年研究人员发现了手语的独特性（realized that signed languages are unique），意义是指手语的这一发现为研究大脑如何应用与理解语言开辟了新的方向（a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language），同时为一个古老的科学论题带来了新的希望：语言到底是天生的还是后天习得的（whether language……is something that we are born With, or whether it is a learned behavior）。之后，文章简单介绍了这一研究发现的先驱人物，以后的内容全部都是围绕这位先驱的研究经历展开的。
第一段末介绍了这位先驱人物Stokoe的基本信息：华盛顿特区一所聋人大学的教师。第二段便从他的教学经历讲起，谈到他被安排教授手语后发现了一个奇怪的现象：学生们的动作与教他的老师所讲的并不一样（students signed differently from his classroom teacher）。这就是新发现的契机。
接下来，文章先是简单说明一下当时的手语教育状况，以和他的新发现作为对比。首先是承接上文所说，讲他从老师那里学来的手语的基本特点：每个手势代表英语里的一个单词（each movement of the hands representing a word in English），这可以理解为手语实际上是语言的附庸。其次是人们普遍认为美国手语不过是一种混杂英语（thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English），这里也在强调手语从属于语言。之后是Stokoe自己的发现与思考：他认为学生们使用的手语意义比人们的普遍观点要更为丰富（the “hand talk” his students used looked richer），同时受到了启发：或许聋人确实拥有一种真正的语言。
上一段最末一句说Stokoe的观点在当时过于超前，被视为学术异端，最后一段时空一下跳转到了37年以后，此时的Stokoe忙于写作、编辑、出品美国手语方面的书籍报刊和视频（writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials），同时饶有兴致地为人讲述这场“革命”是如何开始的。从这里的信息可以看出，Stokoe的观点的地位已经是今非昔比了，否则如此多的出版物不会有市场需求，其称呼也不会从“异端”变为“革命”。不过，反对观点依然十分强大，这一派认为语言必须以语音为基础，是声音的变体（language must be based on speech, the modulation of sound），而Stokoe则反驳手语恰恰以手的动作为基础（sign language is based on the movement of hands），讥讽道“语言不是嘴巴层次的东西，而是大脑层次的东西（brain stuff）。
21. B
题目问符号语言被认为是一种什么。
A，一种认识语言习得的新方式。
B，对语言本质传统观点的挑战。
C，简化语言语法结构的方法。
D，明晰对语言起源的误解的尝试。
本题旨在考查第一段的第三句话：They offer a new way to……or whether it is a learned behavior——这是一个长句，大意是说手语提供了一种新方式来探索大脑生成和理解语言的方式，同时也为一个古老的问题提供了新的思维，这个古老的问题是“语言是与生俱来的还是后天习得的”。
A侧重于语言的学习，指如何掌握、运用语言，但原文中有关大脑如何生成语言这些内容显然比语言学习要深奥得多。所以A的说法不够全面。
B有一定道理，因为原文中的大脑生成和理解语言、语言是与生俱来还是后天习得等等问题应该可以看作是语言的本质问题（nature），而原文中使用了a new way（新方式）这个词组，可以认为是对旧有方式的挑战。
C的说法属于无中生有，因为原文出现了complete with grammar这个词组，所以生造出一个和语法相关的选项来迷惑考生的视线。
D把传统观点视为“误解”显得太过武断，从原句的表达来看，手语仅仅是提供了一种新的研究方式，至于新旧观点哪一种是误解并没有做出论断。
22. C
题目问当前对符号语言日渐高涨的兴趣是由谁引发的。
A，一位研究人类大脑的著名学者。
B，一位研究文科的杰出专家。
C，一位聋人大学的英语教师。
D，美国符号语言的几位高级专家。
这道题考查的是第一段的最后一句话。The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher，这里的has roots in词组是指“根源于”，应该和题目里的stimulated意思相近。可以看到这位先驱者是一位教师（one rebel teacher），其所在的学校是专门教育聋人的文科大学（liberal arts university for deaf people）。这位老师是教授什么科目的呢？下一段开头给出了答案：When Bill Stokoe went to Gallaudet to teach English——科目是英语。这样答案应该是C。
23. B
题目问在Stokoe看来，手语是一种……
A，一种不合标准的语言。
B，一种真正的语言。
C，一种人工语言。
D，一种国际语言。
倒数第二段中有一句话与本题相关：He wondered: Might deaf people actually have a genuine language?这里虽然使用了疑问句的形式，但实际上应该是Stokoe的观点所在，根据是该段最后一句话Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy——如果Stokoe没有形成“手语是一种真正的语言”的观点，文章又为何会说他的思想被视为异端邪说呢？
可以判断B的说法是正确的。A的说法在文中也有出现，不过原文意思是substandard是聋人自己的想法，而非Stokoe的观点。
24. D
题目问大多数教育家反对Stokoe的观点，是因为他们认为……
A，手语即便是在聋人当中也没有得到广泛使用。
B，手语因为人工色彩太强而不能被广泛接受。
C，一种语言应该易于使用和理解。
D，语言只能存在于语音的形式下。
题目里的关键信息是educators，这个单词出现在材料的最后一段中间部分：For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese. They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation of sound.
第一句意思是教育家们反对手语和英语、法语、日语一样属于自然语言，第二句指明了教育家们自己的观点：语言必须基于语言。Be based on是“以……为基础”的意思，意义等同于D所说的only exist，这样D的说法就和原文一致，是正确答案。
A、B、C三个说法在文中都找不到着落点，可以很容易地排除。
25. D
题目问Stokoe的论点基于他的什么想法。
A，手语和其他语言的效用一样。
B，手语由自然语言发展而来。
C，语言是一种有意义的符号系统。
D，语言是大脑的产物。
首先需要明确这里所问的Stokoe的论点是什么，落脚点在文章的什么地方。鉴于本题是最后一题，考查材料最后部分的可能性很大，所以应该先观察文末。
可以发现But sign language is based on the movement of hands, the modulation of space这一句。该句意思上和前面教育家们的观点恰好相反，应该就是Stokoe的论点。那么他的这一论点基于何处，答案也应该在最后一段寻找。后文引用了Stokoe的原话，提到language is not mouth stuff—it’s brain stuff，大体意思是语言不是嘴上的东西，而是脑子的东西，极有可能就是答案所在。观察四个选项，D的说法和it’s brain stuff意义基本一致，可以判断D就是正确答案。再观察其他三个选项，在文章关于Stokoe的叙述中都没有提到过，可以排除。
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