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  3. Some 60 years ago, George Orwell wrote an allegorical novel, called Nineteen Eighty-Four, to describe life in a futuristic Brita

Some 60 years ago, George Orwell wrote an allegorical novel, called Nineteen Eighty-Four, to describe life in a futuristic Brita

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问题     Some 60 years ago, George Orwell wrote an allegorical novel, called Nineteen Eighty-Four, to describe life in a futuristic Britain under a one-party police-state presided over by an all-powerful figure known as Big Brother.
    One of the features of the nasty world described by Orwell was its systematic misuse of language, which went by the name of "Newspeak". By re-defining words and endlessly repeating them, the Ministry of Truth through the Thought Police was able to control what people thought, and through that, their actions. Language was instrumental in destroying the culture.
    The same technique is being used by different people today, with similar effects. In all areas of public administration, the words "spouse", "husband" and "wife" have been replaced by the word "partner", although the words are subtly but substantially different in meaning, and convey different realities.
    In some schools and university departments, feminist ideologues have dictated that the personal pronoun "he" must not be used, and is replaced by the word "they", which means something different.
    The word "homophobic", which just a few years ago was used to describe a person who supported vigilante action against homosexuals, is now being used to describe anyone who defends the universal definition of marriage.
    Although the transformation of language is seen most obviously around social issues, it is also being used systematically to shape political debate.
    So, we are told that the federal government is introducing a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which is newspeak for its new carbon tax. The fact is that the new tax is not remotely concerned with "carbon pollution" at all, but rather with emissions of the gas C02 which is not a pollutant by any credible definition, but rather, an essential building block in every cell in every living plant and creature.
    By the government’s own admission, it will not lead to any reduction in C02 levels, either in Australia or globally.
    And the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is being introduced in Australia at the same time the government is expanding exports of coal, which is virtually 100 percent carbon, to countries such as China.
    We live in a society in which the ordinary meaning of words is being systematically manipulated by spin-doctors and ideologues, as a means of changing the way people think, and, more fundamentally, the way they act. Language is an important part of the culture wars.
    For those of us who see this as a challenge to the foundations of society, it is important that we identify the problem and expose it.
    It is clearly preferable to avoid using the new debased, transformed language of the politically-correct left, although this can be difficult in situations where constant usage has already normalised it, as has happened with the term "same-sex marriage". The alternative phrase, "same-sex unions", has a different meaning.
    When such terms are used, they should be identified for what they are: a form of linguistic dishonesty, designed to undermine existing institutions and transform them.
                                                    From News Weekly, June 9, 2012
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an example of misuse of language?
选项 A、Feminists insist "he" be replaced by "they".
B、Partner has taken the place of "husband" and "wife".
C、Homophobic is now being employed to refer to defend conventional understanding of marriage.
D、The meaning of "literacy" is no longer restricted to the ability to read and write.
答案D
解析 本题为细节题。选项A在第四段中被提及，B在第三段被提及，C在第五段中被提及。
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