大学英语六级快速阅读训练

ReadingComprehension(SkimmingandScanning)(15minutes)

Passagel：

TheNextSociety

Theneweconomymayormaynotmaterialize,butthereisnodoubtthatthenextsocietywill

bewithusshortly.Inthedevelopedworld,andprobablyintheemergingcountriesaswell,this

newsocietywillbeagooddealmoreimportantthantheneweconomy(ifany).Itwillbequite

differentfromthesocietyofthelate20thcentury,andalsodifferentfromwhatmostpeopleexpect.

Muchofitwillbeunprecedented.Andmostofitisalreadyhere,orisrapidlyemerging.

Inthedevelopedcountries,thedominantfactorinthenextsocietywillbesomethingto

whichmostpeopleareonlyjustbeginningtopayattention:therapidgrowthintheolder

populationandtherapidshrinkingoftheyoungergeneration.Politicianseverywherestillpromise

tosavetheexistingpensionsystem,butthey-andtheirconstituents—knowperfectlywellthatin

another25yearspeoplewillhavetokeepworkinguntiltheirmid-70s,healthpermitting.

Whathasnotyetsunkinisthatagrowingnumberofolderpeople—saythoseover50—will

notkeeponworkingastraditionalfulltimenine-to-fiveemployees,butwillparticipateinthe

laborforceinmanynewanddifferentways:astemporaries,aspart-timers,asconsultantson

specialassignments,andsoon.Whatusedtobepersonnelandarenowknownashumanresources

departmentsstillassumethatthosewhoworkforanorganizationarefull-timeemployees.

Employmentlawsandregulationsarebasedonthesameassumption.Within20or25years,

however,perhapsasmanyashalfthepeoplewhoworkforanorganizationwillnotbeemployed

byit,certainlynotonafull-timebasis.Thiswillbeespeciallytrueforolderpeople.Newwaysof

workingwithpeopleatarm'slengthwillincreasinglybecomethecentralmanagerialissueof

employingorganizations,andnotjustofbusinesses.

Theshrinkingoftheyoungerpopulationwillcauseanevengreaterupheaval,ifonlybecause

nothinglikethishashappenedsincethedyingcenturiesoftheRomanEmpire.Ineverysingle

developedcountry,butalsoinChinaandBrazil,thebirthrateisnowwellbelowthereplacement

rateof2.2livebirthsperwomanofreproductiveage.Politically,thismeansthatimmigrationwill

becomeanimportantandhighlydivisiveissueinallrichcountries.Itwillcutacrossalltraditional

politicalalignments.Economically,thedeclineintheyoungpopulationwillchangemarketsin

fundamentalways.Growthinfamilyformationhasbeenthedrivingforceofalldomesticmarkets

inthedevelopedworld,buttherateoffamilyformationiscertaintofallsteadilyunlessbolstered

bylarge-scaleimmigrationofyoungerpeople.Thehomogeneousmassmarketthatemergedinall

richcountriesaftertheSecondWorldWarhasbeenyouth-determinedfromthestart.Itwillnow

becomemiddle-age-determined,orperhapsmorelikelyitwillsplitintotwo:a

middle-age-determinedmassmarketandamuchsmalleryouth-determinedone.Andbecausethe

supplyofyoungpeoplewillshrink,creatingnewemploymentpatternstoattractandholdthe

growingnumberofolderpeople(especiallyoldereducatedpeople)willbecomeincreasingly

important.

Knowledgeisall

Thenextsocietywillbeaknowledgesociety.Knowledgewillbeitskeyresource,and

knowledgeworkerswillbethedominantgroupinitsworkforce.Itsthreemaincharacteristicswill

be:

•Borderlessness,becauseknowledgetravelsevenmoreeffortlesslythanmoney.

•Upwardmobility,availabletoeveryonethrougheasilyacquiredformaleducation.

•Thepotentialforfailureaswellassuccess.Anyonecanacquirethe"meansofproduction0,

i.e,theknowledgerequiredforthejob,butnoteveryonecanwin.

Together,thosethreecharacteristicswillmaketheknowledgesocietyahighlycompetitive

one,fororganizationsandindividualsalike.Informationtechnology,althoughonlyoneofmany

newfeaturesofthenextsociety,isalreadyhavingonehugelyimportanteffect:itisallowing

knowledgetospreadnear-instantly,andmakingitaccessibletoeveryone.Giventheeaseand

speedatwhichinformationtravels,everyinstitutionintheknowledgesociety—notonlybusinesses,

butalsoschools,universities,hospitalsandincreasinglygovernmentagenciestoo—hastobe

globallycompetitive,eventhoughmostorganizationswillcontinuetobelocalintheiractivities

andintheirmarkets.ThisisbecausetheInternetwillkeepcustomerseverywhereinformedon

whatisavailableanywhereintheworld,andatwhatprice.

Thisnewknowledgeeconomywillrelyheavilyonknowledgeworkers.Atpresent,thisterm

iswidelyusedtodescribepeoplewithconsiderabletheoreticalknowledgeandlearning:doctors,

lawyers,teachers,accountants,chemicalengineers.Butthemoststrikinggrowthwillbein

"knowledgetechnologists"〜computertechnicians,softwaredesigners,analystsinclinicallabs,

manufacturingtechnologists,paralegals.Thesepeopleareasmuchmanualworkersastheyare

knowledgeworkers;infact,theyusuallyspendfarmoretimeworkingwiththeirhandsthanwith

theirbrains.Buttheirmanualworkisbasedonasubstantialamountoftheoreticalknowledge

whichcanbeacquiredonlythroughformaleducation,notthroughanapprenticeship.Theyarenot,

asarule,muchbetterpaidthantraditionalskilledworkers,buttheyseethemselvesas

''professionals".Justasunskilledmanualworkersinmanufacturingwerethedominantsocialand

politicalforceinthe20thcentury,knowledgetechnologistsarelikelytobecomethedominant

social—andperhapsalsopolitical-forceoverthenextdecades.

Thenewprotectionism

Structurally,too,thenextsocietyisalreadydivergingfromthesocietyalmostallofusstill

livein.The20thcenturysawtherapiddecline'ofthesectorthathaddominatedsocietyfor10,000

years:agriculture.Involumeterms,farmproductionnowisatleastfourorfivetimeswhatitwas

beforetheFirstWorldWar.Butin1913farmproductsaccountedfor70%ofworldtrade,whereas

nowtheirshareisatmost17%.Intheearlyyearsofthe20thcentury,agricultureinmost

developedcountrieswasthelargestsinglecontributortoGDP;nowinrichcountriesits

contributionhasdwindledtothepointofbecomingmarginal.Andthefarmpopulationisdown

toatinyproportionofthetotal.

Manufacturinghastraveledalongwaydownthesameroad.SincetheSecondWorldWar,

manufacturingoutputinthedevelopedworldhasprobablytripledinvolume,butinflation

adjustedmanufacturingpriceshavefallensteadily,whereasthecostofprimeknowledge

products-healthcareandeducation-hastripled,againadjustedforinflation.Therelative

purchasingpowerofmanufacturedgoodsagainstknowledgeproductsisnowonlyone-fifthor

one-sixthofwhatitwas50yearsago.ManufacturingemploymentinAmericahasfallenfrom

35%oftheworkforceinthe1950stolessthanhalfthatnow,withoutcausingmuchsocial

disruption.Butitmaybetoomuchtohopeforanequallyeasytransitionincountriessuchas

JapanorGermany,whereblue-collarmanufacturingworkersstillmakeup25—30%ofthelabor

force.

Thedeclineoffarmingasaproducerofwealthandoflivelihoodshasallowedfarm

protectionismtospreadtoadegreethatwouldhavebeenunthinkablebeforetheSecondWorld

War.Inthesameway,thedeclineofmanufacturingwilltriggeranexplosionofmanufacturing

protectionism-evenaslipservicecontinuestobepaidtofreetrade.Thisprotectionismmaynot

necessarilytaketheformoftraditionaltariffs,butofsubsidies,quotasandregulationsofallkinds.

Evenmorelikely,regionalblockswillemergethattradefreelyinternallybutarehighly

protectionistexternally.TheEuropeanUnion,NAFFAandMercosuralreadypointinthat

direction.

Thefutureofthecorporation

Statistically,multinationalcompaniesplaymuchthesamepartintheworldeconomyasthey

didin1913.Buttheyhavebecomeverydifferentanimals.Multinationalsin1913weredomestic

firmswithsubsidiariesabroad,eachofthemself-contained,inchargeofapoliticallydefined

territory,andhighlyautonomous.Multinationalsnowtendtobeorganizedgloballyalong

productorservicelines.Butlikethemultinationalsof1913,theyareheldtogetherandcontrolled

byownership.Bycontrast,themultinationalsof2025arelikelytobeheldtogetherandcontrolled

bystrategy.Therewillstillbeownership,ofcourse.Butalliances,jointventures,minoritystakes,

know-howagreementscontractswillincreasinglybethebuildingblocksofaconfederation.This

kindoforganizationwillneedanewkindoftopmanagement.

Inmostcountries,andeveninagoodmanylargeandcomplexcompanies,topmanagement

isstillseenasanextensionofoperatingmanagement.Tomorrow'stopmanagement,however,is

likelytobeadistinctandseparateorgan:itwillstandforthecompany.Oneofthemostimportant

jobsaheadforthetopmanagementof{hebigcompanyoftomorrow,andespeciallyofthe

multinational,willbetobalancetheconflictingdemandsonbusinessbeingmadebytheneedfor

bothshort-termandlong-termresults,andbythecorporation^variousconstituencies:customers,

shareholders,knowledgeemployeesandcommunities.

1.Thenewsocietywillbemuchmoreimportantthantheneweconomyonlyinthe

developedcountries.

2.Inanother25yearspeoplewillhavetokeepworkingasfull-timeemployeesuntiltheir

mid-70sifhealthpermits.

3.NowadaysinChina,becauseofthepopulationpolicy,thebirthratehasdecreased.

4.Indevelopedcountries,theissueofimmigrationwillbecomeimportantpolitically.

5.Thedominantpartinthenextsociety*sworkforceis

6.makesknowledgespreadrapidlyandavailabletoeveryone.

7.haddominatedsocietyfor10,000yearsbutdeclinedrapidlyinthe20thcentury.

8.Inordertoadjustforinflation,thecostofwhicharethemainknowledgeproducts

wastripled.

9.Multinationalsin1913werecomposedofadomesticfirmsanditsself-containedand

autonomous

10.TopmanagementintheNextsocietywillbeaorgan.

Passage2：

Rainforests

Tropicalrainforestsarethemostdiverseecosystem（生态系统）onEarth,andalsotheoldest.

Today,tropicalrainforestscoveronly6percentoftheEarth*sgroundsurface,buttheyarehometo

overhalfoftheplanet'splantandanimalspecies.

WhatIsaRainforest?

Generallyspeaking,arainforestisanenvironmentthatreceiveshighrainfallandis

dominatedbytalltrees.Awiderangeofecosystemsfallintothiscategory,ofcourse.Butmostof

thetimewhenpeopletalkaboutrainforests,theymeanthetropicalrainforestslocatednearthe

equator.

Theseforestsreceivebetween160and400inchesofrainperyear.Thetotalannualrainfallis

spreadprettyevenlythroughouttheyear,andthetemperaturerarelydipsbelow60degrees

Fahrenheit.

Thissteadyclimateisduetothepositionofrainforestsontheglobe.Becauseofthe

orientationoftheEarth'saxis,theNorthernandSouthernhemisphereseachspendpartoftheyear

tiltedawayfromthesun.Sincerainforestsareatthemiddleoftheglobe,locatedneartheequator,

theyarcnotespeciallyaffectedbythischange.Theyreceivenearlythesameamountofsunlight,

andthereforeheat,allyear.Consequently,theweatherintheseregionsremainsfairlyconstant.

Theconsistentlywet,warmweatherandamplesunlightgiveplantlifeeverythingitneedsto

thrive.Treeshavetheresourcestogrowtotremendousheights,andtheyliveforhundreds,even

thousands,ofyears.Thesegiants,whichreach60to150ftintheair,formthebasicstructureof

therainforest.Theirtopbranchesspreadwideinordertocapturemaximumsunlight.Thiscreates

athickcanopy（树冠）levelatthetopoftheforest,withthinnergreenerylevelsunderneath.Some

largetreesgrowsotallthattheyeventoweroverthecanopylayer.

Asyougolower,downintotherainforest,youfindlessandlessgreenery.Theforestflooris

madeupofmoss,fungi,anddecayingplantmatterthathasfallenfromtheupperlayers.The

reasonforthisdecreaseingreeneryisverysimpletheoverabundanceofplantsgatheringsunlight

atthetopoftheforestblocksmostsunlightfromreachingthebottomoftheforest,makingit

difficultforrobustplantstothrive.

The,ForestfortheTrees

Theamplesunlightandextremelywetclimateofmanytropicalareasencouragethegrowth

oftoweringtreeswithwidecanopies.Thisthicktoplayeroftherainforestdictatesthelivesofall

otherplantsintheforest.Newtreeseedlingsrarelysurvivetomakeittothetopunlesssomeolder

treesdie,creatinga"hole"inthecanopy.Whenthishappens,alloftheseedlingsontheground

levelcompeteintenselytoreachthesunlight.

Manyplantspeciesreachthetopoftheforestbyclimbingthetalltrees.Itismucheasierto

ascendthisway,becausetheplantdoesn*thavetoformitsownsupportingstructure.

Someplantspecies,calledepiphytes,growdirectlyonthesurfaceofthegianttrees.These

plants,whichincludeavarietyoforchidsandferns,makeupmuchoftheunderstory,thelayerof

therainforestrightbelowthecanopy.Epiphytesarecloseenoughtothetoptoreceiveadequate

light,andtherunofffromthecanopylayerprovidesallthewaterandnutrients（养分）theyneed,

whichisimportantsincetheydon'thaveaccesstothenutrientsintheground.

StranglersandButtresses

Someepiphyteseventuallydevelopintostranglers.Theygrowlong,thickrootsthatextend

downthetreetrunkintotheground.Astheycontinuetogrow,therootsformasortofweb

structureallaroundthetree.Atthesametime,thestranglerplant'sbranchesextendupward,

spreadingoutintothecanopy.Eventually,thestranglermayblocksomuchlightfromabove,and

absorbsuchahighpercentageofnutrientsfromthegroundbelow,thatthehosttreedies.

Competitionovernutrientsisalmostasintenseascompetitionforlight.Theexcessive

rainfallrapidlydissolvesnutrientsinthesoilmakingitrelativelyinfertileexceptatthetoplayers.

Forthisreason,rainforesttreerootsgrowoutwardtocoverawiderarea,ratherthandownwardto

lowerlevels.Thismakesrainforesttreessomewhatunstable,sincetheydon'thaveverystrong

anchorsintheground.Sometreescompensateforthisbygrowingnaturalbuttresses.These

buttressesarebasicallytreetrunksthatextendoutfromthesideofthetreeandclowntothe

ground,givingthetreeadditionalsupport.

Rainforesttreesaredependentonbacteriathatarecontinuallyproducingnutrientsinthe

ground.Rainforestbacteriaandtreeshaveaveryclose,symbiotic（共生的）relationship.Thetrees

providethebacteriawithfood,intheformoffallenleavesandothermaterial,andthebacteria

breakthismaterialdownintothenutrientsthatthetreesneedtosurvive.

Oneofthemostremarkablethingsaboutrainforestplantlifeisitsdiversity.Thetemperate

rainforestsofthePacificNorthwestaremainlycomposedofadozenorsotreespecies.Atropical

rainforest,ontheotherhand,mighthave300distincttreespecies.

AllCreatures,GreatandSmall

Rainforestsarehometothemajorityofanimalspeciesintheworld.Andagreatnumberof

specieswhonowliveinotherenvironments,includinghumans,originallyinhabitedtherainforests.

Researchersestimatethatinalargerainforestarea,theremaybemorethan10milliondifferent

animalspecies.

Mostofthesespecieshaveadaptedforlifeintheupperlevelsoftherainforest,wherefoodis

mostplentiful.Insects,whichcaneasilyclimborflyfromtreetotree,makeupthelargestgroup

（antsarethemostabundantanimalintherainforest）.Insectspecieshaveahighlysymbiotic

relationshipwiththeplantlifeinarainforest.Theinsectsmovefromplanttoplant,enjoyingthe

wealthoffoodprovidedthere.Astheytravel,theinsectsmaypickuptheplants*seeds,dropping

themsomedistanceaway.Thishelpstodispersethepopulationoftheplantspeciesoveralarger

area.

Thenumerousbirdsoftherainforestalsoplayamajorpartinseeddispersal.Whentheyeat

fruitfromaplant,theseedspassthroughtheirdigestivesystem.Bythetimetheyexcrete（排泄）

theseeds,thebirdsmayhaveflownmanymilesawayfromthefruit-bearingtree.

Therearealsoalargenumberofreptilesandmammalsintherainforest.Sincetheweatheris

sohotandhumidduringtheday,mostrainforestmammalsareactiveonlyatnight,duskordawn.

Themanyrainforestbatspeciesareespeciallywelladaptedforthislifestyle.Usingtheirsonar,

batsnavigateeasilythroughthemassoftreesintherainforest,feedingoninsectsandfruit.

Whilemostrainforestspeciesspendtheirlivesinthetrees,thereisalsoalotoflifeonthe

forestfloor.Greatapes,wildpigs,bigcatsandevenelephantscanallbefoundinrainforests.

Thereareanumberofpeoplewholiveintherainforests,aswell.Thesetribes—which,upuntil

recently,numberedinthethousands-arebeingforcedoutoftherainforestsatanalarmingrate

becauseofdeforestation.

Deforestation

Inthepasthundredyears,humanshavebegundestroyingrainforestsatanalarmingrate.

Today,roughly1.5acresofrainforestaredestroyedeverysecond.Peoplearecuttingdownthe

rainforestsinpursuitofthreemajorresources:

•landforcrops

•lumberforpaperandotherwoodproducts

•landforlivestockpastures

Inthecurrenteconomy,peopleobviouslyhaveaneedforalloftheseresources.Butalmost

allexpertsagreethat,overtime,wewillsuffermuchmorefromthedestructionoftherainforests

thanwewillbenefit.

Theworld'srainforestsareanextremelyvaluablenaturalresource,tobesure,butnotfor

theirlumberortheirland.TheyarethemaincradleoflifeonEarth,andtheyholdmillionsof

uniquelifeformsthatwehaveyettodiscover.Destroyingtherainforestsiscomparableto

destroyinganunknownplanetwehavenoideawhatwe'relosing.Ifdeforestationcontinuesatits

currentrate,theworld'stropicalrainforestswillbewipedoutwithin40years.

1.VirtuallyallplantandanimalspeciesonEarthcanbefoundintropicalrainforests.

2.Thereisnotmuchchangeintheweatherinthetropicalrainforestsalltheyearround.

3.ThelargestnumberofrainforestsintheworldarelocatedontheAfricancontinent.

4.Belowthecanopylevelofatropicalrainforestgrowsanoverabundanceofplants.

5.Newtreeseedlingswillnotsurvivetoreachthecanopylevelunless.

6.Epiphytes,whichformmuchoftheunderstoryoftherainforest,getalltheirwaterandnutrients

from.

7.Stranglersaresocalledbecausetheybyblockingthesunlightandcompetingforthe

nutrients.

8.Sincerainforestbacteriaandtreesdependoneachotherforlife,therelationshiptheyformis

termed.

9.Plantspeciesaredispersedoveralargeareawiththehelpof.

10.Aswearestillignorantofmillionsofuniquelifeformsintherainforest,deforestationcanbe

comparedtothedestructionof.

Passages：

SomeNotesonGender-NeutralLanguage

General

Thepracticeofassigningmasculinegendertoneutraltermscomesfromthefactthatevery

languagereflectstheprejudicesofthesocietyinwhichitevolved,andEnglishevolvedthrough

mostofitshistoryinamale-centered,patriarchalsociety.Likeanyotherlanguage,however,

Englishisalwayschanging.Oneonlyhastoreadaloudsentencesfromthe19thcenturyhooks

assignedforthisclasstosensetheshiftsthathaveoccurredinthelast150years.Whenreaders

pickupsomethingtoread,theyexpectdifferentconventionsdependingonthetimeinwhichthe

materia]waswritten.Aswritersin1995,weneedtobenotonlyawareoftheconventionsthatour

readersmayexpect,butalsoconsciousoftheresponsesourwordsmayelicit.Inaddition,weneed

toknowhowtheshiftingnatureoflanguagecanmakecertainwordsawkwardormisleading.

''Man"

Manoncewasatrulygenericwordreferringtoallhumans,buthasgraduallynarrowedin

meaningtobecomeawordthatreferstoadultmalehumanbeings.Anglo-Saxonsusedthewordto

refertoallpeople.OneexampleofthisoccurswhenanAnglo-Saxonwriterreferstoa

seventh-centuryEnglishprincessasnawonderfulman".ManparalleledtheLatinwordhomo,"a

memberofthehumanspecies."notvir,Hanadultmaleofthespecies."TheOldEnglishwordfor

adultmalewaswaepmanandtheoldEnglishwordforadultwomanwaswifman.Inthecourseof

time,wifmanevolvedintotheword"woman.”"Man"eventuallyceasedtobeusedtoreferto

individualwomenandreplacedwaepmanasaspecifictermdistinguishinganadultmalefroman

adultfemale.Butmancontinuedtobeusedingeneralizationsaboutbothsexes.

Bythe18thcentury,themodem,narrowsenseofmanwasfirmlyestablishedasthe

predominantone.WhenEdmundBurke,writingoftheFrenchRevolution,usedmenintheold,

inclusiveway,hetookpainstospellouthismeaning:"Suchadeplorablehavocismadeinthe

mindsofmen(bothsexes)inFrance..."ThomasJeffersondidnotmakethesamedistinctionin

declaringthat"allmenarecreatedequal"and"governmentsareinstitutedamongmen,deriving

theirjustpowersfromtheconsentofthegoverned.'1Inatimewhenwomen,havingnovote,could

neithergivenorwithholdconsent,Jeffersonhadtobeusingthewordmeninitsprincipalsenseof

"males,"anditprobablyneveroccurredtohimthatanyonewouldthinkotherwise.Lookingat

moderndictionariesindicatethatthedefinitionthatlinks"man'withmalesisthepredominantone.

Studiesofcollegestudentsandschoolchildrenindicatethatevenwhenthebroaddefinitionsof

"msn"and"men"aretaught,theytendtoconjureupimagesofmalepeopleonly.Wewouldnever

usethesentence"Agirlgrowsuptobeaman,"becauseweassumethenarrowerdefinitionofthe

wordman.

ThePronounProblem

ThefirstgrammarsofmodernEnglishwerewritteninthe16thand17thcenturies.Theywere

mainlyintendedtohelpboysfromupperclassfamiliesprepareforthestudyofLatin,alanguage

mostscholarsconsideredsuperiortoEnglish.ThemaleauthorsoftheseearliestEnglishgrammars

wroteformalereadersinanagewhenfewwomenwereliterate.Themasculine-gender

pronouns（代词）didnotreflectabeliefthatmasculinepronounscouldrefertobothsexes.The

grammarsofthisperiodcontainnoindicationthatmasculinepronounsweresex-inclusivewhen

usedingeneralreferences.Insteadthesepronounsreflectedtherealityofmaleculturaldominance

andthemale-centeredworldviewthatresulted.

"He"startedtobeusedasagenericpronounbygrammarianswhoweretryingtochangea

long-establishedtraditionofusing"they"asasingularpronoun.In1850anActofParliamentgave

officialsanctioned匕准）totherecentlyinventedconceptofthe"generic*'he.Inthelanguageusedin

actsofParliament,thenewlawsaid,"wordsimportingthemasculinegendershallbedeemedand

takentoincludefemales.'1Althoughsimilarlanguageincontractsandotherlegaldocuments

subsequentlyhelpedreinforcethisgrammaticaledictinallEnglish-speakingcountries,itwas

oftenconvenientlyignored.In1879,forexample,amovetoadmitfemalephysicianstothe

all-maleMassachusettsMedicalSocietywaseffectivelyblockedonthegrounds'thatthesociety*s

by-lawsdescribingmembershipusedthepronounhe.

Justas"man"isnottrulygenericinthe1990s,"he"isnotatruegenericpronoun.Studies

haveconfirmedthatmostpeopleunderstand"he"torefertomenonly.Sentenceslike"Adoctoris

abusyperson;hemustbeabletobalanceamillionobligationsatonce"implythatalldoctorsare

men.Asaresultofthefactthat"he"isreadbymanyasamasculinepronoun,manypeople,

especiallywomen,havecometofeelthatthegenericpronounsexcludeswomen.Thismeansthat

moreandmorepeoplefindtheuseofsuchapronounproblematic.

SolvingthePronounProblem

TheyasaSingular-Mostpeople,whenwritingandspeakinginformally,relyonsingularthey

asamatterofcourse:"Ifyoulovesomeone,setthemfree"(Sting).Ifyoupayattentiontoyour

ownspeech,you'llprobablycatchyourselfusingthesameconstructionyourself."It'senoughto

driveanyoneoutoftheirsenses'1(GeorgeBernardShaw)."Ishouldn'tliketopunishanyone,even

iithey'ddonemewrong"(GeorgeEliot).Somepeopleareannoyedbytheincorrectgrammarthat

thissolutionnecessitates,butthisconstructionisusedmoreandmorefrequently.

HeorShe--Despitethechargeofclumsiness,double-pronounconstructionshavemadea

comeback:"lbbeblackinthiscountryissimplytoopervasiveanexperienceforanywriterto

omitfromherorhiswork,"wroteSamuelR.Delany.Overuseofthissolutioncanbeawkward,

however.

Pluralizing-Awritercanoftenrecastmaterialintheplural.Forinstance,insteadof"Ashe

advancesinhisprogram,themedicalstudenthasincreasingopportunitiesforclinicalwork,"try

"Astheyadvanceintheirprogram,medicalstudentshaveincreasingopportunitiesforclinical

work”

EliminatingPronouns-Avoidhavingtousepronounsatall;insteadofnafirstgradercanfeed

anddresshimself,"youcouldwrite,"afirstgradercaneatfindgetdressedwithoutassistance.*'

FurtherAlternatives—hesheors/he,usingoneinsteadofhe,orusinganewgenericpronoun

(thon,co,E,try,hash,hit).

1."Man"couldbeusedtorefertofemalehumanbeinginthepast.

2.In"allmenarecreatedequal"inDeclarationofIndependencebyThomasJefferson,theword

"men"refertobothmalesandfemaleswhethertheyhavevoterightornot.

3.In1879,MassachusettsMedicalSocietyrefusedtoadmitmorethantenfemalephysicians

becausethesociety'sby-lawsdescribingmembershipusedthepronounhe.

4.ThefirstgrammarsofmodemEnglishwerewritteninordertohelpboysfromtheupperclass

prepareforthestudyofLatin.

5."Man"paralleledtheLatinword"homon'whichmeans.

6.Studiesshowthatevenwhenstudentsaretaughtthebroaddefinitionof"man'*and"men",they

thinko