填空题

The Rise of RP
Historical reasons
Received Pronunciation (RP) was originally
associated with a (1)______ spoken in the region (1)______
between central England and London, including Oxford
and Cambridge.
Its survival was due to its use by the (2)______ (2)______
in the 14lh century and by university students in tile
(3)______Ages. (3)______
Its rise in importance resulted from its application
in government and official documents.
The prestige of its (4)______ pattern of (4)______
pronunciation came about with its use in (5)______schools (5)______
in the 19th century.
As a result, its (6)______is accepted by Television (6)______
and the radio, the professions and teaching English as a foreign language.
Three characteristics of RP
1) its speakers don’t regard themselves as connected with any geographical region;
2) RP is largely used in England;
3) RP is a "class" accent, associated with (7)______ (7)______
social classes
Its present status
Decline in the prestige of RP is the result of
a) loss of monopoly of education by the privileged;
b) (8)______of higher education in the post-war (8)______
period.
However, it still retains its eminence among
certain professional people.
There is a rise in the status of all (9)______ac (9)______
cents.
We are moving towards the (10)______position: (10)______
general acceptance of all regional accents and absence
of a class accent that transcends all regions.