根据英国政府的新规定，遇到以“What”和“How”开头的句子，小学生们必须在句尾使用“感叹号”才会得分。
Ministers have been accused of "taking writing back to the 19th century" after issuing the restrictive new guidance over what counts as an "exclamation".
这种严厉的感叹号新规出台后，相关部长们被批“把写作带回到19世纪”。
"For the purposes of the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test, an exclamation is required to start with What or How," the guidance for Key Stage 1 and 2 national curriculum tests states.
小学生“关键阶段1和2”的全国课程测试指导文件写道：“为了遵守英语语法、标点和拼写考试规则，以What和How开头的句子，必须用感叹号。”
Children are expected to be able to recognise and write examples of exclamation sentences, and will not get any credit for using exclamation marks in other ways, examiners have been told.
考官们被告知，孩子们要能够识别并写出感叹句型，如果在其他句型中使用了感叹号将不得分。
The guidance suggests "What a lovely day!" or "How exciting!" as acceptable examples.
指导文件上举例说，“多么美好的一天！”或“太激动人心了！”是可以用感叹号的。
"A sentence that ends in an exclamation mark, but which does not have one of the grammatical patterns shown above, is not considered to be creditworthy as an exclamation (e.g. exclamatory statements, exclamatory imperatives, exclamatory interrogatives or interjections)," it says.
指导文件称：“以感叹号结尾的句子，但是前面却没有任何跟感叹号有关的语法结构，会被认为是感叹号的错误用法（比如，感叹性的陈述句、感叹性的祈使句、感叹性的疑问句或感叹性的插入语）。”
A source at the Department for Education denied the move was intended to curb the proliferation of the exclamation mark in text messages and social media.
英国教育部的一位消息人士称，此举并非是为了控制感叹号在短信和社交媒体上的滥用现象。
The curriculum also acknowledges that an exclamation mark can be used in other ways such as to give emphasis to a statement or command. A source said: "We’re not telling pupils to not use exclamation marks. The guidance is on what marks can and can’t be awarded in these tests.”
课程标准也承认感叹号可以在其他情况下使用，例如要对陈述句进行强调时，或者表达命令时。消息人士称：“我们不是不让学生使用感叹号。指导文件说的是考试的时候，感叹号怎么用得分，怎么用不得分。”
John Sutherland, emeritus professor of modern English literature at University College London, told the Sunday Times that the guidance was "ridiculous".
约翰·阿瑟兰德是英国伦敦大学学院现代英国文学的退休教授，他对《星期日泰晤士报》表示，这份指导“很荒唐”。
"It is nonsense of the highest degree. I am not surprised teachers wearily sigh when these instructions come down from Whitehall," he said.
“也难怪政府下达这个文件后，老师们都在唏嘘，因为这简直太荒谬了，”他说。
Writing on SchoolsWeek, Ben Fuller, a lead moderator, said the changes "take writing back to the 19th century".
本·富勒是“校园周刊”的一位论坛版主，他表示，这一规定“把写作带回到19世纪”。
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "A high-quality education in English – and the ability to communicate effectively – is an important part of the government’s commitment to extend opportunity to all."
教育部的一位发言人说：“英国政府致力于为所有国民提供高素质的英语教育，并用英语进行有效的交流。这是政府的重要目标之一。”
英文来源：中国日报网
译者：风兮灵兮
审校&编辑：杜娟
