【正确答案】正确答案：The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, named after the American linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, is a very influential but controversial theory concerning the relationship between language, thought and culture. What this hypothesis suggests is like this; Our language helps mould our way of thinking and, consequently, different languages may probably express our unique ways of understanding the world.(2 points) Following this argument, two important points could be captured in this theory. On the one hand, language may determine our thinking patterns; on the other hand, similarity between languages is relative. The greater their structural differentiation is, the more diverse their conceptualization of the world will be. For this reason, this hypothesis has alternatively been referred to as Linguistic Determinism and Linguistic Relativity.(2 points) Nowadays, few people would possibly tend to accept the original form of this theory completely. Consequently, two versions of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis have been developed, a strong version and a weak version. The strong version of the theory refers to the claim the original hypothesis suggests, emphasizing the decisive role of language as the shaper of cjur thinking patterns. The weak version of this hypothesis , however, is a modified type of its original theory, suggesting that there is a correlation between language, culture and thought, but the cross-cultural differences thus produced in our ways of thinking are relative, rather than categorical.(4 points)

【答案解析】解析：考查对萨丕尔一沃尔夫假说的理解。这一假说认为我们所使用的符号能帮助我们形成思考问题的方式或习惯，也有助于形成我们的世界观及行为方式。该假说认为，不同文化背景里的人感知刺激物并进行交流的方式是不同的，这种不同有一部分来源于他们语言的不同。萨丕尔和沃尔夫在他们著名的萨丕尔一沃尔夫假说中进一步发展了洪堡特的理论，认为语言不仅是一种表达思维的方法，而且是一种形成思维的模式。讲不同语言的人对世界有着不同的体验与观察，有着不同的思维模式。可以说，语言是思维的外衣，思维对语言起着很大的影响作用。所以学习一种语言不仅要学习其表象的语法、句法和词法，更要深入了解使用这一语言民族的文化、思维方式和习惯。萨丕尔一沃尔夫假说有两个基本线索：语言决定论和语言相对论。前者是强势说，是萨丕尔一沃尔夫假说的初始假说，认为语言在塑造我们思维的过程中起决定性作用；后者是弱势说，是初始假说的修正形式，认为语言、文化、思维之间具有相关性。