Primary school pupils will only get credit for using exclamation marks in sentences beginning with 'what' or 'how', under strict new Government rules.
根據英國政府的新規定，遇到以“What”和“How”開頭的句子，小學生們必須在句尾使用“感嘆號”才會得分。

Ministers have been accused of "taking writing back to the 19th century" after issuing the restrictive new guidance over what counts as an "exclamation".
這種嚴厲的感嘆號新規出臺后，相關部長們被批“把寫作帶回到19世紀”。

"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.
小學生“關鍵階段1和2”的全國課程測試指導文件寫道：“為了遵守英語語法、標點和拼寫考試規則，以What和How開頭的句子，必須用感嘆號。”

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.
考官們被告知，孩子們要能夠識別并寫出感嘆句型，如果在其他句型中使用了感嘆號將不得分。

The guidance suggests "What a lovely day!" or "How exciting!" as acceptable examples.
指導文件上舉例說，“多么美好的一天！”或“太激動人心了！”是可以用感嘆號的。

"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.
指導文件稱：“以感嘆號結尾的句子，但是前面卻沒有任何跟感嘆號有關的語法結構，會被認為是感嘆號的錯誤用法（比如，感嘆性的陳述句、感嘆性的祈使句、感嘆性的疑問句或感嘆性的插入語）。”

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.
英國教育部的一位消息人士稱，此舉并非是為了控制感嘆號在短信和社交媒體上的濫用現象。

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.”
課程標準也承認感嘆號可以在其他情況下使用，例如要對陳述句進行強調時，或者表達命令時。消息人士稱：“我們不是不讓學生使用感嘆號。指導文件說的是考試的時候，感嘆號怎么用得分，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".
約翰·阿瑟蘭德是英國倫敦大學學院現代英國文學的退休教授，他對《星期日泰晤士報》表示，這份指導“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.
“也難怪政府下達這個文件后，老師們都在唏噓，因為這簡直太荒謬了，”他說。

Writing on SchoolsWeek, Ben Fuller, a lead moderator, said the changes "take writing back to the 19th century".
本·富勒是“校園周刊”的一位論壇版主，他表示，這一規定“把寫作帶回到19世紀”。

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."
教育部的一位發言人說：“英國政府致力于為所有國民提供高素質的英語教育，并用英語進行有效的交流。這是政府的重要目標之一。”

英文來源：中國日報網
譯者：風兮靈兮
審校&編輯：杜娟