Why do we need the English major？ The【C1】______is in every mouth—or, at least, is discusse

d extensively in columns and【C2】______. The English major is vanishing from our colleges as the Latin vanished before it, were told, a【C3】______choice bound to a dead subject. This spring at Pomona College, 16 students graduated【C4】______an English major out of a student body of 1,560, a terribly【C5】______number, and from other, similar schools, other, similar numbers. 【C6】______a number of defenses have been mounted, none of them, so far, terribly persuasive even to one【C7】______them to persuade. The defenses come in two kinds: one【C8】______that English majors make better people, the other that English majors (or at least humanities majors) make【C9】______better societies; that, as Christina Pax-son, the president of Brown University, just put it in The New Republic, "there are real, definite benefits to the humanistic【C10】______—to the study of history, literature, art, theater, music, and languages." We need the humanities, she explains patiently,【C11】______they may end up giving us other stuff we actually like: "We do not always know the future benefits of what we study and【C12】______should not rush to reject some forms of research as less【C13】______than others." The study of English, to be sure,【C14】______from its own discontents: it isnt a science, and so the "research" you do is not really research. So why have English majors？ Well, because many people like books. Most of those like to talk about them after theyve read them, or while theyre in the middle. One might call this a natural or【C15】______consequence of literacy. And its this living, irresistible, permanent interest in reading that【C16】______English departments, and makes【C17】______of English majors.【C18】______we closed down every English department in the country, loud, good, expert, or at least hyper-enthusiastic readers would still emerge. As one important branch of humanities, studying English wont be time-wasted. As Professor Paxson said, the humanities help us【C19】______life more and endure it better. The reason we need the humanities is because were human. Thats【C20】______.

【C1】

A．theme

B．dispute

C．issue

D．inquiry