Question

Bursting into the classroom from recess, 15 children take their seats and face the woman they know as Ms. Yang.
“What day is it today?” she asks, in Mandarin Chinese.
“Confucius’ birthday!” the fifth graders shout in Mandarin.
“Why do we celebrate Confucius’ birthday?”
“Because he’s the greatest teacher in the history of China!” exclaims a brown-haired girl. She is speaking Mandarin.
English is rarely heard in Lisa Yang’s class at the Chinese American International School(CAIS), despite the fact that few students are native speakers of Mandarin.
The United States is actively trying to increase the group of students in “critical languages” such as Mandarin. The students at CAIS are way ahead in such a trend.
Founded 25 years ago, this small private school in San Francisco, USA, does what few other American schools do: It produces fully fluent speakers of Mandarin Chinese, by far the most commonly spoken language in the world.
Mandarin Chinese is suddenly hot in American schools. As China becomes the world’s leading economy sometimes this century, schools in the U. S. are scrambling to add Mandarin to their list of foreign languages or expand Chinese programs already in place.
“It really is almost unprecedented. People are looking at China as a force to be reckoned with… And to ensure that the U. S. has the ability to conduct trade, and to work with the Chinese. Certainly having an understanding of Chinese language and culture is an advantage,” said Marty Abbott of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages(ACTFL).
To develop Chinese-language programs has not been smooth. A shortage of trained teachers has made it difficult for some schools to join the race. When schools do get teachers, they often hire them straight from China, and the teachers usually suffer culture shock when they come to the U. S.
Robert Liu remembers his first two years in an American classroom It was not an easy adjustment. “In China, students respect their teachers,” he said. Liu found that American students, however, expect an active teaching style. He had to use games to engage them rather than lectures.
To avoid many of the problems with foreign teaching styles, the CAIS has been working with the Chinese government to improve training of teachers who are sent to the U. S.
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Understanding Chinese language and culture is helpful to work with Chinese.

B．Chinese-language programs have met trouble during the development.

C．Many other American schools do the same as CAIS, founded 25 years ago.

D．A lack of trained Mandarin Chinese teachers is a problem for the programs.

【小题2】What kind of problem is the most difficult to adjust in teaching Chinese in America?

A．To adapt themselves to the American life styles.

B．To communicate with the American students.

C．To get along well with the American students.

D．To be fit for the cultural differences in teaching styles.

【小题3】The meaning of the underlined word “scrambling” is similar to         .

A．climbing	B．rushing
C．changing	D．beating

【小题4】It can be learned from the passage that        .

A．the students in Lisa Yang’s class usually speak Chinese

B．There are few American students in Lisa Yang’s class

C．We celebrate Confucius’ birthday because he’s the greatest history teacher

D．in America the students don’t respect their teachers

Answer 1

【小题1】C
【小题2】D
【小题3】B
【小题4】A

解析试题分析: 这篇文章通过中美国际学校的美国孩子用汉语普通话交流的事例，说明美国美国越来越多的人说汉语的现象。
【小题1】C细节题。根据文章倒数第三段Certainly having an understanding of Chinese language and culture is an advantage（理解中国文化和语言有助于和中国人打交道）可知A选项正确。根据倒数第二段To develop Chinese-language programs has not been smooth. A shortage of trained teachers has made it difficult for some schools to join the race. （这个项目的发展不是很顺利，有经验的老师非常少）可知B和D选项是正确的。根据排除法，故选C。
【小题2】D细节题。从文章倒数第二段的句子：Robert Liu remembers his first two years in an American classroom. It was not an easy adjustment. 可知最大的困难是文化差异。故选D。
【小题3】B根据上下文推测生单词含义。从Mandarin Chinese is suddenly hot in American schools. 这句话可知scramble是紧急起飞，故选B。
【小题4】A推理判断题。通读文章可知现在美国越来越多的人说汉语。故选A。
考点：考查说明类短文阅读。