Language is a way to communicate with each other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don’t have the same native language. Also, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States.  Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful. Because of this situation, their children are losing their identity and, even more, they are ignoring their parents whose English is not very good.    

I think most immigrants are trying to preserve their native language in their new country, but this doesn’t help very much in getting a good job. My aunt taught Korean to her children not to help hem succeed in the U.S. she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity. Though the second generation was born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parents’ country, they will probably feel different from other people there too. My cousins told me that when they visited Korea a few years ago, they felt different from other Koreans. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothes and walked differently.

We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children understand their background by teaching them the parents’ language. This is very important, not only for the harmony of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity. 

According to the text, what is the problem of the first generation immigrants?

A. They have lost their identity.

B. Their children are losing their identity.

C. Their children speak different languages.

D. They cannot speak their native language.

My aunt taught her children Korean____.

A. so that they knew they were of Korean origin

B. so that they would be more successful in the U.S.

C. because she didn’t want them to speak English

D. because she wanted them to respect her

The writer’s cousins felt different in their parents’ country because they____.

A. had never been there before        B. behaved quite differently

C. couldn’t understand the language    D. had different facial appearance

According to the text, the native language is important and valuable to immigrants in that____.

A. it gives them self-confidence and better chance

B. t makes the second generation love motherland

C. it helps the second generation to understand their parents

D. it strengthens the family ties and reminds them of their identity (BCABD)

阅读理解

　　Language is a way to communicate with each other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native languages, so immigrants(移民)are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don't have the same native language. Also, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful. Because of this situation, their children are losing their ethnic(民族的)identity and, even more, they are ignoring their parents whose English is not very good.

　　For example, my aunt, who has been living in Chicago for fifteen years, has three children and they were all born in the States. The eighteen-year-old daughter speaks English as a native language and she speaks Korean very well too. She has no problems talking with her parents, but she still doesn't under stand Korean jokes, and there are sometimes misunderstandings. The second daughter is fourteen years old, and she doesn't want to speak Korean. My aunt often gets upset with her because she is very Americanized and they cannot understand each other. Even when my aunt punishes her, this daughter does not understand what my aunt is talking about. I felt sympathy(同情)for my aunt whenever my fourteen-year-old cousin said,“Mom, what is your problem?”The third child is a twelve-year-old son.

　　He speaks English to his parents and my aunt speaks Korean to him as she does to the second daughter.

　　He also has a problem communicating with his parents. My aunt is trying to teach him to speak both languages very well, but it is very hard for him because he speaks English all day and does not understand why he should learn to speak Korean.

　　I think most immigrants are trying to preserve(保持)their native language in their new country, but this doesn't help very much in getting a good job. My aunt didn't teach Korean to her children in order to help them succeed in the US; she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity. Though the second generation is born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parents' country, they will probably feel different from other people there too. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothes and walked differently.

　　We must realize that languages is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children and to make their children understand their heritages(文化遗产) by teaching them the parents' native language. This is very important, not only for the harmony of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity.

1．This passage is mainly about _____.

[　　]

A．how to learn a second language

B．how to become American citizens

C．language and its effect on the identity of immigrants

D．schools attended by immigrants to the US

2．Which of these statements is NOT true according to the first paragraph?

[　　]

A．Second generation immigrants are usually eager to learn their parents' native language.

B．It is often hard for first and second generation family members to communicate with each other.

C．Foreigners in America want their children to speak English so that they can achieve great success.

D．Sometimes second generation immigrant children ignore their parents because of language differences.

3．Which is NOT a reason that the 14-year-old daughter has problems with her mother?

[　　]

A．She doesn't want to speak Korean.

B．she doesn't love her mother.

C．She is very Americanized.

D．She does not understand her mother when she gets punished.

4．The author's aunt tries to teach her children to speak Korean to help them _____.

[　　]

A．succeed in the US

B．find a good job

C．establish a Korean identity

D．improve their Korean language skills

Language learning begins with listening. Children are greatly different in the amount of listening they do before they start speaking, and later starters are often long listeners. Most children will “obey” spoken instructions some time before they can speak, though the word “obey” is hardly accurate as a description of the eager and delighted cooperation usually shown by the children. Before they can speak, many children will also ask questions by gesture and by making questioning noises.

Any attempt to study the development from the noises babies make to their first spoken words leads to considerable difficulties. It is agreed that they enjoy making noises, and that during the first few months one or two noises sort themselves as particularly expressive as delight, pain, friendliness, and so on. But since these can’t be said to show the baby’s intention to communicate, they can hardly be regarded as early forms of language. It is agreed, too, that from about three months they play with sounds for enjoyment, and that by six months they are able to add new words to their store. This self-imitation(模仿) leads on to deliberate(有意的) imitation of sounds made or words spoken to them by other people. The problem then arises as to the point at which one can say that these imitations can be considered as speech.

It is a problem we need to get our teeth into. The meaning of a word depends on what a particular person means by it in a particular situation; and it is clear that what a child means by a word will change as he gains more experience of the world. Thus the use, at seven months, of “mama” as a greeting for his mother cannot be dismissed as a meaning-less sound simply because he also uses it at another time for his father, his dog, or anything else he likes. Playful and meaningless imitation of what other people say continues after the child has begun to speak for himself. I doubt, however, whether anything is gained when parents take advantage of this ability in an attempt to teach new sounds.

1. Before children start speaking _______.

A. they need equal amount of listening

B. they need different amounts of listening

C. they are all eager to cooperate with the adults by obey spoken instructions

D. they can’t understand and obey the adult’s oral instructions

2. Children who start speaking late _______.

A. may have problems with their listening

B. probably do not hear enough language spoken around them

C. usually pay close attention to what they hear

D. often take a long time in learning to listen properly

3. A baby’s first noises are _______.

A. an expression of his moods and feelings

B. an early form of language

C. a sign that he means to tell you something

D. an imitation of the speech of adults

4. The problem of deciding at what point a baby’ imitations can be considered as speech _______.

A. is important because words have different meanings for different people

B. is not especially important because the changeover takes place gradually

C. is one that should be properly understood because the meaning of words changes with age

D. is one that should be completely ignored(忽略) because children’s use of words is of-ten meaningless

5. The speaker implies _______.

A. parents can never hope to teach their children new sounds

B. children no longer imitate people after they begin to speak

C. children who are good at imitating learn new words more quickly

D. even after they have learnt to speak, children still enjoy imitating