When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously ,did not give her good service ,pretended not to understand her ,or even acted as if they did not hear her .W_w w.k*s*5 u.c@o m

My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs.Tan..”

   And my mother was standing beside me ,whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week late.”

And then , in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”

Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”

The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs.Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.

  When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.

1.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?w_w w. k#s5_u.c o*m

A. She was unable to speak good English.

B. She was often misunderstood.

C. She was not clearly heard.

  D. She was not very polite.W_w w.k*s*5 u.c@o m

2.From Paragraph 2, we know that the author was ________  .

A. good at pretending         B. rude to the stockbroker

C. ready to help her mother     D. unwilling to phone for her mother

3.After the author made the phone call, _______.

A. they forgave the stockbroker

B. they went to New York immediately

C. they failed to get the check

D. they spoke to their boss at once

4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?

A .It confuses her.

 B. It embarrasses her.

C. It helps her understand the world.

 D. It helps her tolerate rude people.

5.We can infer from the passage that Chinese English ________.w_w w. k#s5_u.c o*m

A. is clear and natural to non-native speakers

B. is vivid and direct to non-native speakers

C. has a very bad reputation in America

D. may bring inconvenience in America

 

Many Chinese students who have learnt English for more than ten years are still unable to speak English very well when they meet a foreigner. They seem to have mastered the basic language structure(结构), but a conversation in English will make them feel uneasy. They are afraid that other people might find out their mistakes.

  It's uncommon that many students who are bad speakers of English can write English perfectly. This proves that they are unable to organize their idea in English. The center of the problem is that they lack practice and confidence (自信).

  Why should you be afraid? Do you fear those foreigners with whom you are speaking? Don't be shy, they will not laugh at you just for a little mistake you make. The best way to get rid of trouble is to learn to speak by speaking more. I am sure that constant practice will help you succeed.

What's the best topic for the passage?

   A. How to Speak to Foreigners                  B. How to Study English Well

   C. How to Organize the Idea in English      D. Practice Speaking English All the Time

Many Chinese students can write English very well, but they cannot speak English fluently because

   __________.

A. they seldom meet foreigners

   B. they seldom practice speaking English

   C. they had no chance to speak English

   D. they think it's enough to master the basic language structure only

So many Chinese students are afraid to speak to foreigners because ______________.

   A. they are afraid they can't understand foreigners

   B. they don't think their English is poor

   C. they worry about making mistakes in their speaking

   D. they didn't like speaking to foreigners

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

   A. We can speak English fluently by doing more speaking.

   B. If you can write English perfectly, you are able to organize your idea in English.

   C. If you can write good English composition, you can speak English very well.

   D. Any Chinese students can't speak English fluently because they are afraid of making mistakes.

In the last paragraph, the expression "get rid of" means_______.

   A. throw away                  B. free oneself from           C. give up        D. do with

When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. People in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.

　　My mother has long realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on the phone to pretend I was she. I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人). I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, "This is Mrs. Tan.”

　　And my mother was standing beside me, whispering loudly, "Why he don’t send me check, already two week late.”

　　And then, in perfect English I said, "I’m getting rather concerned. You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived. "

　　Then she talked more loudly.  "What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss. "And so I turned to the stockbroker again, "I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately, I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week. "

　　The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.

　　When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world.

1.Why was the author’s mother poorly served?

A．She was unable to speak good English.       B．She was often misunderstood.

C．She was not clearly heard.                 D．She was not very polite.

2.From Paragraph 2,we know that the author was        .

A．good at pretending                      B．rude to the stockbroker

C．ready to help her mother                 D．unwilling to phone for her mother

3.After the author made the phone call,       .

A．they forgave the stockbroker              B．they failed to get the check

C．they went to New York at once             D．they spoke to their boss at once

4.What does the author think of her mother’s English now?

A．It confuses her.                         B．It makes her ashamed

C．It helps her understand the world.          D．It helps her bear rude people.

5.We can infer from the passage that Chinese English       .

A．is clear and natural to non-native speakers

B．is interesting and straight to non-native speakers

C．leaves a very bad impression on America

D．may bring inconvenience in America

 

Learners of English, especially self-taught learners may have trouble in understanding the speeches made by native speakers. The following ways might help improve your listening skills.

First of all, do things step by step. It is not good to listen to something beyond your level. Better choose a suitable course and start with the first book. Don’t go on to the second book until you are sure you understand the first one.

Secondly, keep studying one course. Don’t change books often. Never let your attention be attracted by another course just because it seems to be more popular.

Thirdly, listen to the English news over the radio from time to time. Better look through the news stories in Chinese-language newspapers first. That will make it easier for you to understand the English news on the radio.

Fourthly, if you have time, listen to some interesting stories in Special English from the V.O.A or other listening materials of the same level as those of your textbook.

76. 1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．How to speak English correctly.	B．How to read fast.
C．How to improve your writing skills.	D．How to improve your listening skills.

77. 2.What does the underlined part “beyond your level” mean?

A．Easy for you.	B．Too difficult for you.
C．Just all right for you.	D．Neither difficult nor easy for you.

78. 3.What should you do if you want to understand the English news on the radio?

A. Practise speaking very often.    

B. Read the news stories in Chinese-language newspapers first.

C. Listen to some interesting stories in Special English from the V,O.A.

D. Ask others to explain it to you.

79. 4.How many pieces of advice does the writer give?

A．Four

B．Three.

C．Two.

D．Many.

80. 5.Which of the following is NOT right?

A．English learners may have difficulty in understanding native English.

B．To improve our listening skills, we should choose popular courses from time to time.

C．Chinese-language newspapers are good for us to understand the English news on the radio..

D．We can only improve our listening skills step by step.

 

To master a language one must be able to speak and understand the spoken language as well as to read and write. Lenin and his wife Krupskaya translated a long English book into Russian. But when they went to England in 1902, English people couldn't understand what was said to them. These days more and more foreigners are coming to China and more Chinese are going out to foreign countries to work or study. So the spoken language is becoming more and more important.

Speaking, of course, can't go without listening. If you want to pronounce a word correctly, first you must hear it correctly. The sounds of the Chinese and English languages are not exactly the same. If you don't listen carefully, you'll find it difficult or even impossible to understand the native speakers.

Well, what about writing? Like speaking, it's to exchange ideas. People generally use shorter words and shorter sentences in their writing. The important thing is to make your idea clear in your head and then to write it in clear lively language.

Chinese students read far too slowly. If you read fast, you understand better. If you read too slowly, by the time you have reached the end of a page you have forgotten what the beginning is about. When you meet with new words, don't look them up in the dictionary. Guess the meaning from the context(上下文). You may not guess quite correctly the first time, but as new words come up again and again in different contexts, their meaning will become clearer and clearer. If you look up every word, you'll never finish a book.

Students of a foreign language need a particular knowledge, the knowledge of the life, history and geography of the people whose language they are studying. They should study these subjects in the

foreign language, not only in translation. In this way one can kill two birds with one stone: learn a foreign language and get some knowledge of the foreign country at the same time.

In the first paragraph, the writer told us _________.

A. how to speak English well

B. how to read and write English

C. why spoken English is very important

D. why English people couldn't understand Lenin

In order to study a foreign language, the writer thinks the best way is ______.

A. to kill two birds with one stone

B. to learn two languages at a time

C. to study all the subjects in a foreign language

D. to get some knowledge of the foreign country as well as learn the language

In the fourth paragraph the writer gave some advice on ____.

A. how to imporve reading faster

B. how to guess the meaning from the context

C. how to look up new words in the dictionary

D. how to grasp the general meaning of a passage

"To kill two birds with one stone" means ____.

A. to get some particular knowledge

B. to get more than what one pays

C. the stone is too big

D. the birds are blind enough