I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke(唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.

    Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions(认识)of the limited English speaker.

    I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is ,because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that 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.

    I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal(内在的) language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show; her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.

By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that ______.

      A. she uses English in foreign trade     B. she is fascinated by languages

      C. she works as a translator           D. she is a writer by profession

The author used to think of her mother’s English as ______.

      A. impolite     B. amusing     C. imperfect    D. practical

Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?

      A. Americans do not understand broken English.

      B. The author’s mother was not respected sometimes.

      C. The author’ mother had positive influence on her.

      D. Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.

The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is _____.

      A. well structured             B. in the old style

 C. easy to translate            D. rich in meaning

What is the passage mainly about?

      A. The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English.

      B. The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother.

      C. The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English.

      D. The author’s experiences of using broken English.


One Tuesday evening in the beginning of the fall 1996 semester at Shippensburg University, sirens(警笛) sounded. These sirens were not in celebration; they were a cry to the university that something was wrong. A house, only one block away, was on fire. Nine of the university's students lived there.
From the minute the word got out that help was needed, it seemed like everyone showed up. The victims of the fire were offered endless invitations for housing for the night. The very next day, everyone got into gear to do their part in helping them. Flyers (小传单) were posted with items that were immediately needed, just to get these students through this next couple of days. Boxes for donations and money jars were placed in every residence hall(学生宿舍).
As a residence director,I went before the students in my hall to ask them to do what they could. I knew that college students don't have much, but I asked them to do their best: “Every little bit will help." I really didn't think they could do much. I was proved wrong.
At the hall council meeting the night after the fire, my residents decided to have a wing competition, where each wing of the building would team up to see who could bring In the most donations. I announced that the wing who won would receive a free pizza party.
Thursday evening we announced over the PA system that we were beginning the wing competition. Within minutes, the place exploded. The single large box that I had placed in the lobby (太厅) was over-flowing. We quickly grabbed more boxes, and we watched in amazement as they, too, filled to the brim. Members of the resident assistant staff and I began to count the items. I was astonished by what I saw, and I was inspired by these kids.
When we came to the final tally(得分), the winners turned to me and announced that they would like to donate their winnings as well. They wanted the victims of the fire to have their pizza party.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I had watched these students jump to action, work tirelessly and donate all that they could. And then, as if that were not enough, they handed over their reward’s was touched and so very proud of them.
【小题1】The writer mainly wanted to      by the story.

A.tell us the suffering of nine of the college students from a fire
B.praise the college students helping the victims selflessly
C.tell us how successful the wing competition was
D.show he was deeply moved by the college students' action
【小题2】The phrase "get into gear" in the second paragraph means      .
A.be eagerB.take actionC.be preparedD.start working
【小题3】At first, the residence director thought      .
A.it was impossible to expect the college students to donate anything
B.it was easy to collect a lot of donations from the college students
C.the college students would donate not much
D.the college students would donate all the items they had
【小题4】The wing competition was held      .
A.on Tuesday eveningB.on Thursday
C.on Wednesday eveningD.the very next day
【小题5】How did the residence director feel when he saw the brimful boxes?
A.Terrible.B.Funny.C.Surprised.D.Serious

About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio(影棚)to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our “act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.

We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in “snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.

The next scene was a complete contrast (对比). The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures in front taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen (幕). An actor and actress stood of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water’s edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees(棕榈树), sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!

Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film "stars"!

1.Who is the author?

A.A cameraman.

B.A film director.

C.A crowd-scene actor.

D.A workman for scene setting.

2.What made the author feel cold?

A.The heavy snowfall.

B.The man-made scene.

C.The low temperature.

D.The film being shown.

3. What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned in the last paragraph?

A.A new scene would be filmed.

B.More stars would act in the film.

C.The author would leave the studio.

D.The next scene would be prepared.

 

LONDON—Life for Cathy Hagner and her three children is set to permanent(永久的) fast-forward.

Their full school day and her job as a lawyer's assistant are busy enough. But Hagner also has to take the two boys to soccer or hockey or basketball while dropping off her daughter at piano lessons or Girl Scout Club.

Often, the exhausted family doesn't get home until 7 pm. There is just time for a quick supper before homework. In today's world, middle-class American and British parents treat their children as if they are competitors racing for some finishing line.

Parents take their children from activity to activity in order to make their future bright. It seems that raising a genius has become a more important goal than raising a happy and well-balanced child.

"Doctors across the country are reporting a growing number of children suffering from stomachaches and headaches due to exhaustion and stress," says child expert William Doherty of the University of Minnesota.

Teachers are dealing with exhausted kids in the classroom. It's a very serious problem. Many children attend after-school clubs by necessity. But competitive pressures also create an explosion of activities. They include sports, language, music and math classes for children as young as four.

"There is a new parenting trend under way which says that you have to tap all your child's potential at a young age; otherwise you will let him down,” says Terry Alter, a Cambridge-based child and adolescent psychiatrist (青少年精神病专家)

"It isn't entirely new: there have always been pushy parents. But what was previously seen as strange behaviour is now well accepted."

1.From the second paragraph of this passage we can find that ______.

A.Hagner wastes much time helping her children's lessons

B.Hagner doesn't spend much time on her full-time job

C.Hagner is interested in spots and music

D.Hagner busies herself by following a trend

2.British parents, as the writer described in this passage, _____.

A.treat their children as spots players

B.pay no attention to their children's lessons

C.bring up their children in a simple way

D.give their children little time to develop freely

3.The writer's opinion about after-school clubs is that ______.

A.activities in the country are too competitive

B.children should attend four clubs at a time

C.some clubs result in competitive pressures

D.clubs should have more subjects for school children

4.The last paragraph tells us that in Britain ______.

A.parents used to take their children to every club

B.parents used to be wise on how to raise children

C.parents have all benefited from children's clubs

D.parents have come to know the standard of education

 

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