The United States is mainly an English－speaking country. The great number of population(人口) speaks English as their native language. Business, education and most publish aspects(方面) of  life are conducted in English. Across the country, people pronounce English sounds in several  different ways and some regional(地区) differences in word spelling exist, but for the most part,  Americans speak one common language. This language is sometimes called American English.

However, not everyone in the US is a native speaker of English. Most of the persons coming into the country are speakers of other languages. There are hundreds of communities around the US where English is not the most commonly used language. Chinese, Italian, German, American, Greek, Vietnamese and French are all spoken in a great number of communities in the United States. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language after English in the US. It is widely spoken in New York and across the southern part of the country.

For speakers of other languages, learning English is important, but traditionally(传统上),  teaching people to speak English as a second language was given little attention. Non－English  speakers were expected to “pick up” the language through getting in touch with people in public. Recently, this has changed. Today, most large public schools and community colleges have ESL,  English as a Second Language, programs. American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will be using it. Therefore, ESL programs teach different English lessons to different students.  Some programs teach students to communicate in English in public.

1. What language or languages do people in the United States speak?

A. English.

B. American English.

C. English and Spanish.

D. English and lots of other languages

2. ESL stands for ________.

A. English as a Special Language        

B. English as a Spoken Language

C. English and Spanish Languages        

D. English as a Second Language

3. Where is Spanish spoken in the United States?

A. In most part of New York and the southern states.

B. In New York and all the southern states.

C. In New York and across the southern part of the country.

D. In New York and many southern states.

4. “Non－English speakers were expected to ‘pick up’  the language through listening to and talking with people in public.” Here “pick up” means “________”．

A. master(without difficulty)    

B. do one's best to study

C. learn(without taking lessons)  

D. know only a little about

5. “American English teachers feel that English students should learn the language the way they will be using it.” Here “English students” means “________”．

A. the students who are English        

B. the students who know nothing about English

C. the students who wish to learn English

D. the students who come to the US from some other countries

       Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time with the family are still worried that without TV they would be too often on call as entertainers（娱乐者） for their children．They remember thinking up all sorts of things to do when they were children．But their own children seem different, less good at finding things to pass the time, somehow．When there’s nothing to do, these parents notice regretfully that their children seem unable to come up with anything to do besides turning on the TV．?

       One father, for example, says, “When I was young, we were always thinking up things to do, projects and games．We certainly never complained in an angry way to our parents, ‘I have nothing to do”．He compares this with his own children today: “They are simply lazy．If someone doesn’t play with them, they’ll happily sit there watching TV all day．”

       There is one word for this father’s disappointment: unfair．It is as if he were disappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied the language．He feels his children’s lack of inventiveness a great pity, as if the ability to play were something born that his children are missing．In fact, the tendency（倾向） to play is built into the human species, but the actual ability to play—to imagine, to invent in a playful way, and the ability to gain satisfaction after successful effort from it—these are skills that have to be learned and developed．

       Such disappointment, however, is not only unjust, it is also destructive（毁灭性的）．Sensing their parents’ disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lacking something, and that this makes them less worthy of admiration and respect．Giving children the chance to develop new things to enjoy themselves, to enrich their knowledge and experience and discover the pleasure of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, a way to help children develop a confident（自信）feeling about themselves as able and interesting people．

Many people think that, instead of watching a lot of TV, their children should_______．

       A．think up things to enjoy themselves       B．find chances to talk with parents

       C．enjoy themselves outdoors      D．sit silently studying Greek

Fathers often blame their children for not being able to play by themselves．This is unfair because________．

       A．they do not lack the ability to play

       B．they have not been given the opportunities to learn and develop their ability

       C．the children are too young to do that

       D．the children are not really lazy, but there’s nothing for them to do

When parents show continuous disappointment in their children, the children will________．

       A．be more disappointed

       B．refuse to learn new things

       C．discover the pleasures of doing things on their own

       D．lose their confidence and respectability

What is the author’s main idea?

       A．Parents should give children more help on how to be inventive．

       B．Turning off the TV will help us solve a lot of family problems．

       C．It’s not right for parents and children to blame（抱怨） each other．

       D．Today’s children are becoming less able and independent than before．

Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time with the family are still worried that without TV they would constantly be on call as entertainers for their children. They remember thinking up all sorts of things to do when they were kids. But their own kids seem different, less resourceful, somehow. When there’s nothing to do, these parents observe regretfully, their kids seem unable to come up with anything to do besides turning on the TV.
One father, for example, says, “When I was a kid, we were always thinking up things to do, projects and games. We certainly never complained in an annoying way to our parents. ‘I have nothing to do’.” He compares this with his own children today: “They’re simply lazy. If someone doesn’t entertain them, they’ll happily sit there watching TV all day.”
There is one word for this father’s disappointment: unfair. It is as if he were disappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied the language. He deplores (哀叹) his children’s lack of inventiveness, as if the ability to play were something born that his children are missing. In fact, while the tendency to play is built into the human species, the actual ability to play – to imagine, to invent, to elaborate on reality in a playful way –and the ability to gain fulfillment from it, these are skills that have to be learned and developed.
Such disappointment, however, is not only unjust, it is also destructive. Sensing their parents’ disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lacking something, and that this makes them less worthy of admiration and respect. Giving children the opportunity to develop new resources, to enlarge their horizons and discover the pleasure of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, a way to help children develop a confident feeling about themselves as capable and interesting people.
【小题1】 According to many parents, if there’s nothing to do, the children would        .

       Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time with the family are still worried that without TV they would be too often on call as entertainers（娱乐者） for their children．They remember thinking up all sorts of things to do when they were children．But their own children seem different, less good at finding things to pass the time, somehow．When there’s nothing to do, these parents notice regretfully that their children seem unable to come up with anything to do besides turning on the TV．?
One father, for example, says, “When I was young, we were always thinking up things to do, projects and games．We certainly never complained in an angry way to our parents, ‘I have nothing to do”．He compares this with his own children today: “They are simply lazy．If someone doesn’t play with them, they’ll happily sit there watching TV all day．”
There is one word for this father’s disappointment: unfair．It is as if he were disappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied the language．He feels his children’s lack of inventiveness a great pity, as if the ability to play were something born that his children are missing．In fact, the tendency（倾向） to play is built into the human species, but the actual ability to play—to imagine, to invent in a playful way, and the ability to gain satisfaction after successful effort from it—these are skills that have to be learned and developed．
Such disappointment, however, is not only unjust, it is also destructive（毁灭性的）．Sensing their parents’ disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lacking something, and that this makes them less worthy of admiration and respect．Giving children the chance to develop new things to enjoy themselves, to enrich their knowledge and experience and discover the pleasure of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, a way to help children develop a confident（自信）feeling about themselves as able and interesting people．
【小题1】Many people think that, instead of watching a lot of TV, their children should_______．

A．be more disappointed

B．refuse to learn new things

C．discover the pleasures of doing things on their own

D．lose their confidence and respectability

       Many parents who welcome the idea of turning off the TV and spending more time with the family are still worried that without TV they would be too often on call as entertainers（娱乐者） for their children．They remember thinking up all sorts of things to do when they were children．But their own children seem different, less good at finding things to pass the time, somehow．When there’s nothing to do, these parents notice regretfully that their children seem unable to come up with anything to do besides turning on the TV．?

       One father, for example, says, “When I was young, we were always thinking up things to do, projects and games．We certainly never complained in an angry way to our parents, ‘I have nothing to do”．He compares this with his own children today: “They are simply lazy．If someone doesn’t play with them, they’ll happily sit there watching TV all day．”

       There is one word for this father’s disappointment: unfair．It is as if he were disappointed in them for not reading Greek though they have never studied the language．He feels his children’s lack of inventiveness a great pity, as if the ability to play were something born that his children are missing．In fact, the tendency（倾向） to play is built into the human species, but the actual ability to play—to imagine, to invent in a playful way, and the ability to gain satisfaction after successful effort from it—these are skills that have to be learned and developed．

       Such disappointment, however, is not only unjust, it is also destructive（毁灭性的）．Sensing their parents’ disappointment, children come to believe that they are, indeed, lacking something, and that this makes them less worthy of admiration and respect．Giving children the chance to develop new things to enjoy themselves, to enrich their knowledge and experience and discover the pleasure of doing things on their own is, on the other hand, a way to help children develop a confident（自信）feeling about themselves as able and interesting people．

1.Many people think that, instead of watching a lot of TV, their children should_______．

       A．think up things to enjoy themselves       B．find chances to talk with parents

       C．enjoy themselves outdoors      D．sit silently studying Greek

2.Fathers often blame their children for not being able to play by themselves．This is unfair because________．

       A．they do not lack the ability to play

       B．they have not been given the opportunities to learn and develop their ability

       C．the children are too young to do that

       D．the children are not really lazy, but there’s nothing for them to do

3.When parents show continuous disappointment in their children, the children will________．

       A．be more disappointed

       B．refuse to learn new things

       C．discover the pleasures of doing things on their own

       D．lose their confidence and respectability

4.What is the author’s main idea?

       A．Parents should give children more help on how to be inventive．

       B．Turning off the TV will help us solve a lot of family problems．

       C．It’s not right for parents and children to blame（抱怨） each other．

       D．Today’s children are becoming less able and independent than before．