网址：http://m.1010jiajiao.com/timu3_id_3022280[举报]
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My heart sank when the man at the immigration counter gestured to the back room. I was born and raised in America, and this was Miami, where I live, but they weren’t quite ready to let me in yet.
“Please wait in here, Ms. Abujaber,” the immigration officer said. My husband, with his very American last name, accompanied me. He was getting used to this. The same thing had happened recently in Canada when I’d flown to Montreal to speak at a book event. That time they held me for 45 minutes. Today we were returning from a literary festival in Jamaica, and I was shocked that I was being sent “in back” once again.
The officer behind the counter called me up and said, “Miss, your name looks like the name of someone who’s on our wanted list. We’re going to have to check you out with Washington.”
“How long will it take?”
“Hard to say…a few minutes,” he said, “We’ll call you when we’re ready for you.” After an hour, Washington still hadn’t decided anything about me.
“Isn’t this computerized?” I asked at the counter, “Can’t you just look me up?”
“Just a few more minutes,” they assured me.
After an hour and a half, I pulled my cell phone out to call the friends I was supposed to meet that evening. An officer rushed over. “No phones!” he said, “For all we know you could be calling a terrorist cell and giving them information.”
“I’m just a university professor,” I said. My voice came out in a squeak.
“Of course you are. And we take people like you out of here in leg irons every day.”
I put my phone away.
My husband and I were getting hungry and tired. Whole families had been brought into the waiting room, and the place was packed with excitable children, exhausted parents, and even a flight attendant.
I wanted to scream, to jump on a chair and shout: “I’m an American citizen; a novelist; I probably teach English literature to your children.”
After two hours in detention (扣押), I was approached by one of the officers. “You’re free to go,” he said. No explanation or apologies. For a moment, neither of us moved. We were still in shock. Then we leaped to our feet.
“Oh, one more thing,” he handed me a tattered photocopy with an address on it, “If you aren’t happy with your treatment, you can write to this agency.”
“Will they respond?” I asked.
“I don’t know—I don’t know of anyone who’s ever written to them before.” Then he added,” By the way, this will probably keep happening each time you travel internationally.”
“What can I do to keep it from happening again?”
He smiled the empty smile we’d seen all day, “Absolutely nothing.”
After telling several friends about our ordeal, probably the most frequent advice I’ve heard in response is to change my name. Twenty years ago, my own graduate school writing professor advised me to write under a pen name so that publishers wouldn’t stick me in what he called “the ethnic ghetto”—a separate, secondary shelf in the bookstore. But a name is an integral part of anyone’s personal and professional identity—just like the town you’re born in and the place where you’re raised.
Like my father, I’ll keep the name, but my airport experience has given me a whole new perspective on what diversity and tolerance are supposed to mean. I had no idea that being an American would ever be this hard.
1.The author was held at the airport because ______.
A. she and her husband returned from Jamaica
B. her name was similar to a terrorist’s
C. she had been held in Montreal
D. she had spoken at a book event
2.She was not allowed to call her friends because ______.
A. her identity hadn’t been confirmed yet
B. she had been held for only one hour and a half
C. there were other families in the waiting room
D. she couldn’t use her own cell phone
3.We learn from the passage that the author would ______ to prevent similar experience from happening again.
A. write to the agency?????????? B. change her name??
C. avoid traveling abroad??????? D. do nothing
4.Her experiences indicate that there still exists ______ in the US.
A. hatred???????????????????? B. discrimination?????
C. tolerance?????????????????? D. diversity
5.The author sounds ______ in the last paragraph.
A. impatient?? B. bitter???????? C. worried??????????? D. ironic (具有讽刺意味的)
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learners. Here are some good methods, which can help you improve your English quickly.
First of all, you must have correct attitude. Please love English, not hate it. And you don't feel shy when
you say or speak English. Remember one sentence: Put your face in your pocket.
Secondly, I think grammar rules, new words and phrases are important, but they are not enough. For
example, some people are quite good at grammar and learned a lot of English words and phrases. But they
can't speak English when they meet foreign friends.
The most effective (有效的) way to learn English well is to often use English. Don't be afraid and don't
laugh at others. We'd better listen, speak, read and write more. You can go to English corner, talk with
foreigners or talk with your friends. If you have time, listen to the radio or English program. Listening to this
good material can help you improve your listening and understanding. And then, you can read English books,
newspapers or novels. They are wonderful. You can use the internet, chat with net-friends or write E-mails,
dairies …Through these ways, you can get more for your English.
English isn't so difficult that we can't learn it well. As long as we set our mind to learn English well, I'm
sure everyone will be successful.
B. you should not let others recognize your face
C. you should try not to make mistakes when speaking English
D. You should not feel shy when using English
B. Grammar rules, new words and phrases are the most important thing for an English learner
C. If you are good at grammar, your spoken English will be bad
D. Learning grammar rules, new words and phrases is only part of English learning
B. communicate with people in English
C. travel in English-speaking countries
D. write English diaries
B. English isn't difficult
C. Use English often in your life
D. Grammar learning is not enough