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.

46. 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

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

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

48. 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.

49. 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

50. 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.

.
完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
About two years ago while working downtown at our company’s headquarters I met a man. I’ll call him “Martin”. Martin was a short, middle-aged man with a glandular(内分泌) problem. He was fat, using a walking stick to help, and was painfully shy. Almost every morning I saw Martin on the elevator. We were usually the only people there, so I made __36   conversation as we __37_ to the 15th floor. I chatted with him about sometimes weather and sometimes about each other’s weekend.
About six months __38   our daily elevator chats, Martin came to my office and asked if I had a minute to chat. Though we worked on the same floor, I’m sure he had to __39   to find me. I invited him to sit down. He said, “I wanted to come and say __40  . The company has let me go. Today will be my last day.”
I didn’t know what to say. __41   I was too familiar with saying goodbye to co-workers, it was never __42  . Honestly, I usually avoid talking about the event because I felt __43   and at a loss for words. I told him I was __44   and asked if there was anything I could do. He said, “No, I’ll be fine, I just wanted to take the time to thank you.” I was now __45   . He explained that our daily talks had __46   a lot to him.
He thanked me not only for  __47   with him in the mornings, but for speaking directly to him and others on the elevator, and for telling him a quick joke in the crowded cafeteria. It seemed that __48   had ever been his friend before—or if so they were __49   to him in public.
He said he didn’t want to __50   much of my time, as he knew I was busy and he needed to __51   his personal things. He had tears in his eyes as he shook my hand and left.
I’ve never seen him since, but I imagine he’s doing well. Meeting him  __52   my life. Now when I’m in a hurry, or have a bad day, I try extra hard to speak __53   to those around me. I remind myself that it’s just as easy to say something nice as to say something __54  , and I’m awed (敬畏) at how __55   our daily actions are.
36. A. formal          B. polite        C. special          D. usual
37. A. climbed                 B. ran              C. rode             D. moved
38. A. during                B. before          C. until             D. after
39. A. search                 B. walk            C. drive            D. move
40. A. thanks                B. goodbye       C. hello             D. words
41. A. But                    B. Because        C. When           D. Though
42. A. difficult                     B. easy            C. convenient    D. comfortable
43. A. astonished           B. painful       C. embarrassed   D. amazed
44. A. calm                   B. nervous        C. disappointed  D. sorry
45. A. confused        B. worried        C. moved          D. proud
46. A. meant                 B. done            C. caused          D. brought
47. A. working              B. traveling      C. chatting               D. staying
48. A. someone             B. everyone      C. anyone          D. no one
49. A. cold                   B. friendly        C. warm            D. cruel
50. A. use up                B. take up         C. break up       D. pick up
51. A. sell                     B. decorate      C. pack             D. sort
52. A. changed                     B. colored        C. satisfied               D. controlled
53. A. directly               B. loudly          C. kindly           D. softly
54. A. different             B. rude         C. serious       D. interesting
55. A. surprising           B. strange         C. impressive    D. powerful

—He must be busy doing his homework right now.

   —I imagine____.

  A. that     B. to     C. so     D. it

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（本质）, 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.

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

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

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

3.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.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

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

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

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