When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of (感到难为情) my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her Chinese 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 realized that she was poor at English. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she. I was made to ask for information or even to shout 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(青少年的) voice that was not very certain, “This is Mrs. Tan.” My mother was standing beside me saying, “Why he doesn’t send me check, already two weeks late.” And then, in perfect English I said: “I’m getting rather worried. You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.” My mother then talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York to tell him in front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t accept 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(令人尴尬) 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 me see things, express ideas, and make sense of the world.
1.Why was the writer’s mother poorly served?
A. She was unable to speak good English.
B. She was often treated unfairly.
C. She was not clearly heard.
D. She was not very polite.
2.From Paragraph 2, we know that the writer was ____________.
A. good at pretending
B. rude to the stockbroker
C. ready to help her mother
D. not willing to phone for her mother
3. After the writer made the phone call, the writer and her mum___________.
A. received the check at once
B. still failed to get the check
C. went to New York immediately
D. spoke to the stockbroker’s boss at once
4.What does the underlined phrase “make sense of” in last paragraph mean?
A. confuse B. surprise.
C. understand D. refuse.
5.We can know from the passage that Chinese English ___________.
A. is clear and natural to native speakers
B. is well received by native speakers
C. is widely used in America
D. may bring inconvenience in America
6.The best title of the passage might be __________.
A. Great Mother
B. Natural English
C. Mother’s Chinese English
D. Perfect English
Complete the following sentences as required (根据所给要求,完成下列句子。每空格限填一词) (共14分)
1.Anna goes to the school library twice a week. (改为一般疑问句)
________ Anna ________ to the school library twice a week?
2.They went to the supermarket to buy some food for the picnic yesterday.(对划线部分提问)
________ ________ they go to the supermarket yesterday?
3.Students mustn’t smoke because smoking is harmful to their health. (保持句意基本不变)
Students ________ ________ to smoke because smoking is harmful to their health.
4.“Have you finished reading the report?” the manager asked me. (合成宾语从句)
The manager asked me ________ I ________ finished reading the report.
5.The old man has planted many trees since he came to live here.(改为被动语态)
Many trees ________ ________ planted by the old man since he came to live here.
6.It’s fun to go for a spring outing with my classmates.(改为感叹句)
________ ________ it is to go for a spring outing with my classmates!
7.foot, had, you, better, on, there, go (连词成句)
___________________________________________________________________.
Complete the sentences with the given words in their proper forms (用括号中所给单词的适当形式完成下列句子。每空格限填一词) (共8分)
1.The snakes from Thailand don’t have many ________ in the United States. (enemy)
2.Our class teacher is a pretty woman and she always makes ________ attractive. (she)
3.The hotel on the ________ floor has a nice view of the Huangpu River. (eleven)
4.As we all know, computers are ________ used in business, science and technology. (wide)
5.The recent survey shows that many accidents come from ________ driving. (careful)
6.The weather was ________ last month and many people fell ill with colds. (change)
7.If you want to ________ in the future, you must put your heart into your work. (success)
8.Because of the heavy traffic jam, I missed the ________ of the exciting film. (begin)
Complete the following passage with the words or phrases in the box. Each can only be used once (将下列单词或词组填入空格。每空格限填一词,每词只能填一次) (共8分)
A. because B. products C. describe D. several E. disturb |
Language is always changing and developing. This isn’t a bad thing. If English hasn’t changed for a long time, we won’t have words to 1. telephones, washing machines, computers or some other new things.
Language changes for 2. reasons. First, it changes because the needs of its speaker change. New technologies, new 3. , and new experiences need new words to express them clearly. Another reason for change is that different people have different language experiences. People use different sets of words and expressions _ 4. they have different ages, jobs, education levels and so on.
A. shorter B. another C. alive D. communicate with E. the other |
How does language develop then? On the one hand, many of the language changes begin with young people. When young people_5. others of their own age, their language grows in grammar, words and expressions. Some have a short lifetime but others have a long life. On 6.__ hand, we get new words in many different ways. We borrow them from other languages, we create them by making words 7. or putting words together and we make them out of proper names.
Languages that don’t change over time are considered dead languages. The fact that English changes so much shows that it is 8. and well.
---A: Sorry, I didn’t return your book on time.
---B: _______.
A. I agree with you. B. It doesn’t matter.
C. You’re welcome. D. That’s a good idea.
---A: Sophia, your handwriting is really beautiful. I love it.
---B: _______.
A. I practise it every day. B. No, I don’t think so.
C. Thank you very much. D. Well, it’s not good enough.