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.
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 works as a translator
D. she is a writer by profession
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. 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
5. 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.
Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one word that fits the context.
Last month we finally got a chance to have a trip to E’mei Mountain, __48___ we had longed to do for ages. It was there ___49___ I was amazed by the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen!
The weather didn’t seem to welcome us when we got to West China’s Chengdu city --- it was quite wet and cold. On the coach heading to the mountain, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. “What a bad day!” I said to myself when looking out of the window, “We may not be able to see a lot in the mountain. And ___50___ a pity it will be if we miss the sunrise next morning!”
The guide denied the possibility of a sunny day. “Actually, seldom ___51___ we have bright sunshine here, especially in winter.” he said.
Very early the next morning, amazingly, we got completely satisfied in a totally unexpected way. On the way up the mountain, we found everything was becoming white --- it was snowing! We screamed. Arriving at the top of the mountain, we found ___52___ in a white world that only existed in fairy tales. ___53___ could help describe what we saw. We were jumping, screaming, taking photos, trying to fill our eyes __54_____ everything we could see, because we knew that this was the ___55____ time to see such beauty of the nature, and probably, the only time in our lives.
For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A. B. C. and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Since my family were not going to be helpful, I decided I would look for one all by myself and not tell them about it till I’d got one.
I had seen an agency （中介机构） advertised in a local newspaper. I rushed out of the __36_ in search of it. I was wildly excited, and as _37_ as if I were going on the stage. Finding the 38 quite easily, I ran breathlessly through a door which said “Enter without knocking, if you please.”
The simple atmosphere of the office 39 me. The woman looked carefully at me for a while through her glasses, and then questioned me in a low voice. I answered softly. All of a sudden I started to feel rather 40 She wondered why I was looking for this sort of job I felt even more helpless when she told me that it would be 41 to get a job without experience I wondered whether I ought to leave, when the telephone on her desk rang. I heard her say:
“ 42 , I’ve got someone in the office at this very moment who might 43 .” She
wrote down a __44 , and held it out to me, saying: “Ring up this lady. She wants a cook immediately. In fact, you would have to start tomorrow by cooking a dinner for ten people.”
“Oh yes,” said I — 45 having cooked for more than four in my life. I 46 her again and again, and rushed out to the nearest telephone box. I collected my thoughts, took a deep breath, and rang the number. I said confidently that I was just what she was looking for.
I spent the next few hours 47 cook books.
1.A. bed B house C. agency D. office
2.A. proud B. please C. nervous D. worried
3.A. family B. door C. place D. stage
4.A. calmed B. excited C. frightened D. disturbed
5.A. encouraged B. dissatisfied C. hopeless D. pleased
6.A. difficult B. helpless C. possible D. unusual
7.A. Above all B. As a matter of fact C. As a result D. In spite of that
8.A. hire B. accept C.suit D. offer
9.A. letter B. name C.note D. number
10.A. almost B. never C.nearly D. really
11.A. answered B. promised C.thanked D. told
12.A. borrowing B. buying C.reading D. writing
I’d like to have visited the Palace Museum, but something unexpected _______ to my father.
A. had happened B. happened C. has happened D. happens
－What are
you busy with ?
－The conference _______ in our city next week.
A. held B. will be held C. be holding D. to be held
Attention, coffee lovers! We have for you, the best coffee machine _____ invented.
A. ever B. already C. even D. nowadays
