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 ______.
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A．she uses English in foreign trade |
B．she is fascinated by languages |
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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 ______.
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A．impolite |
B．amusing |
C．imperfect |
D．practical |
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
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A．Americans do not understand broken English. |
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B．The author’s mother was not respected sometimes. |
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C．The author’ mother had positive influence on her. |
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D．Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts. |
4.The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is ______.
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A．well structured |
B．in the old style |
C．easy to translate |
D．rich in meaning |
5.What is the passage mainly about?
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A．The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English. |
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B．The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother. |
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C．The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English. |
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D．The author’s experiences of using broken English. |
In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.
Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally（通常）see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.
What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve（神）tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation and the expression for emotions（情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are.
1.Which of the following is best to outline（概括）the article?
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A．Research on the Brain |
B．Differences between Men and Women |
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C．People’s Different Brains |
D．Who Are Better, Boys or Girls |
2.______ men and women think differently.
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A．Sex makes |
B．The different brains make |
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C．The different experiences make |
D．The influences of society make |
3.According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at ______ in your school.
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A．Mathematics |
B．Physics |
C．English |
D．Chemistry |
4.Which of the following is true?
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A．The left side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls. |
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B．The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys. |
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C．Men are better than women in all things. |
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D．The area in girls used for language skills develops better. |
5.In men and women the number of nerves connecting the halves of brain _______.
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A．is the same |
B．is different |
C．is zero |
D．can’t be found out |
A proverb is a short, well-known saying that conveys 1.______ common truth or belief. Marty proverbs give advice about how to live.
For example, my daughter is very short. She would like to be 2.______. But I tell her that good things come in small packages. Some valuable things are very small, like diamonds and other jewels. But I also tell my children that all 3.______ glitters is not gold. Don't be fooled by appearances. 4.______ may look valuable, but may not really be valuable. Sometimes I tell my children to cooperate to solve a problem. After all, two heads are better than 5.______. Two people working together can get better results. But another proverb says too many cooks spoil the broth (��). 6. ______ too many people try to do something, then the job will not be done well.
Finally, I always like the proverb: You can catch more flies with honey than 7.______ vinegar. Honey is sweet while vinegar is not. In other words, you can win people to your side more easily with gentle persuasion 8.______ by hostile actions.
I grew up poor---living in the housing projects (住房) with six brothers, three sisters, a varying assortment (各式各样东西的混合) of foster kids (养子), my father, and a wonderful mother, Scarlette Hunley. We had little money and few worldly goods, but plenty of love and attention. I was 36 and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still 37 a dream.
My dream was 38 . By the time I was sixteen, I could crush a baseball, and hit anything that moved on the baseball field. I was also 39 : My high school coach Jarvis, who not only believed in me, but taught me how to believe in myself. He 40 me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction (信念). One particular incident with Coach Jarvis changed my life forever.
It was the summer between my junior and senior years, and a friend 41 me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket—cash for dates with girls, certainly, money for a new bike and new clothes, and the start of savings for a 42 for my mother. The prospect of a summer job was attractive and interesting, and I wanted to jump at the opportunity. Then I realized I would have to 43 summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing.
When I told Coach Jarvis, he was 44 as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work，” he said. “Your 45 days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them.”
I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the words that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his 46 to me.
“How much are you going to make at this job, son?” He demanded. “3.5 dollars an hour.” I replied. “Well,” he asked, “Is $3.5 an hour the price of a dream?”
That question, the plainness of it, laid bare for me the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal. I dedicated myself to sports that summer and with the year I was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was 47 a $20,000 contract. I signed with the Denver Broncos in 1998 for $1.7 million, and bought my mother the house of my dreams.
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I wonder why Jack always gets good marks when he does only ______ the others.
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A．half as much as |
B．as much as half |
C．half as many as |
D．as many as half |
You won’t surf the internet before you finish your homework, ______ you?
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A．do |
B．don’t |
C．will |
D．won’t |
