Question

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 I 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. 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.

3.The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is _____.

A. well structured      B. in the old style

C. rich in meaning    D. easy to translate

4.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.

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析：本文是记叙文，记叙随着时间的推移作者对母亲所使用的语言的不同看法。

1.D 推理判断题。根据第一段第一句I am a writer.可知“我”是一名作家。“Language is the tool of my trade”语言是我的职业工具。故答案选D。

2.B 推理判断题 根据第三段最后一句“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”。句意：我有很多的证据：在商场、银行、餐馆人们没有认真对待她，没有给她好的服务，假装听不明白她的话，甚至装作没有听到她说话。可见，人们没有尊重作者的母亲。故答案选B。

3.C 推理判断题。根据最后一段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我尽力地保留她语言的精髓，但未运用她所使用的英语或汉语的结构。我想领悟语言能力测试中所不能反映但我妈妈语言中所包含的意思比如她的意图，她的情感，她说话的韵律以及她的想法的本质。可见母亲的语言包含很多东西。故选C。

4.

【名师点睛】

推理判断题要求考生根据文章的某个句子、段落、或全文所提供的事实进行逻辑推理，推断出作者没有提到的或没有明说的事实或者可能发生的事情。考查考生透过词语的字面意义去理解作者的言外之意的能力。这类题目包括：推断隐含意义，推断目标读者，推断写法意图，推断观点态度。推理的步骤：1. 通过寻都找到相关信息。2.理解相关信息点的字面意思。3.结合语境进行符合语境的逻辑判断，从而推出作者的言外之意。本题的28,29,30题考的是推断隐含意义。28题根据第一段第一句“I am a writer.我是一名作家 ”找到信息点，然后推出“Language is the tool of my trade”的意思。29题根据第三段最后一句“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。我有很多的证据：在商场、银行、餐馆人们没有认真对待她，没有给她好的服务，假装听不明白她的话，甚至装作没有听到她说话。 ”找到信息点。然后推出，人们没有尊重作者的母亲。

考点：考查故事类记叙文的阅读