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 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 rejected 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’s 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.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.D

5.A

【解析】

本文是记叙文。作者通过这篇文章主要向我们描述了作者在不同时期对母亲所使用的语言的不同看法；尽管因为母亲的破碎英语使母亲有时候不受人尊重，然而却为作者的写作提供了莫大的帮助。

1.推理判断题。此句中the tool of my trade中的trade指的是职业。根据文章第一段I am a writer可知，作者是一名作家；此句又说语言是作者的职业工具，故此句指的自然是作者的职业为作家；故选D。

2.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段中That is because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect.（那是因为她表达得不完美，她的思想不完美）可知，作者一度以为自己妈妈所说的英语是不完美的。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段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.（我有足够的证据来支持我的观点:百货商店、银行和餐馆里的人没有认真对待她，没有给她提供良好的服务，假装没有听懂她的话，甚至装作没有听见她的话）可知，作者的母亲有时不受别人尊重。故选B。

4.推理判断题。由最后一段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（我想抓住语言能力测试永远无法显示的东西：她的意图、她的感受、她说话的节奏和她思想的本质）可推知，作者写小说的时候，知道了他母亲的英语是含义丰富的。故选D。

5.主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文以时间为线索，主要向我们描述了作者在不同时期对母亲所使用的语言的不同看法。由此可知，A项“作者对母亲说的英语的态度的变化”符合题意。故选A。