B
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 n
ot 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 (本质), 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.
61. 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
62. The author used to think of her mother’s English as .
A. impolite B. amusing C. imperfect D. practical
63. 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.
64. It can be inferred that the English the author’s mother used was .
A. well structured B. in the old style
C. easy to translate D. rich in meaning
65. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The author’s experiences of using different Englishes.
B. The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English.
C. The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother.D. The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English.
Awareness Weeks(认知宣传周)have become a regular part of Britain's cultural landscape over the past few years. They started back in 1957,when one charity(慈善机构),Christian Aid, decided to make all its money-raising efforts on one time of year. It was thought that by doing this they would get more publicity for their cause.
They were right, and soon other charities and campaign groups followed them. These days, most donations to charity are not collected on the streets. So instead of just asking for money, charities prefer to spend their time “raising awareness”—spreading knowledge of the work they do or the cause they support. They also compete with businesses and trade groups who use awareness weeks as marketing campaigns for their products.
There are now 500 awareness weeks held every year in the UK. No week goes by without one group or another trying to make the British public aware of something, with most held in May or October.
The danger with all these awareness weeks is that people start to become cynical(不信任).Take National Smile Week, it seems like a great idea. Let's all make each other's life a little bit happier with a friendly smile. But really it's just a group of dentists and cosmetics companies trying to sell us toothpastes. It's enough to make you want to start National Forget About It Week.
“People feel that many awareness campaigns are just marketing exercises,” says Ms Ormiston, who edits the Awareness Campaign Register, a newsletter which encourages people who run Awareness Weeks to become more aware of each other.“But 90 per cent of campaigns are run by traditional charities or not for groups to make money.”
“There's still no official group for awareness campaigns,” says Ms Ormiston.“People can do what they like, whatever the size of their budgets(经费)or their public relations machines allows.”
This situation has led to calls for laws to stop real charities having their efforts overshadowed by marketing campaigns. This could be done by making the two groups hold their weeks at different times or stopping businesses running imitation(模仿) charity campaigns.
But there is another way. Maybe it's time for National Weak Awareness Week, especially for people whose awareness of Awareness Weeks is weak.What's the main purpose of awareness weeks run by charities in Britain?
A.To raise money for charities. |
B.To spread knowledge of charities. |
C.To take up marketing campaigns. |
D.To advertise their goods for sale. |
Why do people start to become cynical about awareness weeks?
A.Too many awareness weeks make people feel bored. |
B.People feel many awareness weeks are just for marketing exercises. |
C.People have a weak awareness of awareness weeks. |
D.Awareness weeks are held too often and too much money is raised. |
What does Ms Ormiston think about awareness weeks?
A.Most of the awareness weeks should not be for making money. |
B.Official groups should take the place of charities in awareness campaigns. |
C.People can do what they like in awareness weeks. |
D.People can get larger budgets through awareness campaigns. |
In the 1960s,medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They found out that any major change can be stressful. Negative events like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but so were some positive life-changing events, like marriage. When you take the Holmes-Rahe test you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress—it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you deal with these events has a great effect on your chances of staying healthy.
By the early 1970s,hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow, the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women's magazines ran headlines like “Stress causes illnesses”.If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. ven if stressful events are dangerous, many—like the death of a loved one—are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription(处方) for staying away from opportunities as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move.
The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of what we know about people. It is supposed that we're all weak and passive in the face of difficulty. But many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom, and physical and mental damage.The result of Holmes-Rahe's medical research tells us _______.
A.the way of dealing with major events may cause stress |
B.what should be done to avoid stress |
C.what kind of event would cause stress |
D.how to deal with sudden changes in life |
The studies on stress in the early 1970's led to_______.
A.widespread worry over its harmful effects |
B.great fear about the mental problems it could cause |
C.a deep research into illnesses connected with stress |
D.popular avoidance of stressful jobs |
According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become_______.
A.discouraged when faced with difficulty |
B.physically and mentally weak |
C.more experienced in the face of difficulty |
D.uninterested in what happens to them |
What's the purpose of writing the text?
A.To tell people the discoveries about stress. |
B.To tell people how to keep healthy. |
C.To help people avoid stressful events. |
D.To help people view stress properly. |
Experts say it is far easier to prevent a child from being taken than to find missing children. Their advice to parents.
(1)Tell your child your phone number, including area code, and your full address.
(2)Keep up-to-date photographs of your child on hand.
(3)Make a mental note of what your child is wearing every day.
(4)Be sure your child know what to do if you are separated from him or her.
(5)Keep records of your child as early as possible and keep them up-to-date.
(6)Have a set of your child's fingerprints taken by the police and keep it at home.
(7)Make sure your child's school will phone you if your child is absent.
For information of what you can do to help solve the missing-children problem at the national level, call 1-800KID-FIND or write: FIND THE CHILDREN!11811W.Olympic Blue. Low Angeles, call 90064.The writer of this passage may be_______.
A.an expert who is good at finding missing children |
B.a policeman who is in charge of KIDFIND service in a police station |
C.a teacher who teaches children how to phone their parents |
D.a teenager who was once missing |
This passage is mainly written to warn_______.
A.schoolboys | B.children | C.parents | D.teachers |
The best title of this passage may be_______.
A.How to Find Missing Children |
B.How to Protect Your Children |
C.How to Teach Your Children Phone Number and Full Address |
D.How to Phone the Police When You Are in Trouble |
In most towns today, you can see teenagers standing over electronic machines with flashing lights, shooting at spaceships from other planets and dropping bombs on strange monsters(恶魔).The machines have names like Space Warrior, Dark Invader and so on. It used to be believed that damage was done only to those strange visitors from outer space, but now it seems that they are striking back.
Many teenagers like electronic games so much that they can't stop playing. They spend hours tightly holding the joystick controls and constantly pressing buttons marked “fire”.They develop pains on their fingers because of the constant pressure. They play and play so that the pains have no chance to cure properly. The rapid wrist movement required to guide the spaceship across the screen causes another problem: The muscles of the wrist and arm become so inflamed and swollen(充血红肿)that they press against the bones. This condition is what doctors now call “Space Warriar's Wrist”.Other strange aches and pains also are likely to affect(影响)the elbows and shoulders.
Another even more alarming problem is shown by the case of a 17-year-old girl which was recently in the British Medical Journal. She had been playing all kinds of electronic games for more than two hours a day. Her father repaired games and machines and she could use the cassettes and systems in his workshop as often as she liked. One day, after playing a game called Dark Invader, she lost consciousness(晕倒)and fell to the floor.
Doctors who examined her found she was suffering from an unusual illness caused by lights flashing at a particular frequency.“Space Warrior's Wrist”is caused by_______.
A.constantly pressing the buttons |
B.rapidly moving across the screen |
C.tightly holding the joystick controls |
D.inflamed and swollen muscles of the wrist |
The case of a 17-year-old girl by the writer shows that the writer_______.
A.supports playing electronic games |
B.feels very sorry for the girl |
C.disagrees with young people's playing electronic games |
D.feels worried about young people's poor health |
From the passage we can conclude that playing electronic games is _______.
A.enjoyable and helpful to the study |
B.exciting but harmful to the health and study |
C.interesting but harmless to the eyes |
D.amusing and satisfying |
You are a German living in Berlin. One day you’ re walking down the street, minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger comes up with a smile on his face. After stopping you, he holds a small electronic device (装置) close to his face and speaks slowly into it, saying, in English," Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut?" What should you do? (a) Run away; (b) Call the police; or (c) Listen closely for the device to say in German," Konnen Sie mir bitte sagen, welches sauerkraut haufen kann?"
The most proper answer would be (c) because the person in front of you is only a tourist trying to enjoy himself. The device is said to be the world’s first portable(便携的) translator — a hand-held microcomputer that at the same time translates one spoken language into another. The four-pound, battery-operated product is called the Voice, and it is the invention of Advanced Products and Technologies, an American electronics company. When the Voice is introduced in the Unite States in late April — at a price of (1,500 — it will be used to translate spoken English into Italian, German, French and Spanish. The product comes with separate cartridges(盒式存储器) for each of the four languages, which can be changed when the user travels from one country to another. It will be sold in Europe soon after the US introduction, with cartridges that translate Italian, German, French and Spanish into English.
The Voice uses a microchip(微型集成电路片) to translate languages. It is Started by voice command and produces voice output through a built-in speaker. When the user makes a statement or asks a question, the Voice immediately repeats what has been said in another language.The device held by the stranger is probably a kind of________.
A.a two-way radio | B.language translator |
C.easily-carried speaker | D.a multi-functioned computer |
What does the last sentence of the first paragraph mean?
A.Can you tell me where I can buy some sauerkraut? |
B.Can I ask for some information from the police? |
C.Would you like to try my device? |
D.Would you not run away if I ask you where to buy some sauerkraut? |
When the stranger says," Can you tell... sauerkraut?" he is ________.
A.learning German from his device |
B.asking you the way to the sauerkraut shop |
C.making fun of you with his device |
D.testing his device for fun |
Which of the following is not mentioned in the text?
A.The price of the hand-held microcomputer. |
B.The function of the product Voice. |
C.The producer pf the small electronic device. |
D.The number of the device sold to the European countries. |