Sitting across from his teacher, Edgar Martinez repeated the word he couldn't quite pronounce: "situation"．The teacher, LisaMojsin, hired to help Martinez reduce his accent, said the word slowly; "Sit-chew-a-shun．" "I wish he had taught me this 20 years ago．" said Martinez, 37, who comes from Mexi
co and lives in Los Angeles．In private tutoring classes throughout the nation, immigrants are focused on sounding more American．
Accent reduction classes have been around for years, but experts say．"As our workforce becomes more and more global, these classes are becoming more and more popular．" Private tutors said they answer calls almost daily from students, when just a few years ago the phones rang only occasionally．Author Amy Gillett said that sales of her book and CD set, "Speak English Like an American", have increased three times in the last few years．Judy Ravin, President of the Accent Reduction Institute, said she has hundreds of students who follow her program, "Lose Your Accent in 28 Days"．
Though there is a general tolerance for diversity, experts said, reality has made some immigra
nts who sound different feel unwelcome．If someone speaks with an accent associated with an Asian language, they may work as engineers or computer scientists．If someone speaks with certain Spanish accents, people may think they are recent immigrants working in landscaping or the hospitality industry （招待性行业）．A French accent gives images of romance．An Australian accent brings to mind adventure and fun．
Accent reduction students said they are aware of how they sound and whether their accents limit their job opportunities or spoil their social lives．Jennie Lo, aged 43, said her accent has been an embarrassment．Sometimes people couldn't even understand her when she said her name．While in college in Oklahoma, Lo said she didn't make many friends, tearing that no one could make out her words．Lo is now taking accent reduction classes and hopes to apply for a manager position at work．"I just want to feel good about myself," she said．"If I really work hard, if I practice every day, I can't be perfect．But I can be bet
ter．"In the whole passage, the first paragraph serves as a（n） _____．
| A．introduction | B．comment |
| C．explanation | D．background |
What does the author want to express in the second paragraph?
| A．The effect that popular accent reduction classes have． |
| B．The fact that accent reduction classes become popular． |
| C．The steps how accent reduction classes become popular． |
| D．The reasons why accent reduction classes become popular． |
If someone speaks with certain Asian accents, people may think _____．
| A．they are romantic | B．they are hospitality workers |
| C．they are computer scientists | D．they love adventure and fun |
What is Jennie Lo's attitude towards her taking accent reduction classes?
| A．Confident． | B．Helpless． |
| C．Proud． | D．Anxious． |
One sunny afternoon, a seven-year-old girl went for a walk. She crossed a large area of grassland into the woods __ she realized that she was lost.
Sitting on a rock and __ __ what to do, she began crying. After a while. She____ to walk along a wide path lined with tall trees and thick bushes. _ ___ it was getting dark, she saw a small, dark wooden house. She opened the door and _ _ __ stepped in. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise, and she ran out the door and back to the _ __. Cold and tired, she fell asleep near a __ __.
The girl’s parents were out and her dog, Laddy, was at home. Laddy __ __ that his mistrees（女主人）was in danger. He jumped __ __ a window, breaking the glass. He looked in the fields. But he couldn’t find his mistress anywhere. However, from the ground came a __ __ scent (气味) as he lowered his head. He __ __ the scent and walked across the grassland. Barking __ __ into the air, the dog __ _ through the woods until he found the _ __ . But the girl was not there, so he headed back to the woods. Much to his __ __ , he saw his mistress’ blue shirt in the distance. He __ __ over some bushes and saw the little stream, where the girl was __ __.
When she opened her eyes and her dog standing beside her, the girl said, “you me, Laddy,” and she kissed him several times. Seeing their daughter and dog coming back, the parents burst into tears of . That night Laddy had a hero’s supper: a huge meal of steak
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用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空
| connect taste research fear communicate result see truth part sense |
Everyone is aware of their five basic _____, Sight, touch, smell, hearing and
_____. What everyone is not so well aware of is their sixth sense, a
_____ to something more and greater than their physical senses that are easy to be observed. A sixth sense is the entrance to the world of the
_____ meeting, the unheard
_____, the unfelt touch of someone from the spiritual world trying to make a connection with someone in the physical body. A sixth sense is a
_____ of everyone whether or not they like it. It is a normal part of the human mind and not abnormal or reserved for special persons. Because of the media and religion, it has been misrepresented and as a
_____,people connect .the spirit world with
_____ and anxiety. But the
_____is that a sixth sense is scientific after years’
_____ on it.
用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空
| connect taste research fear communicate result see truth part sense |
Everyone is aware of their five basic _____, Sight, touch, smell, hearing and
_____. What everyone is not so well aware of is their sixth sense, a
_____ to something more and greater than their physical senses that are easy to be observed. A sixth sense is the entrance to the world of the
_____ meeting, the unheard
_____, the unfelt touch of someone from the spiritual world trying to make a connection with someone in the physical body. A sixth sense is a
_____ of everyone whether or not they like it. It is a normal part of the human mind and not abnormal or reserved for special persons. Because of the media and religion, it has been misrepresented and as a
_____,people connect .the spirit world with
_____ and anxiety. But the
_____is that a sixth sense is scientific after years’
_____ on it.
When I was growing up in America, I was ashamed of my mother’s Chinese English. Because of her English, she was often treated unfairly. 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 .
My mother has realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call people on phone to pretend I was she . I was forced to ask for information or even to yell at people who had been rude to her. One time I had to call her stockbroker (股票经纪人).I said in an adolescent voice that was not very convincing, “This is Mrs.Tan..”And my mother was standing beside me ,whispering loudly, “Why he don’t send me cheek already two week late.”
And then , in perfect English I said : “I’m getting rather concerned .You agreed to send the check two weeks ago, but it hasn’t arrived.”
Then she talked more loudly. “What he want? I come to New York tell him front of his boss.” And so I turned to the stockbroker again, “I can’t tolerate any more excuse. If I don’t receive the check immediately , I am going to have to speak to your manager when I am in New York next week.”
The next week we ended up in New York. While I was sitting there red-faced, my mother, the real Mrs.Tan, was shouting to his boss in her broken English.
When I was a teenager, my mother’s broken English embarrassed me. But now, I see it differently. To me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It is my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, and full of observation and wisdom. It was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed ideas, and made sense of the world. Why was the author’s mother poorly served?
| A．She was unable to speak good English. |
| B．She was often misunderstood. |
| C．She was not clearly heard. |
| D．She was not very polite. |
From Paragraph 2, we know that the author was .
| A．good a pretending |
| B．rude to the stockbroker |
| C．ready to help her mother |
| D．unwilling to phone for her mother |
After the author made the phone call, .
| A．they forgave the stockbroker |
| B．they failed to get the check |
| C．they went to New York immediately |
| D．they spoke to their boss at once |
What does the author think of her mother’s English now?
| A．It confuses her. |
| B．It embarrasses her. |
| C．It helps her understand the world. |
| D．It helps her tolerate rude people. |
We can inter from the passage that Chinese English .
| A．is clear and natural to non-native speakers |
| B．is vivid and direct to non-native speakers |
| C．has a very bad reputation in America |
| D．may bring inconvenience in America |
You feel happiest when you create a healthy balance between giving and receiving. If you give and give without making time to fill your own needs, then it’s likely you will burn out, or feel upset. When you take and take without giving anything back, you never feel fulfilled, so you are always searching for ways to fill the void in your life.
The way to create a healthy balance between giving and receiving is to know and then live by your values. I break values up into two groups which I call being and having values. Your being values are the character traits of the ideal person you would like to be. I suggest to my clients that they choose three being values that they are willing to make a commitment to live by. An example of some being values are: kind, loving, generous, inspirational, peaceful, wise and even powerful. By acting on these values you give to others through your actions and you inspire others by being a positive role model. Mastering being these character traits becomes your life purpose.
Your having values are feelings you need to create in order to be happy. These could be companionship, achievement, support, being valued or financial security. This is what you receive. You take responsibility for filling your own needs by taking steps to create these feelings and conditions in your life.
When you make a commitment to live by being values, it becomes easier to make conscious choices rather than reactionary ones. If your usual pattern is to talk about your problems, you could choose to think and act like a calm person. A clam person might go for a walk, meditate(沉思), or set a time limit before responding. If your usual pattern is to worry, you could choose to act like a responsible or wise person. In other words, you would act like the person you choose to be-this is the key to personal power.
When you choose to act on your values, you not only feel good about yourself, you reinforce(加强)your chosen beliefs. Over time acting in this way changes how you see the world, and in turn the way other people think of you. The main purpose of this passage is to _____
A inform the readers how to be truly happy
B explain to the readers what personal values are
C persuade the readers to make a commitment
D instruct the readers how to make wise choices According to the text, living by your being values, you would_____
A gain a lot of power
B fill your own needs
C seek all human virtues
D form positive personalityThe underline word “void” in Paragraph 1 means______
A a break of continuity
B an absent of one’s mind
C a feeling of emptiness
D a state of confusion What can be inferred from the text?
A Having values are better than being values
B A calm person does not choose to complain.
C The way other people think of you decides who you are.
D A responsible person does not care about financial security