English is a language that many people around the world _______ not speak perfectly but at least _______ understand.?

A. might；could B. will；must　?

C. would；might D. can；may?

    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.

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

The author used to think of her mother’s English as ______.

      A. impolite     B. amusing     C. imperfect    D. practical

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.

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

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.

Why does night fall but never break and day break but never fall?

Why are people who ride motorcycles called bikers and people who ride bikes called cyclists?

In what other language do people drive in a parkway and park in a driveway?

In what other language do they call the third hand on the clock the second hand?

Let’s face it: English is a crazy language. There is no egg in an eggplant, neither pine nor apple in a pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. Sweet-meats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But when we explore its paradoxes (探讨它的矛盾), we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, public bathrooms have no baths in them.

And why is it that a writer writes, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? One goose, two geese — so one moose, two meese?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of human beings. That’s why, when stars are out, they are visible; but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it; but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

1. According to the passage ______.

A．sweet-meats and sweetbreads are different things

B．there should be egg in an eggplant

C．pineapples are the apples on the pine tree

D．boxing rings should be round

2.Which of the following includes two items which have the similar meaning?

A．A wise man and a wise guy.

B．Overlook and oversee.

C．Quite a lot and quite a few.

D．Hot as hell and cold as hell.

3.The underlined words “wind up” in the last paragraph probably mean “______”.

A．blow

B．roll up

C．get hurt

D．finish

4. Through the many paradoxes in the English language, the writer wants to show that human beings are ______.

 

Many people agree that    knowledge of English is a must in    international trade today.

A．a；／                 B．the；an

C．the；the               D．／；the

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 ______.

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’ 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.