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.

6. 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

7. The author used to think of her mother's English as ________.

A. impolite       B. amusing

C. imperfect      D. practical

8. 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.

9. 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

10. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The change 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.

（九）

Wugging, or web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won’t cost them a penny.

Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity — 88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than ??5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的) or possible.

Beth Truman, a 21 year old recent university graduate, has used Everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the “wugging” movement grow in popularity with students. “When you’re at university you become more socially aware, but it’s sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself,” says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny.”

Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don’t feel they have the means to do so. Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding.

Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.

6. According to the passage, “wugging” is actually ______.

A. a website       

B. a charity-related action

C. a school organization 

D. a student movement

7. In the case of charity, Everyclick.com ______.

A. frees students of the financial worries

B. receives much money from students

C. offers valuable information to students

D. praises students for their money-raising

8. What does Beth Truman think of the “wugging” movement?

A. It makes Everyclick.com popular in the UK.

B. It becomes easy to do charity because of it.

C. It results in students’ more social awareness.

D. It helps students to save money.

9. From the passage, we can conclude that ______.

A. most full time students do charity on the Internet every day

B. Everyclick.com helps students pay for the college education

C. “wugging” is a win-win idea for both students and charities

D. Everyclick.com is the most successful search engine in the UK

10. What would be the best title for this passage?

A. “Wugging”, a new popular term on the Internet.

B. British people show strong interest in charity.

C. More Britain charities benefit from the Internet.

D. Students raise money for charity by “wugging”.

Teaching a child to read at a young age gives him a valuable start in life. Reading is the basic part of education and a child’s reading ability will influence his school success greatly. Learning difficulties, many of which begin from poor reading skills, can damage a school child’s confidence and affect his future achievement. Young children are programmed to learn and they can learn better with encouragement. Ten to twenty minutes of reading a day still leaves plenty of time for play.

Many parents are concerned that learning to read is too challenging a task for a pre-school child, but they should also remember that most children learn to speak by the time they are 3. Learning a language is probably the single most challenging task any individual can undertake, yet children do it without formal instruction, achieving the fluency much better than adult language students.

There is a window of opportunity in terms of IQ development, which is most open during a child’s early years. A scientific study, carried out by Dr. Peter Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago, showed that the number of connectors, called synapses（神经元突触）, between the nerve endings in a newborn baby’s brain is similar to the number in the average adult brain. These synapses increase rapidly during early childhood. By 12-24 months a child’s brain has about 50% more synapses than the average adult brain. After that the synapses which are not in use begin to atrophy（衰退）. For most people, from age 16, the number remains steady. It begins to drop again as we move into our golden years. Doing intellectual activities at a young age, such as learning to read, can stimulate（刺激）and preserve these connectors in the brain resulting in a long-term beneficial（有益的）effect on IQ development.

Another notable study is probably the Milwaukee project. This study took a group of babies, all of whose mothers had low IQs, and gave them special training for seven hours a day, five days a week, until they started first grade. By the age of 6 these children had an average IQ 30 points higher than their contemporaries. The overwhelming conclusion is that the early intellectual stimulation can have a positive, long-term effect on a child’s brain development.

From birth you should talk to and explain things to your baby. Reading to him can be a wonderful way of spending quality time with your child. The enjoyment of books and being familiar with the idea of print will pave the way for（为……铺平道路）learning to read later.

If your child is a fast learner you can help him realize his potential by introducing him to the joy of the printed word at an early age. This will lay the foundations（基础）for both a high achieving school career and a lifelong love of reading. If your child shows early signs of reading difficulties, your efforts may help him get rid of such problems before he goes to school.

It can be difficult to teach your own child because emotional（引起情绪激动的）issues arise easily. Online programs for learning to read English are excellent options. They allow children to repeat new materials as many times as they need to, without wearing out the parents’ patience.

1.What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. Children should be taught to read at an early age.

B. Children can read better than most adult students.

C. Children have more synapses than most adults.

D. Children are supposed to learn to read on the Internet.

2.Why does the author mention the study by Dr. Peter Hutten locher?

A. To remove parents’ worry.

B. To explain IQ development.

C. To explain how a baby’s brain works.

D. To show the parents’ wrong ideas.

3.How can children benefit from learning to read at a young age?

A. It can build up great confidence in their mind.

B. It can help preserve the connectors in their brains.

C. It can help produce more connectors in their brains.   

D. It can help them find both their weaknesses and strengths.

4.At the end of this passage the author advises _______.

A. parents not to get angry too often

B. children to enjoy reading as early as possible

C. children not to wear out their parents’ patience

D. parents to get their children to take an online program

Teaching a child to read at a young age gives him a valuable start in life. Reading is the basic part of education and a child’s reading ability will influence his school success greatly. Learning difficulties, many of which begin from poor reading skills, can damage a school child’s confidence and affect his future achievement. Young children are programmed to learn and they can learn better with encouragement. Ten to twenty minutes of reading a day still leaves plenty of time for play.
Many parents are concerned that learning to read is too challenging a task for a pre-school child, but they should also remember that most children learn to speak by the time they are 3. Learning a language is probably the single most challenging task any individual can undertake, yet children do it without formal instruction, achieving the fluency much better than adult language students.
There is a window of opportunity in terms of IQ development, which is most open during a child’s early years. A scientific study, carried out by Dr. Peter Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago, showed that the number of connectors, called synapses（神经元突触）, between the nerve endings in a newborn baby’s brain is similar to the number in the average adult brain. These synapses increase rapidly during early childhood. By 12-24 months a child’s brain has about 50% more synapses than the average adult brain. After that the synapses which are not in use begin to atrophy（衰退）. For most people, from age 16, the number remains steady. It begins to drop again as we move into our golden years. Doing intellectual activities at a young age, such as learning to read, can stimulate（刺激）and preserve these connectors in the brain resulting in a long-term beneficial（有益的）effect on IQ development.
Another notable study is probably the Milwaukee project. This study took a group of babies, all of whose mothers had low IQs, and gave them special training for seven hours a day, five days a week, until they started first grade. By the age of 6 these children had an average IQ 30 points higher than their contemporaries. The overwhelming conclusion is that the early intellectual stimulation can have a positive, long-term effect on a child’s brain development.
From birth you should talk to and explain things to your baby. Reading to him can be a wonderful way of spending quality time with your child. The enjoyment of books and being familiar with the idea of print will pave the way for（为……铺平道路）learning to read later.
If your child is a fast learner you can help him realize his potential by introducing him to the joy of the printed word at an early age. This will lay the foundations（基础）for both a high achieving school career and a lifelong love of reading. If your child shows early signs of reading difficulties, your efforts may help him get rid of such problems before he goes to school.
It can be difficult to teach your own child because emotional（引起情绪激动的）issues arise easily. Online programs for learning to read English are excellent options. They allow children to repeat new materials as many times as they need to, without wearing out the parents’ patience

1. 1.

   What does the passage mainly discuss?

   1. A.
      Children should be taught to read at an early age
   2. B.
      Children can read better than most adult students
   3. C.
      Children have more synapses than most adults
   4. D.
      Children are supposed to learn to read on the Internet
2. 2.

   Why does the author mention the study by Dr. Peter Hutten locher?

   1. A.
      To remove parents’ worry
   2. B.
      To explain IQ development
   3. C.
      To explain how a baby’s brain works
   4. D.
      To show the parents’ wrong ideas
3. 3.

   How can children benefit from learning to read at a young age?

   1. A.
      It can build up great confidence in their mind
   2. B.
      It can help preserve the connectors in their brains
   3. C.
      It can help produce more connectors in their brains
   4. D.
      It can help them find both their weaknesses and strengths
4. 4.

   At the end of this passage the author advises ______.

   1. A.
      parents not to get angry too often
   2. B.
      children to enjoy reading as early as possible
   3. C.
      children not to wear out their parents’ patience
   4. D.
      parents to get their children to take an online program