What’s language for？Some people seem to think it’s for practicing grammar rules（规则） and learning lists of words --the longer the lists, the better. That’s wrong. Language is for the exchange of ideas and information. It’s meaningless if you can’t use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can’t speak correctly or fluently(流利地). They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native（本土的） speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard Saw once wrote, “Foreigners often speak English too correctly.” But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They’re English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. So Chinese students should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn’t overdo(做过头)it. They should put communication(交际)first.
【小题1】 Language is used to __________ .

A．express oneself

B．practise grammar rules.

C．talk with foreigners only

D．learn lists of words

【小题2】 If too many native speakers break a rule,________ .

A．what they use will become right.

B．they are against the law

C．they should say sorry to others.

D．they will become heroes

【小题3】 When we speak a foreign language, we should________ .

A．speak in Chinese way

B．speak by the rules

C．speak to native speakers

D．not be afraid of making mistakes

【小题4】What should Chinese students put first?

A．Language

B．Communication

C．Rules

D．Grammar

What’s language for？Some people seem to think it’s for practicing grammar rules（规则） and learning lists of words --the longer the lists, the better. That’s wrong. Language is for the exchange of ideas and information. It’s meaningless if you can’t use it freely. Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can’t speak correctly or fluently(流利地). They are afraid of making mistakes. One shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language. Native（本土的） speakers make mistakes and break rules, too. Bernard Saw once wrote, “Foreigners often speak English too correctly.” But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make. They’re English mistakes in the English language. And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule. What used to be wrong becomes right. So Chinese students should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn’t overdo(做过头)it. They should put communication(交际)first.

1. Language is used to __________ .

A．express oneself

B．practise grammar rules.

C．talk with foreigners only

D．learn lists of words

2. If too many native speakers break a rule,________ .

A．what they use will become right.

B．they are against the law

C．they should say sorry to others.

D．they will become heroes

3. When we speak a foreign language, we should________ .

A．speak in Chinese way

B．speak by the rules

C．speak to native speakers

D．not be afraid of making mistakes

4.What should Chinese students put first?

A．Language         B．Communication     C．Rules             D．Grammar

 

A woman repeated a bit of gossip (流言) about a neighbour. Within a few days the whole neighbourhood knew the story. The neighbour was deeply hurt. Later the woman responsible (负责) for spreading the gossip learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old man to find out what she could do to repair the harm.
“Go to the marketplace,” he said. “and buy a chicken, and have it killed, then on your way home, pluck (拔) its feathers and drop them one by one along the road. ” Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, “ Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me. ”
The woman followed the same road, but she was so discouraged when she found the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
“ You see, ” said the old man, “it’s easy to drop them, but it’s impossible to get them back . So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread a gossip, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong.”
【小题1】The woman was very _________ the harm she had done to her neighbour.

A．happy about

B．angry about

C．sorry for

D．excited about

【小题2】Which of the following statements is TURE?

A．The gossip didn’t hurt anyone at all.

B．The wise man was not kind enough.

C．The woman found all the feathers at last.

D．The woman was given a lesson.

【小题3】What the wise man said has nearly the same meaning as the Chinese phrase “_________”

A．覆水难收

B．无中生有

C．欲速不达

D．得道多助