English is a very interesting language. It has borrowed words from many other languages. Immigrants(移民) coming into the United States have contributed many words to the language, which have kept their original pronunciation. “Coolie” and “kowtow” were taken from the Chinese language, “kamikaze from the Japanese, “shampoo” from India, “blitz” from German, “amigo” and “Los Angeles” from Spanish and so on.

Many students have studied English for years, some as many as eight. However, some students still have difficulty in speaking fluent English. Some know many words but are unable to discern them when native speakers use them. In our Oral English classes we will focus on speaking and listening to native English speakers. For this reason, because we are trying to train your ears to hear English and your mouths to speak intelligible (易理解的) English, we will have a rule that ONLY ENGLISH will be spoken in our English classes. Anyone speaking Chinese in class will be required to pay a fine in order to encourage the speaking and understanding of English. If teachers enter a classroom and discover that anyone is speaking Chinese, they will require everyone in the room to pay the fine. It is everyone’s job to enforce the English-Only rule. It is for your benefit. It is because we want to accustom (使习惯于) your ears to hearing English.

Other subjects may be learned solely from books but the only way to learn a foreign language is to SPEAK IT! Students are often nervous about speaking in class at first but we hope to make the classes fun, so you will forget your nervousness and learn to speak out. Enjoy your classes.

1.The first paragraph is mainly about________.

2.The underlined word “discern” in Para 2 can be replaced by___________.

3.In the author’s opinion , the only way to learn a language well is to__________.

4.The article is probably aimed at________.

       How I Turned to Be Optimistic

       I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America．We were on the bus then．I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me．I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning．

       I do not remember myself crying for this reason again．In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives．When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see-—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures．The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then．

       The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once．For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves．I did not quite know what I was or what I should be．Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me．Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other．I was often sad, and saw no end to "the hard times．"

       My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home．I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives．

       From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy．

How did the author get to know America?

     A． From her relatives．     B． From her mother．

     C． From books and pictures．   D． From radio programs．

Upon leaving for America the author felt_______．

     A．confused        B．excited          C．worried  zed

For the first two years in New York, the author _________．

     A．often lost her way          

       B．did not think about her future

     C．studied in three different schools   

       D．got on well with her stepfather

What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?

     A．She worked as a translator．               

     B．She attended a lot of job interviews．

     C．She paid telephone bills for her family．   

     D．She helped her family with her English．

The author believes that______．

     A．her future will be free from troubles               

     B．it is difficult to learn to become patient 

     C．there are more good things than bad things    

     D．good things will happen if one keeps trying

       How I Turned to Be Optimistic

       I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America．We were on the bus then． I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me．I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning．

       I do not remember myself crying for this reason again．In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives．When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see-—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures．The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then．

       The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once．For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves．I did not quite know what I was or what I should be．Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me．Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other．I was often sad, and saw no end to "the hard times．"

       My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home．I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives．

       From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy．

1.How did the author get to know America?

     A． From her relatives．                          B． From her mother．

     C． From books and pictures．                 D． From radio programs．

2.Upon leaving for America the author felt_______．

     A．confused            B．excited              C．worried             zed

3.For the first two years in New York, the author _________．

     A．often lost her way                                                              

       B．did not think about her future

     C．studied in three different schools          

       D．got on well with her stepfather

4.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?

     A．She worked as a translator．               

     B．She attended a lot of job interviews．

     C．She paid telephone bills for her family．   

     D．She helped her family with her English．

5.The author believes that______．

     A．her future will be free from troubles               

     B．it is difficult to learn to become patient 

     C．there are more good things than bad things    

     D．good things will happen if one keeps trying

How I Turned to Be Optimistic

       I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America．We were on the bus then．I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me．I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning．

       I do not remember myself crying for this reason again．In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives．When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see-—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures．The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then．

       The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once．For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves．I did not quite know what I was or what I should be．Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me．Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other．I was often sad, and saw no end to "the hard times．"

       My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home．I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives．

       From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy．

1．How did the author get to know America?

     A．From her relatives．                            B．From her mother．

     C．From books and pictures．                  D．From radio programs．

2．Upon leaving for America the author felt_______．

     A．confused           B．excited              C．worried             zed

3．For the first two years in New York, the author _________．

     A．often lost her way                               

       B．did not think about her future

     C．studied in three different schools

       D．got on well with her stepfather

4．What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 4?

     A．She worked as a translator．

     B．She attended a lot of job interviews．

     C．She paid telephone bills for her family．

     D．She helped her family with her English．

5．The author believes that______．

     A．her future will be free from troubles

     B．it is difficult to learn to become patient 

     C．there are more good things than bad things

     D．good things will happen if one keeps trying