Question

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.

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

A. impolite　　　　 B. amusing　　　　

C. imperfect　　　　D. practical

2.. 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’s mother had positive influence on her.

D. Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts.

3. 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

4. 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.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.D

4.A

【解析】

试题分析:本文是一篇记叙文，在文中作者讲述了自己对母亲所说语言的态度转变过程。作者一家是移民到美国的中国人，所以母亲说的英语不是地道，优雅的美国英语，作者时常会对此感到尴尬。而且母亲也因此而受到别人的不恭。但是后来当作者写作以后，他才逐渐意识到了母亲语言中的丰富情感和内容。

1. 细节理解题。A不礼貌的；B好笑的；C有瑕疵的，不完美的；D实际的。根据文章第二段内容Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English.可知作者认为母亲的英语是蹩脚的，是不完美的，选C。

2. 细节理解题。根据文章第三段people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, …… or even acted as if they did not hear her.可知因为蹩脚的英语，作者的母亲有时候会受到别人的不尊重，选B。

3. 细节理解题。根据文章首段内容和末段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.可知当作者在写作中使用母亲的语言时，逐渐意识到了母亲所使用语言的魅力和内涵，故答案选D。

4.主旨大意题。作者在小时候认为母亲的语言“broken”，而且提到母亲的英语会感到尴尬“ embarrassed”，而后来在他的写作中却逐渐意识到了母亲所说的朴素语言中的魅力，情感等（如第一段提到it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea等），由此判断作者在本文中主要讲述了自己对母亲所说语言的态度转变过程，故答案选A。

考点：考查故事类短文阅读。