Question

With the Chinese language growing in popularity,the UK government plans to invest（投资）10 million pounds to help more kids learn Mandarin（普通话）.Do you think it is necessary for the UK pupils to learn Mandarin?Some people share their opinions online.

Ted(UK): The learning of any language can be valuable and rewarding,but it is not suitable for everyone. Chinese is a difficult language to learn and the UK has a poor reputation for teaching foreign languages.Why should they learn Chinese when most people in the world speak English?

Mark(US): I studied French for 2 years in high school and German for 4 years in college.I studied Mandarin informally for about 4 months before moving to China.Now I speak Mandarin every day as my wife doesn't speak English.But it is far from being fluent.Learning additional languages is a great thing,which offers a different perspective on the world around us.Nowadays,it's almost necessary to be able to speak more than just your native tongue.

George(UK): No,unless they're taught from a very early stage of childhood.Mandarin is so difficult.If China really is going to dominate the world,it'll have to do so by speaking the world’s dominant language—English.

Sam(UK): I don't think Chinese will become as widely spoken throughout the world as English.It is too difficult to learn as a second language.To learn Chinese you completely have to devote yourself to learning how to write and read it.If you have to learn it besides other subjects you can’t be good at it.But Chinese will become more popular, and that is a good thing.

1.What is probably Mark's main motivation for learning Chinese?

A. Further education.    B. Effective communication.

C. His frequent travel.    D. The official policy.

2.What does Sam think of learning Chinese?

A. It's necessary.    B. It's of little use.

C. It takes too much time.    D. It's not popular.

3.What seems to be the major problem when foreigners try to learn Chinese?

A. Its difficulty as H language.    B. Misunderstanding about China.

C. The great popularity of English.    D. A lack of learning resources.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.A

【解析】外国人关于学汉语普通话的一些看法。

1.B

推理判断题。根据第三段中Now I speak Mandarin every day as my wife doesn't speak English. Nowadays,it's almost necessary to be able to speak more than just your native tongue.由此可推知Mark学汉语的方法是有效的交流。故选B。

2.C

推理判断题。根据最后一段中Sam(UK): It is too difficult to learn as a second language.To learn Chinese you completely have to devote yourself to learning how to write and read it.If you have to learn it besides other subjects you can’t be good at it.Sam认为学汉语花太多的时间。故选C。

3.A

推理判断题。根据文中Chinese is a difficult language to learn和It is too difficult to learn as a second language.可知外国人尝试学外语的主要问题在于太难学。故选A。