Question

Are you a different person when you speak a foreign language? That’s just one of the questions the New Yorker’s writer and native North Carolinian Lauren Collins explores in her autobiography, about her tough efforts to master French after marrying a Frenchman whose name —Olivier—she couldn’t even pronounce properly. When in French ranges from the humorously personal story to a deeper look at various theories of language acquisition and linguistics (语言学).

The couple met in London “on more or less neutral ground: his continent, my language.” But the balance shifted when they moved to Geneva for Olivier’s work. The normally voluble (健谈的) Collins found herself at a loss — “nearly speechless.” The language barrier, and her dependence on her husband for simple things like buying the right cut of meat worsened her mixed feelings about “unlovely, but not ridiculous” Geneva. She comments, “Language, as much as land, is a place__To be cut off from it is to be, in a sense, homeless.”

Her sense of alienation (疏离感) leads to an examination of America’s miserable record when it comes to foreign languages, “Linguists call America ‘the graveyard of languages’ because of its singular ability to take in millions of immigrants and make their native languages die out in a few generations,” Collins writes. Educated in Wilmington, N.C., and at Princeton, she could — like the vast majority of Americans — only speak their mother tongue.

Eight months after she moved to Switzerland, Collins gives up on the natural acquisition of language and finally attends a French course. As she struggles with grammar and vocabulary, Collins notes smartly that vert (green),verre (glass), ver (worm), vers (toward), and vair (squirrel) compose a quintuple homonym (同形异义). “Although it’s difficult, French can try” she says.

French is actually considered among the easiest languages for an English speaker to learn, especially compared to Arabic or Mandarin Chinese. Collins, whose notably rich English vocabulary includes glossolalia (nonsense speech) and shibboleth (catchword or slogan), finds plenty of terrific French words to love. She writes, “English is a trust fund, an unearned inheritance (遗产), but I’ve worked for every bit of French I’ve banked.”

Unlike Jhumpa Lahiri, who became so hooked on Italian and used it to write In Other Words, Collins’s goals for learning French were more modest, “I wanted to speak French and to sound like North Carolina.” She also wanted to be able to deal with chimney sweeps and butchers, communicate with her in-laws, and “to touch Olivier in his own language.” She admits that she feels different speaking French. ‘‘Its austerity (朴素) made me feel more confused.”

Readers looking for the romantic spark of classic cross-cultural love stories featuring an outgoing American and a shy Frenchman will find flashes of it here. Among the many cultural differences the couple argue over are her enthusiastic American habit of applying the verb love to express enthusiasm for shoes, strawberries, and husbands alike. But there’s far more to Collins, book than fantastic comedy, and those who have experienced linguistic crossings themselves tend to find particular resonance (共鸣) in its inquiry into language, identity, and transcultural translation.

Arranged by chapters named for verb tenses, When in French works its way from The Past Perfect (Le plus-que-parfait) to The Present (Le Present) and The Conditional (Le Conditionnel). Collins ends on a delightful note with Le Futur---fitting for a new mother about to move with her hard-won French husband, French language, and Swiss-born daughter to the French-speaking city of her dreams, Paris.

1.Which of the following statements is NOT the reason why Collin studied French?

A. She is eager to understand her husband in his own language.

B. She aims at dealing with everyday life affairs in French.

C. She wants to communicate with her husband’s relatives freely.

D. She tries to apply French to serve her writing career.

2.What does she mean by her comments “Language, as much as land, is a place. To be cut off from it is to be, in a sense, homeless.” in paragraph 2?

A. Understanding the language of a country helps you find the sense of belonging there.

B. If you understand the language of one country, you can get a house easily there.

C. You should forget your native language in order to get a home in a foreign country.

D. Language, as well as land, is a place on which you can build your own home.

3.What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?

A. Only English-speaking people can immigrate into America.

B. Other languages except English are forbidden in American’s universities.

C. American culture replaces immigrants’ native languages gradually.

D. So many immigrants may die very soon in America.

4.Who can find particular resonance (共鸣) in When in French?

A. Those who have to learn a foreign language.

B. Those who have suffered from linguistic crossings.

C. Those who became addicted to French.

D. Those whose native languages have died out.

5.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “Le Futur” in the last paragraph?

A. The past.    B. The Present Perfect.    C. The Future.    D. The Present Continuous.

6.This text would be probably found in ________.

A. science section of a local newspaper

B. literature section of a science journal

C. biography section of a social magazine

D. review and recommendation of a magazine

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.B

5.C

6.D

【解析】本文为记叙文。本文是一篇书评，主要对作家劳伦柯林斯的自传进行了介绍、评论及推荐。

1.细节理解题。文章第六段说Collin不像拉希莉学习法语是用它来写作。她学法语是希望能和烟囱打扫工和屠夫打交道，来处理日常生活中的事务。与丈夫的亲戚交流，用丈夫的语言来接触丈夫。由此可知A、B、C是 Collin学法语的理由，但D项（她试图用法语来为她的写作生涯服务）不是她学法语的理由，故D项是不正确的。

2.推理判断题。第二段说由于不会说当地的语言，让健谈的她几乎说不出话来。所以日常小事她也必须依赖丈夫，才让她觉得不会说当地的语言让她有一种无家可归的感觉。第三段第一句说由此造成她的这种格格不入的疏离感，由此可判断出没有了家的感觉，感觉被疏离，就是没有了归属感，分析选项可知A项符合题意。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段Linguists call America ‘the graveyard of languages’ because of its singular ability to take in millions of immigrants and make their native languages die out in a few generations中可知，语言学家把美国称为“语言的坟墓”，因为它有能力吸收数百万移民，使他们的母语消失。由此可判断出美国文化逐渐代替了移民语言，而让其母语消失。分析选项可知C项（美国文化逐渐取代移民的母语）符合题意，故选C项。

4.推理判断题。根据第七段最后一句those who have experienced linguistic crossings themselves tend to find particular resonance (共鸣) in its inquiry into language, identity, and transcultural translation.可知，那些经历过语言交叉的人才会有共鸣，故选B项。

5.推理判断题。根据第八段的内容可知，这部自传以动词时态命名的章节排列，即这部作文作品的描述方式从过去到现在和未来，以时间为顺序的。Collins以一个令人愉快的音符结束这一过程。这一过程适合一位新母亲即将与她来之不易的法国丈夫，和瑞士出生的女儿搬到一个她梦想的讲法语的城市---巴黎。根据上面的推理，即过去---现在---将来（梦想）。分析选项可知C项未来符合题意，故选C项。

6.推理判断题。文章第一段开头提出的问题就像是作家劳伦柯林斯在自传中探讨的问题之一，关于她嫁给法国人奥利维后，努力掌握法文的努力。在第一段作了一个简单的介绍。在文章的最后一段对此作了评论，因此这是对一部自传作品的评论及推荐，应该出现在杂志的评论版面上，分析选项可知D 项符合题意。