单选题
He landed in this country when he was 4 years old without
a word of English, and there he has recently graduated with honors from Loyola
Academy. An immigrant kid whose family rents an apartment in a
city two-flat, he attended the North Shore school with full scholarship. All the
aunts and uncles were so proud that they made their way from the old country or
from various comers of this country to celebrate his graduation.
A debate is raging about whether immigrant children first should be
taught English, then their other subjects; or whether they should be taught
other subjects in their native tongue as they are more gradually introduced to
English over two to three years. California voters recently
banished the gradual approach—bilingual education—in favor of immersion in the
English language. The Chicago Public Schools in February put a three-year
deadline on moving into all English classes in most cases. But that was never an
issue for this graduate, and it never came up for discussion at his party.
Relatives and friends laughed and reminisced in their native tongue, inside and
outside, on sofas and lawn chairs. Before long, the instruments came out, old
world music filled the air and the traditional dancing began.
Like many immigrant chidren, the graduate listens to his parents in the old
language and responds to them in English. During a year after arriving here and
enrolling in a Chicago Public School he was speaking fluent English with an
American accent so strong that his parents would roll their eyes.
But fluency had not come easily; it required a year of total immersion in
English, including a teacher who never could seem to learn how to
pronounce his name correctly. "He'd come home crying," his mother
said. Now, you can't hear a trace of his original language in
his voice. The switch, at least for him, has been complete; a matter of personal
preference early on, he says, but now to the point where he has trouble
remembering how to speak his first language at ail. But he
still understands. At the graduation party, his father asked
for a beer in the native tongue, and the young man tossed him a can without
missing a beat.
单选题
What does the phrase "from various comers of this country" probably
mean?
A. From different parts of the country.
B. From across the country.
C. From many streets of the country.
D. From a lot of houses of the country.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] From various corners of this country=from different part of the country来自于祖国各地。故应选A。
单选题
What the Chicago Public schools prefers to in language education is
A. the gradual approach.
B. the immersion.
C. English teaching first.
D. the dabate over the issue.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第四段:The chicago public school in February put a three-year deadline on moving into all English classes in most cases.在2月份,芝加哥公学,给了3年期限,让移民学生在这3年内慢慢地进入英语教学的课堂。由此可见,芝加哥公学校选择逐步进入的语言教学方式。故应选A。
单选题
How did the graduate's parents react to their child's pure American
accent?
A. Unhappy.
B. Satisfied.
C. Surprised.
D. Suspicious.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 第五段最后一句话:During a year after arriving here and enrolling in a chicago public school he was speaking fluent English with an American accent so strong that his parents would roll their eyes.搬到这,在芝加哥公学注册后的一年内,他英语讲的非常流利,关音是如此强以至于他的父母听的都楞神了。可以推测出他的父母很是吃惊。故应选C。
单选题
What did the boy say about his early use of the languages?
A. He would choose properly which language to use.
B. He had to use English most of the time.
C. His parents wanted him to use his native tongue.
D. Somebody told him what he should do about it.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第七段:The switch,at least for him,has been complete,a matter of personal preference early on,he says.这种转变对他来说已经完成了,他说早期,主要是取决于个人喜好。即在本族语和英语之间进行选择。故应选A。
单选题
What does the writer probably think of the debate about English
teaching for immigrant children?
A. It is absolutely necessary.
B. It is thought-provoking.
C. What is argued about is sometimes not related to reality.