Before arriving in China, I had read various books relating to China, famous Chinese novels as well as non-fiction and the seeds of my fascination were sown. Therefore, when I arrived I couldn’t have been more excited to be living in this huge historically and culturally rich country. The food, the landmarks, the fantastic cities and everyday life—I was burning to explore.
Yet despite my enthusiasm, learning Chinese hadn’t even entered my mind. This wasn’t ignorance or laziness, but rather fright at the thought of attempting to learn what is regarded as the most difficult language in the world. In my mind, the Chinese language was the privilege of the highly intelligent.
However, after a year in China I began to feel uncomfortable with how many Chinese people could speak English and yet I couldn’t even speak the most basic Chinese. With these factors in mind and a thirst for a new challenge I determined to begin my language journey.
In the two years since starting to learn I have made measurable progress. I found it less difficult than thought. When speaking to native Chinese speakers in Chinese they almost always understand me, I have also not found it too difficult to remember characters and I am now even able to write over +00 characters. I find studying the language relaxing and rewarding.
In spite of my progress, it has still been the challenge that has taken a lot of hard work and commitment. The thing I find most discouraging is listening since native speakers talk at such a speed, I can’t always understand what’s been said, but my weekly online language exchanges help with this. Furthermore, there is a long way to go before I reach my goal of fluency. The key to progress is to be patient and persistent.
My biggest harvest from learning Chinese is that it’s not only reachable but can also be enjoyable. Learning Chinese not only helped me in day-to-day life, but deepened my cultural understanding of such a diverse and interesting country. Now my only regret is that I didn’t start earlier.
24. Which can best describe the author’s original impression about learning Chinese?
A.Boring. | B.Demanding. |
C.Pleasant. | D.Discouraging. |
25. What has the author found while learning Chinese?
A.Speaking Chinese is the most difficult. | B.Many Chinese speak fluent English. |
C.It isn’t as tough as he once assumed. | D.It is beyond his power to learn characters. |
26. What does paragraph 5 mainly tell us?
A.Importance of learning Chinese. |
B.Barriers of learning a new language. |
C.Significant progress the author has made. |
D.Certain difficulties the author met in learning Chinese. |
27. What is the main idea of the text?
A.A new opinion in learning. | B.The author’s journey of learning Chinese. |
C.Exploring the joy of learning Chinese. | D.The value of learning a new language. |