【推荐1】When I mentioned to some friends that we all have accents, most of them proudly replied, “Well, I speak perfect English/Chinese/etc.” But this kind of misses the point.

More often than not, what we mean when we say someone“has an accent”is that their accent is different from the local one, or that pronunciations are different from our own. But this definition of accents is limiting and could give rise to prejudice. Funnily enough, in terms of the language study, every person speaks with an accent. It is the regular differences in how we produce sounds that define our accents. Even if you don’t hear it yourself, you speak with some sort of accent. In this sense, it’s pointless to point out that someone “has an accent”. We all do!

Every person speaks a dialect, too. In the field of language study, a dialect is a version of a language that is characterized by its variations of structure, phrases and words. For instance, “You got eat or not?” (meaning “Have you eaten?”) is an acceptable and understood question in Singapore Oral English. The fact that this expression would cause a standard American English speaker to take pause doesn’t mean that Singapore Oral English is “wrong” or “ungrammatical”. The sentence is well-formed and clearly communicative, according to native Singapore English speakers’ solid system of grammar. Why should it be wrong just because it’s different?

We need to move beyond a narrow conception of accents and dialects—for the benefit of everyone.

Language differences like these provide insights into people’s cultural experiences and backgrounds. In a global age, the way one speaks is a distinct part of one’s identity. Most people would be happy to talk about the cultures behind their speech. We’d learn more about the world we live in and make friends along the way.

1. What does the author think of his/her friends’ response in Paragraph 1?

A．It reflects their self confidence.	B．It reflects their language levels.
C．It misses the real meaning of accents.	D．It shows that they are good learners.

2. Why does the author use the example of Singapore Oral English?

A．To show different languages in Singapore.	B．To correct a grammatical mistake.
C．To show a traditional approach.	D．To justify the use of dialects.

3. What does the author recommend us to do in the last paragraph?

A．Appreciate the value of accents and dialects.	B．Travel all over the world.
C．Look for accents in China.	D．Distinguish our local languages from others’.

4. What is the author’s attitude towards accent?

A．Negative.

B．Favourable.

C．Doubtful.

D．Unclear.

【推荐2】Thomas Cheatham had planned to study Latin during his time at Hebron High School in Texas. But when he learned that the school district was going to offer a Chinese class, he quickly changed his mind.

“I think Chinese would be beneficial than Latin,” said Cheatham, who is now in his second year of studying the language. He speaks Chinese to order food at Chinese restaurants and reads social media posts from his Chinese-speaking friends. While it’s a difficult language to master, the high school student, who plans to study computer engineering, thinks it will be important for his career. “Chinese is a good language to know, especially with China becoming a growing power,” he said.

Many experts agree that proficiency (熟练) in a language spoken by about 1.4 billion people worldwide will give American students an edge in the global economy.

“People’s interest in Chinese is growing fast,” said Marty Abbott, director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. “We’re seeing it in all parts of the country.”

Abbott predicts that as many as 100,000 students are now studying Chinese in public and private schools, throughout the US. She said the US government had designated (指定) Chinese as an “important needs” language and provided professional development programs for teachers. “Our government wants to increase our language ability for national security and economic competitiveness,” Abbott added.

At the same time, the Chinese government is spreading knowledge of the Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institutes (孔子学院) set up in many US states. For example, the Confucius Institute at the University of Texas in Dallas has been the home of a Confucius Institute for more than 10 years. It sponsors Confucius Classrooms at 21 local public and private schools, where tens of thousands of students are learning Chinese.

1. What is Thomas Cheatham’s attitude towards learning Chinese?

A．He thinks it’s a waste of time and effort.

B．He finds it difficult but necessary for his career.

C．He doesn’t care about learning Chinese at all.

D．He thinks it’s easy to learn Chinese.

2. The underlined word “edge” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”.

A．advantage	B．quality
C．outside	D．challenge

3. Why does the US government want to increase American students’ language ability?

A．To learn more about Chinese history and politics.

B．To promote Chinese culture and language.

C．To improve international security.

D．To compete with other countries in the global economy.

4. What is the purpose of the Confucius Institutes set up in the US?

A．To establish better relations between China and the US.

B．To spread knowledge of Chinese culture and history.

C．To promote Chinese language learning in the US.

D．To provide financial support for Chinese students in the US.

【推荐3】Some events have been added to the 2024 Olympics, with surfing, breakdancing and sport climbing among the recent additions. With them come a group of terms that are foreign to the French language. For some French-language purists, it’s too much to bear to rely on English to praise surfers on their “noseriding”-standing on the front of the board. They’ve decided they need a French solution.

The French government has created a team of language experts devoted to promoting the national language. They will meet periodically over the next couple of years to identify and define new sports terms. The French battle against the influence of other languages isn’t new. In 1994, the Toubon law was passed, forcing the use of French in all government publications, contracts and advertisements. Yet it contained several loopholes, which allow brands and companies to extensively use English. As a result, anglicisms are becoming more obvious.

Julie Neveux, linguistics professor at Sorbonne University in Paris, said anglicisms are “sometimes estimated at just under 5% of the present vocabulary, but they are disturbing because they show that we follow an economic and cultural model other than our own.” They are particularly present in sports competitions and events, during which athletes from around the world are used to communicating in English.   “Sport was one of the first areas to be globalized,” said sports historian Michael Attali, “This phenomenon has strengthened English as the official language.” Despite their best efforts, no committee has successfully prevented English from infiltrating everyday language. By the time French officials agreed on a translation and its definition, the English version has already spread throughout the nation, “Similar committees have been put in place in the past, but nothing has changed so far,” said Attali.

“There are far fewer anglicisms in French than there are French words in English.” said Neveux, adding these exchanges should not be seen as a threat. “All living languages exist by borrowing from each other. Languages only exist thanks to their impurity.”

1. What will a team of language experts do?

A．Promote the spread of French in the world.

B．Decide upon some new sports terms.

C．Bring English and French together.

D．Make French much purer.

2. What’s the result of previous efforts to stop English from infiltrating French?

A．Unimportant.	B．Successful.
C．Fruitless.	D．Unmentioned.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．English is more popular than French.

B．All languages should be preserved.

C．The exchanges between two languages can be avoided.

D．Neveux is positive about the impurity of language.

4. Where can we probably read the passage?

A．In a newspaper.	B．In a travel guide.
C．In a biography.	D．In a fiction novel.

【推荐1】People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in telling different facial expressions — and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.

Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than looking at the whole face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes only.

“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, while Easterners prefer the eyes and ignore the mouth.”

According to Jack and her workmates, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more confusing than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably express emotion in cross-cultural situations.

The researchers studied cultural differences in facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and sort them into different groups: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, or angry. They compared how correctly people read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement plans.

It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more mistakes than Westerners did. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our study suggests that Westerners use the whole face to express emotion while Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”

In short, facial expressions are not universal to show human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have made a difference to these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. When it comes to talking about emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in communication.

1. The discovery shows that Westerners ________.

A．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth

B．consider facial expressions universally reliable

C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways

D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions

2. What were the people asked to do in the study?

A．To make a face at each other.	B．To get their faces impressive.
C．To put some face pictures into groups.	D．To observe the researchers’ faces.

3. It turns out that Easterners are likely to ________.

A．understand the emotion more successfully	B．study the mouth more frequently
C．focus on the eyes more attentively	D．read facial expressions more correctly

4. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul

B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions

C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills

D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding

【推荐3】Some British and American people like to invite friends for a meal at home. But you should not be upset (难受的) if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!
Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m., and end at about 11. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine as a gift.
Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks(小吃). Do you want to be more polite? Say how much you like the room, or the picture on the wall. But remember—it is not polite to ask how much things cost.
In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.
You'll probably start the meal with soup or something small, then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then dessert, followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it.
Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hosts the next day, or write them a short thank you letter. British and American people like to say “ Thank you, thank you, thank you.” all the time!
1. If you are going to attend a dinner party,____ .

A．you’d better bring a certain present with you

B．you must leave home for it at 7 p.m.

C．you should ask your host when you should leave

D．you must arrive at it before 8 p.m.

2. In which order will you eat or drink the following things at the meal?

A．Snacks, vegetables, meat and coffee.

B．Coffee, drinks, soup, fish, vegetables and dessert.

C．Soup, meat with vegetables, dessert and coffee.

D．Drinks, soup, something small, fish and vegetables.

3. Which is the correct way in which you express your enjoyment of the evening?

A．Before leaving for home, you should say, “Thank you for inviting me.”

B．When you shake hands with your host, you should say, “I did enjoy the evening.”

C．You can write a thank you letter to your host after that.

D．You should finish everything on your plate and take more if you want it.