【推荐3】In Germany, English expressions are used in conversations and increasingly in written form. Advertisements are often expressed completely in English. When I go to the gym, there are “aerobic-classes (增氧健身法课程)”. We “warm up”. We go “jogging.” In business, we attend a “meeting” and we have “good connections.”

Other nations, like France, have taken action to protect their language from the influence of “Americanization”. In Germany, however, there is concern that those rules could be connected with Hitler’s Third Reich (帝国), when the language had to be pure. If the government curbed the use of English words now, this could be considered by some as a return to that terrible past.

Some German citizens are now trying to stop the use of English vocabulary in German. However, I think generally it is not a big deal to use some common English expressions as they often describe things more directly. But we should know that it is important to use English correctly. All too often, bad English is spoken or even written instead of good German. The proper use of the German language would be the better choice. However, there are some fields that require the use of English words, for example, in the high-tech communication and the Internet fields, there is no alternative to English. Also, I think sometimes I have to speak English when I introduce some scenic places to tourists.

I think you have to find a balance and decide when it is better to use good German in place of bad English or when the use of correct English words is more suitable. Languages have always changed naturally, and I disagree with a restriction by law. Some nice expressions borrowed from other languages can make a conversation more vivid.

1. By giving many examples in the first paragraph, the writer shows that __________.

A．most Germans have no difficulty in understanding English

B．English is more and more widely used in Germany

C．it is more convenient to use English in some situations

D．English has completely replaced German in Germany

2. From the passage, we can learn that when Hitler was in power, __________ in Germany.

A．all languages except English could be used

B．only some foreign languages could be used

C．only the upper class could speak English

D．only the German language could be used

3. What job does the writer probably do?

A．A travel guide.

B．A lawyer.

C．A computer engineer.

D．A teacher.

4. What is the writer’s attitude towards the use of English in Germany?

A．There should be a law to protect the dominance of German.

B．It is foolish for Germans to worry about their native language.

C．Germans should be encouraged to speak more English.

D．Proper use of English can make conversations more colorful.

【推荐1】Koko the gorilla knew over 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and used them to do everything from asking for food to joking around. Her trainer and long-term companion, Penny Patterson, thought Koko went further still, signing in novel ways and showing complex emotions. According to Ms Patterson, when a cat that Koko loved was killed in an accident, Koko signed: “Cat, cry, have-sorry, Koko-love.” When Koko died last month, some of her obituaries (讣告) mourned the gorilla who had “mastered American sign language.”

Then came the backlash, from linguists and experts in sign languages. Sign languages have complex grammars, equivalent to spoken tongues in expressiveness. Koko’s ability, it was pointed out, fell well short of a fluent human signer. Moreover, Ms Patterson was her interpreter, a role that invited the question of how much she was inferring what Koko “must have meant,” and explaining away random signs. It was hard to be sure: Ms Patterson preferred speaking to journalists over sharing her video and raw data about Koko with fellow researchers.

There is no doubt that animals communicate. Animals from one region can share sounds that differ from groups in another, leading researchers to talk of animal “dialects.” Then there are the remarkable achievements of Koko and her primate predecessors, including a chimp delightfully named Nim Chimpsky. Yet there is an important distinction between communication and language. Take the misleading term “body language.” It is sometimes claimed that words convey just 7% of meaning, and that body language and tone of voice do the rest. This wildly overstretches an old study which found that most emotional messaging — as opposed to the propositional kind — comes from tone and body language, especially when a neutral word such as “maybe” was used. But try conveying a fact like “It will rain on Tuesday” with your eyebrows, and the difference becomes clear. Language allows for clear statements, questions and commands.

Nim Chimpsky’s near-namesake, Noam Chomsky, has argued that people have a kind of “universal grammar”, and that all humankind’s languages are mere variations on a theme. Mr Chomsky has changed his mind repeatedly on what constitutes the core of human language, but one obvious candidate is syntax — rules, not just words, which allow the construction of a huge variety of meaningful utterances (所说的话). This capacity may even be infinite. Any statement in English, for example, can be made longer by adding “He said that …” at the beginning. This property is called recursion: a simple statement (“It’s cold”) is embedded in a more complicated one (“He said that it’s cold”). Human syntax also allows for hypotheticals (“If she hadn’t arrived …”), talking precisely about events distant from the present, and so much more.

That gorillas lack syntax should not blind humans to their magnificence. But the fact that Koko could communicate should not mislead observers into thinking she possessed language.

1. Which statement about KOKO the gorilla is true?

A．Koko’s ability was similar to a fluent human signer.

B．Koko could ask for food using sign language.

C．Koko was able to show complex feelings using sign language.

D．Koko was killed in an accident.

2. The underlined word in paragraph two is closest in meaning to “______.”

A．approval

B．bias

C．opposition

D．evidence

3. Linguists and sign language experts doubted Koko’s mastery of American sign language because ______.

A．Koko was not as expressive as a human signer

B．Koko seldom needed an interpreter

C．Koko was able to communicate with journalists

D．Koko failed to speak several animal “dialects”

4. Which of the following statements would the author probably disagree with?

A．Humans can express past events using language while apes cannot.

B．Tone and body language play a dominant role in human communication.

C．Words enable humans to convey clear meanings.

D．Gorillas are still magnificent in terms of their ability to communicate.

【推荐2】Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Without language, culture would not be possible.     1     Body movement, eye contact, gesture, and facial expression are other forms of language we call nonverbal communication. Body language makes up the largest part of our nonverbal communication. According to Social Anthropologist, Edward T. Hall, in a normal conversation between two persons, less than 15% of social meaning is transmitted (传达) by words.

    2     And people have different gestures to convey their expressions. However, nonverbal communication, like traffic, is not random (随意的); it has a purpose.     3     Learning the different common rules of body language in different cultures is very useful for us to understand each other better.

People coming from the same culture share common understanding by using the same body language such as eye management, facial expressions, gestures, and body movements. But in different cultures nonverbal communication takes on different patterns. For example, “arms”, which are used little by Nordics during a conversation, are an important element in one’s communicative weaponry (武器) in Italy, Spain, and South America. In Africa, standing in a too “open” fashion, means that your posture might be inappropriate.     4     In cultures such as America, where you often stand with your feet shoulder-length apart, arms at your side, standing in this fashion might be interpreted as being shy and insecure.     5    

A．If you know how to communicate with people from different countries.

B．In these cultures, one should stand with feet pressed together and hands interlaced in front of the body.

C．Different cultures have different ways of using nonverbal communication.

D．Language is not the only way to express our ideas and feelings.

E．And there are common rules to guide its flow.

F．So you should first learn about their body language before you travel to other countries.

G．Misuse of body language can be unpleasant.