1、Unit 1 Text AHow Difficult Is En glish?英語有多難Like the nationalpush for Asian literacy(n.有文化，有教養，有讀寫能力)in Australia , there has beenforeign Ianguages fervor in China, with English on top of the list.就如澳大利亞在全國推行學亞洲語言一樣，中國也掀起一股外語熱，在這股熱潮中，英語高居榜首。English is not only taught at schools ， colleges and univer

2、sities，but also at evening classes ， on radioand TV.不僅各級學校教英語，夜校、電臺、電視臺也都設有英語課程。Parents hire private tutors for their school children ； adult English learners would sacrifice the weekend at an En glish corner in a public park practici ng their spoke n En glish with peop1e of the same in terest and d

3、eterm in ati on.父母為學齡的孩子聘請英語家教，成年英語學習者會犧牲周末休息日，到公園參加英語角，與志趣相投的英語學習 者練習口語。Is En glish such a difficult Ian guage that it really dema nds people to in vest a large amount of timeanden ergy before it is mastered ?英語真的有這么難，需要人們投入大量的時間和精力才能掌握嗎？The answer , if I am asked to offer, is undoubtedly, yes.如果我被

4、問及這個問題，那么毫無疑問，我的答案是：是的。From my pers onal experie nee, I thi nk lear ning En glish means far more tha n lear ning its pronun ciati on,its grammatical rules , its words , etc .從我個人的經驗來看，英語學習不僅僅是學習英語發音、語法規則、詞匯等，It i nvolves lear ning everyth ing about the coun tries where it is used and the people who

5、use it.它包括學習與使用該語言的國家和民族有關的所有內容。Without such a complete un dersta nding of the Ian guage, the En glish a foreig ner speaks will in evitablysound strange or even unintelligiblethough there is not anything wrong with his pronunciation, sentencestructure and the words he uses .對英語沒有這樣全面的理解，即使發音、句子結構、措辭

6、毫無錯誤，一個外國人所講的英語也難免聽起來稀奇古怪甚至難以理解。The social customs and habits of the En glish-speak ingpeople con tributea lot to the difficulty a foreig nerhas in lear ning it .講英語民族者的社會風俗習慣增加了外國人學習英語的難度。Take the Chin ese En glish lear ners for example.以學英語的中國人為例，"Hello "and "Good morning" may

7、sound a little bit simple to Chin ese people."你好"和"早上好”是非常簡單的。It is totally bey ond the un dersta nding of a Chin ese En glish lear ner that n ative En glish speakers wouldbe annoyed when they're addressed "Where are you going?", which is a commonly used addressing among

8、 theChinese ."你去哪兒?"是中國人常用的問候語，若英語母語者被問及”你去哪兒?"，他們會因此感到不悅，這一點讓中國的英語學習者大為不解。Is there anything wrong with the En glish sentence structure ? Of course not這個英語句子結構不對嗎？當然不是。It takes quite some time for a Chinese English learner to understand the western concept of privacy being violated in

9、 this address.學英語的中國人得費點兒時間才能理解這一問候語侵犯了西方人的隱私。By the sametoken , "Have you eaten?"(which is another addressing term the Chinese people usually use)will sound to n ative En glish speakers that the Chin ese are so hospitable that they in vite people to mealsoff-handedly. 同樣，英語母語者聽到 "你吃了

10、嗎 ?"（ 中國人常用的另外一個問候語 ） ，會覺得中國人非常好客，會在事先毫無準備 的情況下請人吃飯。Meanwhile ，the Chinese would be shocked to hear，"Oh， it's very nice of you When?"， if the addresseehappens to have a craving for Chinese cooking and has not had his dinner yet. 如果聽話者此刻正希望品嘗一下中國美食，又碰巧沒有吃飯，他會回答 "太好了，什么時候 ?&quo

11、t; ，中國人為此也會大 吃一驚。"We can say we are going to have chicken for dinner Why can't we say pig， bull or sheep for dinnerinstead of pork ， beef or mutton?" Chinese English learners may raise such questions中國的英語學習者可能會這樣問： " 我們可以說吃雞，為什么不能說吃豬、吃牛、吃羊，而要說吃豬肉、牛肉、羊 肉呢 ?"Figuring out the re

12、asons for the peculiar English vocabulary is no easy task for Chinese English learners 對學習英語的中國人來說，為這些特殊的英語詞匯找出理由并非易事。But the problem is that memorizing English words mechanically would be devastating and inefficient if they did not know what had happened in British history問題在于如果不懂英國歷史，死記硬背英語單詞毫無效率。

13、Thus learning English（and other languages as well）involves learning the history of the countries where it is spoken 所以說，學英語 （ 其他語言亦如此 ）還包括學習使用該語言國家的歷史知識。A task of this kind is more difficult for Chinese English learners than for people who speak a western language other than English because Chinese

14、has nothing in common with the alphabetic English and China had little contact with the Western world in modern history學習英語的中國人要做到這一點比其他非英語國家的西方人要困難得多，因為漢字和英語這種拼音文字毫無共同之 處，并且中國和西方世界在近代史上很少接觸。Consequently ， the background knowledge of English fascinates large numbers of interested and determined Engl

15、ish learners in China but at the same time disheartens quite a few所以，在中國，英語背景知識既吸引了大量英語愛好者，也使許多人喪失信心。The Western and Oriental values are found to be in confrontation in learning English英語學習中，東西方的價值觀念是相互沖突的。Native English speakers may complain about Chinese confusion when using "he" and &qu

16、ot;she" ， for the two words sound the same ， though ， different in written forms in Chinese英語母語的人會混淆漢語中 "他"" 她"的用法，因為這兩個字盡管字形不同，讀音卻相同，他們因此常常抱怨。As a result ， some native English speakers conclude that the Chinese are unable to tell the difference between the two sexes 結果有些英語母

17、語的人得出結論，認為中國人不區分兩種性別。But native English speakers are more gender blind than the Chinese when they mention their cousins但是在涉及表親的時候，英語母語的人更是混淆性別。The confusion caused by the confrontation of Western and Chinese values，to a certain extent， affectsthe Chinese English learner's comprehension of what h

18、e she reads and hears 東西方價值觀的沖突造成的語言上的混淆，在一定程度上影響學習英語的中國人對自己所讀或所聽到的內容的理 解。Only by developing an understanding and tolerance（忍受） of different cultural values can a ChineseEnglish learner reach the goal of communicating with native English speakers學習英語的中國人只有增加不同文化價值觀之間的理解和寬容，才能達到與英語母語者交流的目標。A Chinese

19、English learner could not have a good command of Eng1ish unless he overcomes the cultural barriers（not all， of course!）in learning English學習英語的中國人，只有在學習英語的過程中克服文化障礙才能很好地掌握英語。（ 當然不可能是克服全部文化障礙!）Many Chin ese tran slate what they think about in Chin ese into En glish whe n they talk or write很多中國人說話或寫作的

20、時候，將自己漢語思維的內容翻譯成英語，This kind of English inevitably affects the fluency and flow of speech， the amount of informationconveyed，and, above all ， the quality of com muni cati on這勢必會影響英語表達的流暢、傳達的信息量，最重要的是，影響交流的質量。The above is ， not wholly ， how difficult English is.盡管不完全，以上就是學習英語的困難。Some native speakers

21、might have said , "You foreig nersdon't use good En glish!" at the time a foreig nerfails to un dersta nd what he is say ing英語母語者被外國人誤解的時候可能會說：”你們外國人不懂地道的英語!""Why should l?"1 would protest , though . Still , I have to keep asking myself : Is it possible for a foreigner t

22、o comma nd En glish?我要反駁："我們為什么要懂?"我還要問：一個外國人可能精通英語嗎？第一課：1、 Like the national push for Asian literacy in Australia, there has been foreign Ianguages fervor in china, with En glish on top of the list.就如澳大利亞在全國推廣學亞洲語言一樣，中國也掀起一股外語熱，在這股熱潮中英語高居榜首。2、Is En glish such a difficult Ian guage that it

23、 really dema nds people to in vest a large amount of timeand en ergy before it is mastered?英語真的有這么難，需要人們投入大量的時間和精力才能掌握嗎？3、 From my personal experienee, I think learningEnglish means far more than learningitspronunciation,grammatical rules, etc.從我個人的經驗來看，英語學習不僅僅是指學習英語發音和語法規則等。4、 Without a complete un

24、derstandingof the Ianguage, the English a foreigner speaks will inevitablysoundstra nge or even unin telligible though there is not anything wrong with his pronun ciati on, sentencestructure and the words he uses.對英語沒有全面的理解，即便有完美的發音、句子結構、措詞，一個外國人所講的英語也會是稀奇古怪甚至難以理 解的。5、Social customs and habits con t

25、ribute to the difficulty in lear ning a foreig n Ian guage.社會風俗習慣增加了學習外語的難度。6、By the same token ,“ Have you eaten? ” will sound to native English speakers that the Chinese areso hospitable that they in vite people to meals off-ha ndedly.由于同樣的原因，英語母語者聽到“吃了嗎？”，會覺得中國人非常好客，在事先毫無準備的情況下會請人吃飯。7、 The foreig

26、ner will respond（回答）“Oh, it ' s very nice of you. When? ”，if he happens tohave acraving （渴望）for Chinese cooking and has not had現在完成時 his dinner yet.如果這位外國人此刻正希望品嘗一下中國美食，而且又碰巧沒有吃飯，他會回答：“太好啦，什么時候？”8、 Chinese has nothing in commonwith English and China had little contact （聯系）with the Western world

27、in moder n history.漢字和英語這兩種文字毫無共同之處，并且中國和西方世界在近代史上很少接觸。9、The background（背景）knowledge of English fascinates（使著迷）large numbers of interested and（2006-4剛考過）determ ined （堅決的）En glish lear ners but at the same time dishearte ns（使氣餒） quite a few.英語背景知識既吸引了大量英語愛好者，也使許多人喪失信心。10、The Western and Orie ntal val

28、ues are found to be in confron tati on（沖突）in lear ning En glish.5#英語學習中，東西方價值觀念是沖突的。（判斷） when they mention their cousins.11、Native English speakers are more gender（性另U）blind在涉及表親的時候，英語母語的人更容易混淆性別。12、A Chin ese En glish lear ner could not have a good comma ndof En glish uni ess he overcomes the cultu

29、ral barriers（障礙物）in lear ning En glish.中國人在英語學習中，只有克服文化障礙，才能很好地掌握英語。IVAny living Ianguage is in a constant state of change .任何一種活生生的語言都是處于不停的變化之中的。That change is gradual （逐漸的）and continuous（連續的）.該變化是逐漸并且連續不斷的。At any particular moment , it is almost hard to notice like most of the changes that affect

30、 your own body .就像影響你身體的大部分變化一樣，這種變化在某一特定時刻是很難察覺的。You don't notice them, but you're lucky if it feels as good and serves you as well as ten years ago .身體的這些變化不容易覺察，但是如果你的身體如十年前一樣好的話，你是非常幸運的。In that period of time it has changed .但是在這十年間，你的身體已經發生了變化。It is the same with Lan guage .語言的變化也是這樣的。T

31、he most com mon and the most no ticeable 可覺察的 kind of cha nge is what happe ns to vocabulary .語言的變化中，最常見、最容易察覺的是詞匯的變化。New words appear; old words take on new meanings .新詞出現，老詞增加新義。Even the n ative speaker might feel surprised.即使是母語者對這些變化也會感到吃驚的。Mouse bega n to mean a small, han d-held device which c

32、an be used to give in struct ions to a computer to which it is conn ected by a short cable（電纜）.Mouse 一詞開始表示一種小型的手動裝置，這種裝置通過一根短短的導線連到計算機上，可以向計算機發指令。To describe a person as green is a way of saying that he is naive（缺少經驗的 ）or inexperieneed .可以用來描述一個人缺少經驗。Now the word in dicates a whole philosophy of li

33、fe or a political op in io n , and we have gree nism （綠色主義）which is supported by greenists .目前這個詞表示一整套生活哲學和政治觀點，我們現在有綠色主義這種提法，綠色主義者支持這種提法。In their shopping they will look for products which carry green labeling（綠色標志 ）which indicates that they have been made in a way which is not harmful to the envir

34、onment .購物時，他們尋找帶有綠色標志的產品。綠色標志代表該產品的生產過程對環境是無害的。Such products are eco-friendly（有利于生態環境的）and they are preferred by those who are eco-conscious.6這種商品是無害于生態環境的，有生態意識的人偏愛這種產品。Text BLear ning a Lan guage學 語 言Most stude nts would like to know how to lear n a 1an guage more easily.大部分學生都想知道如何能夠輕松地學好一門語言，Mo

35、st linguists and Ianguage teachers would also like to know this .大部分語言學家和語言教師也想弄清楚這個問題。Lin guists are work ing on this problem in two ways .語言學家從兩個方面研究這個問題。First, they are trying to understand how children learn to speak and understand their native Ianguage.一方面，他們致力于弄清楚兒童是如何學會母語、理解母語的。They are also

36、trying to learn how people learn a second Ianguage .另一方面致力于研究人是如何學習第二語言的。Linguists are not sure how children learn to speak .語言學家并不確定兒童是如何學說話的。Some linguists think that children are born with an ability to learn and use a 1anguage .一些語言學家認為兒童生來就有學習和使用語言的能力。This does not mean that they come into the

37、world knowing their n ative Ian guage.這并不是指一個人的母語是與生俱來的；It means that, along with many other things , they are born with the ability to learn their native Ianguage.而是指一個人生來具有學習其母語的能力，這種能力與人在其他方面表現出來的能力是相同的。With just a little exposure to the Ianguage , and a little help from their parents , they are

38、able to learn to speak.孩子只要與要學習的語言有一定接觸，在父母的些許幫助下就能夠學會說話。Ano ther group of lin guists does not think this is correct .另外一派語言學家則對此持有異議。This sec ond group of lin guists thi nks that childre n lear n to use a 1an guage from their pare nts持反對意見的語言學家認為兒童是跟著父母學會使用語言的。They believe that parents teach their

39、children to produce sounds and words in their Ianguage .他們認為父母首先教孩子發聲、吐字。When childre n know some words , their pare nts will beg in to teach them to say sentences .當孩子掌握一定詞匯以后，父母就開始教他們如何組織句子。These linguists do not think that parents teach their children in the same way that adults are taught a seco

40、nd Ianguage . 但是他們認為，父母教孩子的方式不同于教成年人學習第二語言的方法。In stead, pare nts probably teach their childre n by talk ing to them and correct ing their use of 1an guage.相反，父母是通過與孩子交談并糾正他們的語言錯誤來教孩子說話的。These linguists feel that children learn their Ianguage mainly from the environment .這一派語言學家認為，兒童主要通過語言環境學會使用語言的。I

41、n this case, the environment is their family and their home.這種情況下，語言環境是家庭和生活環境。As you see, the first group of linguists disagrees .可以看出，第一派語言學家對此并不贊同。There are some other theories about how children learn a Ianguage .7關于兒童如何學習語言還有一些其他理論。Many people are studying the process of language learning by ch

42、ildren This work is being done in many countries 許多國家中有很多人正著手研究兒童學習語言的過程。Linguists are not the only people who are interested in this process Many psychologists ， doctors ， and parents are also interested People who teach foreign languages are interested, too 不僅語言學家，許多心理學家、醫生和父母都對兒童的語言學習過程感興趣。外語教師也對

43、這一過程很感興趣。Foreign language teachers are interested in how children learn to speak their native language for a very important reason 外語教師對兒童如何學說母語感興趣，有其很重要的原因。If they knew how children learn their native language ， perhaps they would have an easy way to teach adults ， as well as children, a second lan

44、guage他們如果知道兒童如何學習母語，就可能找到一種簡便的方法教兒童和成年人學習第二語言。This is a very interesting idea 這是一種非常有意思的想法。Some foreign language teachers believe that adults learn a second language the same way children learn their native language .有些外語教師認為成年人學習第二語言的過程和兒童學習母語的過程是相同的。These teachers try to make their students' l

45、earning similar to that of children 這部分外語教師模仿兒童學習語言的過程組織教學：These teachers speak only the foreign language in the classroom 課堂上只講外語，They will not talk to students in the native language 不與學生講母語。They try to expose them to as much of the spoken foreign language as possible They do not teach them any ru

46、les for using the language他們使學生盡可能多地接觸所學外語的口語形式，不教學生語言使用的規則。Most parents don't teach their children rules for language usage， either. They simply tell them how to say something correctly Foreign language teachers using this spoken language method do the same thing. 外語教師采用這種口語教法是因為大多數父母在教孩子說話的時候也

47、不教孩子語言使用規則，而只是告訴孩子怎樣 講話是正確的。For some students， this method is successful 對一些學生來說，這種方法是成功的，They learn to speak quickly and easily 他們能夠輕而易舉地、很快地學會所學的語言。They seem to enjoy using the language ， and they do not pay much attention to whether they use exactly the right rules for what they say 他們似乎很喜歡去用所學的語

48、言，并不很在意是否使用了正確的語言規則。Some students, however ，cannot learn a language this way Linguists are trying to find another way to teach them a language另外一些學生則不適合這種方法，語言學家著手尋找一種適合他們的教學方法。A second method ， the rule-learning method ， sometimes works better with these students 另外一種方法 - 語言規則學習法 -更適合這部分學生。Some lin

49、guists believe that learning a foreign language is different from learning to speak one'snative language一些語言學家認為學習外語不同于學習母語。They feel that students must learn the rules for using the language by memorizing them and must practice saying things in the language and using the rules correctly 學生必須通過記

50、憶來學習語言使用規則，必須練習使用這種語言，練習正確地使用這些規則。These linguists try to teach students the rules of the language they want to learn 語言教師首先教學生要學的語法規則，Then they give them many sentences in the Ianguage to say over and over again .再給學生一些例句讓他們反復練習，The students are encouraged to make up new sentences, using the rules t

51、hat they have learned and the words that they know .同時鼓勵學生使用所學過的語法規則和他們所掌握的詞造句。Some students are very successful with this second, rule-learning method .一些學生使用這種語法規則學習法效果非常好，They lear n the Ian guage quite quickly and can use it well.他們學得很快，用得也好。They know the rules for using the Ianguage and can spe

52、ak the Ianguage and understand it , too.他們掌握了語言使用規則，能夠使用所學的語言，也能夠理解別人的話。For many students, this is the best way to learn a foreign Ianguage .對一些學生來說，這是學外語最好的方法。For some stude nts, both of these methods may work.對另外一些學生來說，兩種方法都行之有效。Sometimes teachers use a comb in ati on of these methods in class , h

53、op ing that every one will be able to lear n the Ian guage with one method or the other.有時候，老師在課堂上將兩種方法結合起來用，目的是讓每個學生都能受益。Some people can go to a country and "pick up" the Ian guagesimply from heari ng it and tryi ng to com muni cate in it .有些人能夠到國外通過傾聽，與人交流等手段自然而然的學會那個國家的語言。These people a

54、re rare.但這畢竟是少數人。Most people try to learn a Ianguage by taking classes and studying it in some way .大多數人還是通過課堂或者其他方式來學語言的。Most teachers will try different ways to help students learn a Ianguage quickly and easily .大多數老師也通過不同的教法來幫助學生輕松快速的學會一門語言。Linguists and psychologists are trying to understand how

55、 people learn and use a Ianguage .語言學家和心理學家正致力于弄清楚人是如何學會并使用語言的。Perhaps Ianguage 1earning will be easier when they have a clear understanding of how people learn and use a Ianguage . 也許在解決了這個問題之后，語言學習會變得容易一些。Unit 2 Text A夾在兩種文化之間Caught Betwee n Two CulturesI was born and raised in Hong Kong.我是土生土長的香港

56、人。For the past six years I' ve been living in the United States .六年來一直生活在美國，I work as a salesgirl in a large departme nt store.是一家大百貨商店的女售貨員。Right now I ' m going through a difficult period of my life which is hard for me to talk about 目前我正經歷人生中一段痛苦，自己也很難講述。A few mon ths ago 1 went to Hong K

57、ong for a visit .幾個月前，我回香港探親，It was the first time I ' d gone back there since coming to the United States .這也是我到美國后第一次回家探親。I was eager to see my parents，my brothers and sisters， and my friends 我期待著見到我的父母、兄弟姐妹和我的朋友。I really got a shock when I arrived 到達時，我確實大吃一驚。Hong Kong was not the same city t

58、hat I left six years ago 香港已經不是六年前我離開時的那座城市了。Things had changed so much that I didn 't recognize parts of it 這兒發生了巨大的變化，一些地方都認不出來了。My elementary school was gone 我讀書的那所小學已經不復存在。The houses on the street where I used to live had been torn down and replaced by office buildings 曾經住過的那條街上的房子已被拆掉，代之而起的是辦公大樓。The shock from the physical changes in the city ，however ，was nothing compared to the confusion and hurt I soon began to feel in my pa