Unit2ThePowerofWords新編大學英語第二版第四冊課文翻譯Unit2ThePowerofWords新編大學英語第二版第四冊課文翻譯Unit2ThePowerofWords新編大學英語第二版第四冊課文翻譯資料僅供參考文件編號：2022年4月Unit2ThePowerofWords新編大學英語第二版第四冊課文翻譯版本號：A修改號：1頁次：1.0審核：批準:發布日期：Unit2ThePowerofWordsThePowerofaNoteOnmyfirstjobassportseditorfortheMontpelier(Ohio)LeaderEnterprise,Ididn'tgetalotoffanmail,soIwasintriguedbyaletterthatwasdroppedonmydeskonemorning.WhenIopenedit,Iread:"AnicepieceofwritingontheTigers.Keepupthegoodwork."ItwassignedbyDonWolfe,thesportseditor.BecauseIwasateenager(beingpaidthegrandtotalof15centsacolumninch),hiswordscouldn'thavebeenmoreinspiring.11kepttheletterinmydeskdraweruntilitgotrag-eared.WheneverIdoubtedIhadtherightstufftobeawriter,IwouldrereadDon'snoteandfeelconfidentagain.Later,whenIgottoknowhim,IlearnedthatDonmadeahabitofwritingaquick,encouragingwordtopeopleinallwalksoflife."WhenImakeothersfeelgoodaboutthemselves,"hetoldme,"Ifeelgoodtoo."Notsurprisingly,hehadabodyoffriendsasbigasnearbyLakeErie.Whenhediedlastyearat75,thepaperwasfloodedwithcallsandlettersfrompeoplewhohadbeenrecipientsofhisspirit-liftingwords.Overtheyears,I'vetriedtocopytheexampleofDonandotherfriendswhocareenoughtowriteupliftingcomments,becauseIthinktheyareontosomethingimportant.Inaworldtoooftencoldandunresponsive,suchnotesbringwarmthandreassurance.Weallneedaboostfromtimetotime,andafewlinesofpraisehavebeenknowntoturnaroundaday,evenalife.Why,then,aretheresofewupbeatnotewritersMyguessisthatmanywhoshyawayfromthepracticearetooself-conscious.They'reafraidthey'llbemisunderstood,soundsentimentalorinsincere.Also,writingtakestime;it'sfareasiertopickupthephone.Thedrawbackwithphonecalls,ofcourse,isthattheydon'tlast.Anoteattachesmoreimportancetoourwell-wishing.Itisamatterofrecord,andourwordscanbereadmorethanonce,savoredandtreasured.Eventhoughnotewritingmaytakelonger,someprettybusypeopledoit,includingGeorgeBush.Somesayheowesmuchofhissuccessinpoliticstohisever-readypen.HowThroughouthiscareerhehasfollowedupvirtuallyeverycontactwithacordialresponse—acompliment,alineofpraiseoranodofthanks.Hisnotesgonotonlytofriendsandassociates,buttocasualacquaintancesandtotalstrangers—likethesurprisedpersonwhogotawarmpatonthebackforlendingBushanumbrella.Eventopcorporatemanagers,whohavemostlyaffectedstylesofleadershipthatcanbecharacterizedonlyastough,coldandaloof,havebeguntolearnthelesson,andearnthebenefits,ofwritingnotesthatliftpeopleup.FormerFordchairmanDonaldPeterson,whoislargelycreditedforturningthecompanyroundinthe1980s,madeitapracticetowritepositivemessagestoassociateseveryday."I'djustscribblethemonamemopadorthecornerofaletterandpassthemalong,"hesays."Themostimportanttenminutesofyourdayarethoseyouspenddoingsomethingtoboostthepeoplewhoworkforyou."Toooften,"heobserved,"peoplewegenuinelylikehavenoideahowwefeelaboutthem.Toooftenwethink,Ihaven'tsaidanythingcritical;whydoIhavetosaysomethingpositiveWeforgetthathumanbeingsneedpositivereinforcement—infact,wethriveonit!"WhatdoesittaketowritelettersthatliftspiritsandwarmheartsOnlyawillingnesstoexpressourappreciation.ThemostsuccessfulpractitionersincludewhatIcallthefour"S's"ofnotewriting.1)Theyaresincere.Noonewantsfalsepraise.2)Theyareusuallyshort.Ifyoucan'tsaywhatyouwanttosayinthreesentences,you'reprobablystraining3)Theyarespecific.Complimentingabusinesscolleaguebytellinghim"goodspeech"istoovague;"greatstoryaboutWarrenBuffet'sinvestmentstrategy"isprecise.4)Theyarespontaneous.Thisgivesthemthefreshnessandenthusiasmthatwilllingerinthereader'smindlongafterward.It'sdifficulttobespontaneouswhenyouhavetohuntforletter-writingmaterials,soIkeeppaper,envelopesandstampscloseathand,evenwhenItravel.Fancystationeryisn'tnecessary;it'sthethoughtthatcounts.So,whoaroundyoudeservesanoteofthanksorapprovalAneighbor,yourlibrarian,arelative,yourmayor,yourmate,ateacher,yourdoctorYoudon'tneedtobepoetic.Ifyouneedareason,lookforamilestone,theanniversaryofaspecialeventyoushared,orabirthdayorholiday.Forthelast25years,forexample,I'vepreparedanannualChristmasletterforlong-distancefriends,andIoftenaddahandwrittenwordofthanksorcongratulations.AcknowledgingsomesuccessorgoodfortunethathashappenedduringtheyearseemsparticularlyappropriateconsideringthespiritoftheChristmasseason.

Begenerouswithyourpraise.Superlativeslike"greatest,""smartest,""prettiest"makeusallfeelgood.Evenifyourpraiseisalittleaheadofreality,rememberthatexpectationsareoftentheparentsofdreamsfulfilled.TodayIgotawarm,complimentaryletterfrommyoldbossandmentor,NormanVincentPeale.Hislittlenotetomewasfullofupliftingphrases,anditsentmetomytypewritertocomposeafewoverduelettersofmyown.Idon'tknowiftheywillmakeanybodyelse'sday,buttheymademine.AsmyfriendDonWolfesaid,makingothersfeelgoodaboutthemselvesmakesmefeelgoodtoo.便箋的力量1我當體育編輯，最早是為蒙比利埃（俄亥俄州）的《企業導報》工作，當時我很少收到體育迷的來信。因此，一天早晨放在我桌上的一封來信把我吸引住了。2打開來信，我看到了下面的話：“關于老虎隊的述評很不錯，再接再厲。”簽名的是體育編輯堂?沃爾夫。當時我只是一個十幾歲的小伙子（為每一豎欄寫一英寸文字，稿酬總計達15美分），因此他的話最鼓舞人心了。我把這封信一直放在書桌的抽屜里，后來它的邊角都卷起來了。每當我懷疑自己不是當作家的料時，重溫一下堂的便箋，就又會樹起信心來。3后來，我逐漸對堂有所了解，知道給各行各業的人寫快捷而鼓舞人心的便箋是他養成的習慣。他告訴我說：“當我使別人充滿信心時，我也感覺好極了。”4因此毫不奇怪，他的朋友圈子就像附近的伊利湖那么大。去年他去世了，享年75歲。電話與悼函像潮水般涌向報社，都來自于曾經得到過他激勵（文字）的人們。5多年來，我努力效仿堂以及我的其他朋友，他們關心別人，常寫一些鼓舞人心的話語，因為我覺得，他們這樣做是很有意義的。在這樣一個慣于冷漠、無動于衷的世界上，這種便箋給人們帶來了溫暖和安慰。我們都時不時地需要鼓勵，大家知道幾行贊揚的話會改變一個人的一天，甚至一生。6那么，這些激勵人心的便箋的作者為什么寥若晨星呢？我猜想很多人回避寫，是因為他們太看重人們的看法。他們擔心會被誤解，怕別人覺得他們自作多情或者言不由衷。還有，寫也要花時間，遠不如打電話方便。

7當然打電話的缺點是：說過的話留不住。而一張便箋使我們的良好意愿顯得更加珍貴。便箋是白紙黑字記錄在案的東西，而且我們寫下的字可以反復閱讀，細細品味并珍藏起來。8盡管寫便箋會多花一些時間，但一些非常忙的人也在這么做，其中包括喬治?布什。有人說，他政治上的成功在很大程度上歸功于他那枝隨時準備寫字的筆。這是怎么回事呢？在他整個職業生涯中，每次與人們接觸之后，他幾乎都隨后寫封信，內容親切——一句贊美之辭，一行表揚的話，或一段感謝語。他不僅寫給朋友和同事，還寫給萍水相逢的人以及完全陌生的人——比如那位借傘給他的人，后來收到他熱情的贊揚信，感到很驚訝。9那些通常做作的公司高層經理們，其領導作風只能被形容為強硬、冷漠、脫離群眾。甚至這些人也開始學習寫便箋去鼓舞人心，且從中獲益匪淺。唐納德?彼得森，福特公司的前主席，把每天寫便箋鼓勵同事當作一件日常工作。該公司在80年代時走出低谷取得成功主要是他的功勞。“我只不過匆匆地在備忘錄或信的角上寫一些鼓舞人心的話，然后傳遞出去，”他說道。“每天最重要的一段時間，就是鼓舞那些為你工作的人的那10分鐘。”10“太多的時候，”他發表自己的看法說，“那些我們真正喜歡的人并不知道我們是怎么看待他們的。太多的時候，我們會以為，我并沒有說過什么批評的話，為什么非得去說好話呢？我們忘了，人類需要正面的肯定或鼓勵——事實上，我們靠這個取得進步，獲得成功！”11怎樣才能寫出振奮精神、溫暖人心的信呢？只要我們懷有要表示感激之情的心愿。寫這種便箋的高手都具有我所謂的“４S”技巧。12１）真誠(sincere)。沒人要聽虛假的贊美。13２）簡短(short)。如果不能用三句話表達出你的意思，你很可能過火了，寫得太長。14３）具體(specific)。贊揚一位業務伙伴“演講精彩”太籠統含糊；告訴他“關于沃倫?巴菲特的投資策略講得很精彩”才是一語中的。15４）自然(spontaneous)。這使得便箋充滿了生氣，洋溢著熱情，并使讀者的心靈長久地感受這種生氣和熱情。16當你非得到處找寫信用品時，寫出來的東西就難以自然，因此我總是把紙、信封和郵票放在手邊，甚至在旅行時也是如此。信封信箋不需要很花哨，重要的是要表達的思想。17那么，你周圍又有誰值得你寫便箋表示感謝或鼓勵呢一位鄰居為你服務的那位圖書館管理員一位親戚你的市長你的伙伴一位教師你的醫生你不必富有詩意。如果你需要一個寫的理由，就找一個生活中的重要事件，例如你們共同參加的某個特殊事件的周年紀念日、生日或者節日。例如，過去的25年里，我總是為遠方的朋友每年準備一張圣誕卡，而且常常在上面親筆寫上一句感謝或祝賀的話。鑒于圣誕節的氛圍，就一年來所取得的成功與得到的好運特意表示謝忱似乎是最恰到好處的。18不要吝嗇你的贊美之言。像“最了不起的”、“最聰明的”、“最漂亮的”這種最高級的表達法——使大家都感到高興。即使你的贊美之詞稍稍超前了一點也沒關系，記住，夢想的實現往往孕育于期望之中。19今天，我收到了以前的老板和精神導師諾曼?文森特?皮爾的一封溫暖的贊揚信。這張小小的便箋上滿是鼓舞人心的詞句，這促使我坐到了打字機前來完成幾封我早就該寫的信。我不知道這些信會不會使別人的一天別有意義，但是，對我自己確實如此。正如我的朋友堂?沃爾夫所說的：使別人充滿信心，也就使我自己感覺很好。AlltheGoodThingsHewasinthefirstthird-gradeclassItaughtatSaintMary'sSchoolinMorris,Minnesota.All34ofmystudentsweredeartome,butMarkEklundwasoneinamillion.Veryneatinappearance,hehadthathappy-to-be-aliveattitudethatmadeevenhisoccasionalmischievousnessdelightful.Markalsotalkedincessantly.Ihadtoremindhimagainandagainthattalkingwithoutpermissionwasnotacceptable.Whatimpressedmesomuch,though,washissincereresponseeverytimeIhadtocorrecthimformisbehaving."Thankyouforcorrectingme,Sister!"Ididn'tknowwhattomakeofitatfirst,butbeforelongIbecameaccustomedtohearingitmanytimesaday.OnemorningmypatiencewasgrowingthinwhenMarktalkedoncetoooften,andthenImadeanovice-teacher'smistake.IlookedatMarkandsaid,"Ifyousayonemoreword,Iamgoingtotapeyourmouthshut!"Itwasn'ttensecondslaterwhenChuckblurtedout,"Markistalkingagain."Ihadn'taskedanyofthestudentstohelpmewatchMark,butsinceIhadstatedthepunishmentinfrontoftheclass,Ihadtoactonit.Irememberthesceneasifithadoccurredthismorning.Iwalkedtomydesk,verydeliberatelyopenedthedrawerandtookoutarollofmaskingtape.Withoutsayingaword,IproceededtoMark'sdesk,toreofftwopiecesoftapeandmadeabigXwiththemoverhismouth.Ithenreturnedtothefrontoftheroom.AsIglancedatMarktoseehowhewasdoing,hewinkedatme.Thatdidit!Istartedlaughing.TheentireclasscheeredasIwalkedbacktoMark'sdesk,removedthetape,andshruggedmyshoulders.Hisfirstwordswere,"Thankyouforcorrectingme,Sister.AttheendoftheyearIwasaskedtoteachjunior-highmath.Theyearsflewby,andbeforeIknewitMarkwasinmyclassroomagain.Hewasmorehandsomethaneverandjustaspolite.Sincehehadtolistencarefullytomyinstructionsinthenewmath",hedidnottalkasmuchintheninthgradeashehadinthethird.OneFriday,thingsjustdidn'tfeelright.Wehadworkedhardonanewconceptallweek,andIsensedthatthestudentsweregrowingfrustratedwiththemselves—andedgywithoneanother.Ihadtochangethemoodoftheclassbeforeitgotoutofhand.SoIaskedthemtolistthenamesoftheotherstudentsintheroomontwosheetsofpaper,leavingaspacebetweeneachname.ThenItoldthemtothinkofthenicestthingtheycouldsayabouteachoftheirclassmatesandwriteitdown.Ittooktheremainderoftheclassperiodtofinishtheassignment,butasthestudentslefttheroom,eachonehandedmethepapers.Charliesmiled.Marksaid,"Thankyouforteachingme,Sister.Haveagoodweekend."ThatSaturday,Iwrotedownthenameofeachstudentonaseparatesheetofpaper,andIlistedwhateveryoneelsehadsaidaboutthatindividual.OnMondayIgaveeachstudenthisorherlist.Someofthemrantwopages.Beforelong,theentireclasswassmiling."Really"Iheardwhispered."Ineverknewthatmeantanythingtoanyone!""Ididn'tknowotherslikedmesomuch!"Nooneevermentionedthosepapersinclassagain.Ineverknewiftheydiscussedthemafterclassorwiththeirparents.Butitdidn'tmatter.Theexercisehadaccomplisheditspurpose.Thestudentswerehappywiththemselvesandoneanotheragain.Thatgroupofstudentsmovedon.Severalyearslater,afterIreturnedfromavacation,myparentsmetmeattheairport.Asweweredrivinghome,Motheraskedtheusualquestionsaboutthetrip,theweather,myexperiencesingeneral.Therewasaslightlullintheconversation.MothergaveDadasidewaysglanceandsimplysaid,"Dad"Myfatherclearedhisthroatasheusuallydidbeforesayingsomethingimportant."TheEklundscalledlastnight,"hebegan."Really"Isaid."Ihaven'theardfromthemforseveralyears.IwonderhowMarkis.Dadrespondedquietly."MarkwaskilledinVietnam,"hesaid."Thefuneralistomorrow,andhisparentswouldlikeitifyoucouldattend."TothisdayIcanstillpointtotheexactspotonI-494whereDadtoldmeaboutMark.Ihadneverseenaservicemaninamilitarycoffinbefore.Marklookedsohandsome,somature.AllIcouldthinkatthatmomentwas,Mark,Iwouldgiveallthemaskingtapeintheworldifonlyyoucouldtalktome.Afterthefuneral,mostofMark'sformerclassmatesheadedtoChuck'sfarmhouseforlunch.Mark'smotherandfatherwerethere,obviouslywaitingforme."Wewanttoshowyousomething,"hisfathersaid,takingawalletoutofhispocket."TheyfoundthisonMarkwhenhewaskilled.Wethoughtyoumightrecognizeit."Openingthebillfold,hecarefullyremovedtwowornpiecesofnotebookpaperthathadobviouslybeentaped,foldedandrefoldedmanytimes.IknewwithoutlookingthatthepapersweretheonesonwhichIhadlistedallthegoodthingseachofMark'sclassmateshadsaidabouthim."Thankyousomuchfordoingthat,"Mark'smothersaid."Asyoucansee,Marktreasuredit."Mark'sclassmatesstartedtogatheraroundus.Charliesmiledrathersheepishlyandsaid,"Istillhavemylist.It'sinthetopdrawerofmydeskathome."Chuck'swifesaid,"Chuckaskedmetoputhisinourweddingalbum.""Ihaveminetoo,"Marilynsaid."It'sinmydiary."ThenVicki,anotherclassmate,reachedintoherpocket-book,tookoutherwalletandshowedherwornandraggedlisttothegroup."Icarrythiswithmeatalltimes,"Vickisaidwithouthesitation."Ithinkweallsavedourlists."That'swhenIfinallysatdownandcried.IcriedforMarkandforallhisfriendswhowouldneverseehimagain.美言盡在其中1我當時在明尼蘇達州莫里斯市的圣瑪麗學校任教，馬克·埃克隆是我教的三年級一班的學生。全班34個學生都和我很親密，但馬克確是百里挑一。他衣冠整潔，一副樂天派的樣子，即便偶爾調皮一下，也顯得那么可愛。2馬克上課時還會說個不停。我只得一次次提醒他，未經允許講話是不可以的。然而，每次我不得不糾正他的搗亂行為時，他的反應總是那么真誠，這給我留下了深刻的印象。“謝謝您糾正我的行為，好老師!”起初我不明白他的話到底什么意思，可是不久我就習慣了，每天都聽他這么說好多遍。3一天上午，當馬克又在不停地說話時，我沒了耐心，而且犯了一個見習教師常犯的錯誤。我看著馬克說道：“如果你再說一個字，我就用膠帶把你的嘴封住!”4不到十秒鐘就聽見查克突然嚷起來：“馬克又說話了。”我并沒有讓任何學生幫我看著馬克，可是既然我已經在全班面前講了我的懲罰辦法，就要說到做到。5我還記得那時的情景，就好像是今天上午才發生的。我當時走到自己的桌前，不慌不忙地拉開抽屜，拿出一卷遮蔽膠帶，接著一言不發地走到馬克桌前，撕下兩條膠帶，在他的嘴上貼成一個大大的叉。然后我又回到教室的前面。6當我瞥了馬克一眼想看看他的反應時，他對我眨了眨眼。他得逞了!我笑了起來。我回到馬克的桌旁，撕掉了貼在他嘴上的膠帶，無可奈何地聳了聳肩，這時全班都歡呼起來。撕掉膠帶后他說的第一句話是：“謝謝您糾正我的行為，好老師。”7那年年底的時候我被安排去教初中數學。時光飛逝，不知不覺中馬克又坐在了我的教室里。他比過去更英俊了，而且還是那么彬彬有禮。因為不得不仔細聽我講解“新數學”，九年級的馬克不再像在三年級時那么愛講話了。8有個星期五，情況使人感到有點不對頭。整整一周我們都在學習一個新概念。我感覺到學生們開始泄氣了，而且彼此之間變得急躁易怒。我得改變一下班級的氣氛以免情況失控。于是我讓他們把班上其他同學的名字列在兩張紙上，在名字之間留出些空間。然后我讓他們想出有關每個同學的最好的評價，并把它寫下來。9那堂課剩下的時間全花在了完成這項工作上。但是當學生們離開教室的時候，每人都把他們寫好的兩張紙遞給我。查克面帶微笑。馬克對我說：“謝謝您教我，好老師。祝您周末愉快。”10那個星期六，我把每個學生的名字分別寫在一張紙上，然后把其他人說的關于那個人的話都一一列在上面。星期一，我把這些紙發給每個學生自己。有的有兩頁之多。沒多久，全班都在微笑。“真的嗎”我聽見有人輕聲說。“我從沒想到會有人看重那件事。”“我沒想到別人會這么喜歡我!”ll沒有人在班上再提起那些紙。我也不知道他們是否在課后或與他們的父母談論過那些(列在紙上的)事，可是那并不重要。這次活動已經達到了它的目的。學生們又感到快樂了，相互之間又愉快相處了。12那一撥學生接著該去哪兒去哪兒了。幾年后，我度假回來，父母到機場接我。開車回家的路上，母親問了些關于旅行的事，都是老一套：天氣怎么樣以及大體的旅行經歷。然后談話中有點兒冷場。母親瞟了父親一眼，簡捷地說：“她爸”于是父親清了清喉嚨，就像通常他要說些重要的事情之前做的那樣。“埃克隆夫婦昨晚打電話來了，”他開始說道。13“真的”我說。“我已經好幾年沒和他們聯系了，不知道馬克怎么樣了。”14爸爸平靜地回答我。“馬克死在越南了，”他說。“明天舉行葬禮。他父母希望你能參加。”直到今天我還清清楚楚地記得父親是在494號州際公路的哪個地方告訴我馬克的事的。15我以前從沒見過躺在軍用棺材里的軍人。馬克看上去是那么英俊，那么成熟。那一時刻，我的腦海里只有這么一句話：馬克，只要你能和我說句話，我愿意付出一切。16葬禮過后，馬克的大多數同學到查克的農舍去吃午飯。馬克的父母在那兒，他們顯然在等我。“我們想給你看樣東西，”馬克的爸爸邊說邊從口袋里拿出一個皮夾。“這是馬克犧牲后他們在他身上發現的。我們想你也許能認得這個。”17他把皮夾打開，小心翼翼地拿出兩張破舊的筆記本紙。很明顯，那紙已經用膠帶粘貼，反反復復地折疊過。我不用看就知道是什么紙，我在那上面列出了每個同學說過的馬克的優點。“真是感謝你做了這樣的事，”馬克的媽媽說。“你能看得出，馬克很珍視它。”18馬克的同學紛紛圍住了我們。查理十分靦腆地笑著說：“我還留著我的那份呢。放在我家書桌最頂層的抽屜里。”查克的妻子說：“查克讓我把他的那份放在我們的結婚像冊里。”“我那份也留著呢，”瑪里琳說。“夾在我的日記里。”另一個同學維姬伸手到她的皮包里，拿出了她的皮夾，把她那張破舊不堪的紙給大家看。“我一直把它帶在身上，”維姬毫不猶豫地說。“我想我們都留著自己的這些(優點)單子。”19就在那個時候，我終于坐下來，哭了，為馬克，也為所有永遠不能再見到他的那些朋友而流淚。’MotherTongueIamawriter.Andbythatdefinition,Iamsomeonewhohasalwayslovedlanguage.Iamfascinatedbylanguageindailylife.Ispendagreatdealofmytimethinkingaboutthepoweroflanguage—thewayitcanevokeanemotion,avisualimage,acomplexidea,orasimpletruth.Languageisthetoolofmytrade.AndIusethemall—alltheEnglishesIgrewupwith.Recently,IwasmadekeenlyawareofthedifferentEnglishesIdouse.Iwasgivingatalktoalargegroupofpeople,thesametalkIhadalreadygiventohalfadozenothergroups.Thenatureofthetalkwasaboutmywriting,mylife,andmybook,TheJoyLuckClub.ThetalkwasgoingalongwellenoughuntilIrememberedonemajordifferencethatmadethewholetalksoundwrong.Mymotherwasintheroom.Anditwasperhapsthefirsttimeshehadheardmegivealengthyspeech,usingthekindofEnglishIhaveneverusedwithher—aspeechfilledwithcarefullyconstructedgrammaticalphrases,burdened,itsuddenlyseemedtome,withnominalizedforms,pastperfecttenses,conditionalphrases,alltheformsofstandardEnglishthatIhadlearnedinschoolandthroughbooks,theformsofEnglishIdidnotuseathomewithmymother.Justlastweek,Iwaswalkingdownthestreetwithmymother,andIagainfoundmyselfconsciousoftheEnglishIwasusing,theEnglishIdousewithher.WeweretalkingaboutthepriceofnewandusedfurnitureandIheardmyselfsayingthis:"Notwastemoneythatway."Myhusbandwaswithusaswell,andhedidn'tnoticeanyswitchinmyEnglish.AndthenIrealizedwhy.It'sbecauseoverthetwentyyearsthatwehavebeentogetherI'veoftenusedthesamekindofEnglishwithhim,andsometimesheevenusesitwithme.Ithasbecomeourlanguageofintimacy,adifferentsortofEnglishthatrelatestofamilytalk,thelanguageIgrewupwith.Youshouldknowthatmymother'sexpressivecommandofEnglishdoesn'treflecthowmuchsheactuallyunderstands.Shereadsfinancialreports,listenstoWallStreetWeek(aTVfinancialnewsprogram),conversesdailywithherstockbroker,andreadsmanytypesofbookswithease.Yetsomeofmyfriendstellmetheyunderstandonly50percentofwhatmymothersays.Somesaytheyunderstand80to90percent.Somesaytheyunderstandnoneofit,asifshewerespeakingpureChinese.Buttome,mymother'sEnglishisperfectlyclear,perfectlynatural.It'smymothertongue.Herlanguage,asIhearit,isvivid,direct,fullofobservationandimagery.ThatwasthelanguagethathelpedshapethewayIsawthings,expressedthings,madesenseoftheworld.Lately,I'vebeengivingmorethoughttothekindofEnglishmymotherspeaks.Likeothers,Ihavedescribedittootherpeopleas"broken"English.ButIshrinkwithpainwhenIsaythat.ItalwaysbotheredmethatIcanthinkofnowaytodescribeitotherthan"broken",asifitweredamagedandneededtobefixed,asifitlackedcertainwholenessandsoundness.I'veheardothertermsused,"limitedEnglish",forexample.Buttheyseemjustasbad,asifeverythingislimited,includingpeople'sperceptionsofthe"limited"Englishspeaker.Iknowthisforafact,becausewhenIwasgrowingup,mymother's"limited"Englishlimitedmyperceptionofher.IwasashamedofherEnglish.IbelievedthatherEnglishreflectedthequalityofwhatshehadtosay.Thatis,becausesheexpressedthemimperfectlyherthoughtswereimperfect.AndIhadplentyofempiricalevidencetosupportme:thefactthatpeopleindepartmentstores,atbanks,andatrestaurantsdidnottakeherseriously,didnotgivehergoodservice,pretendednottounderstandher,orevenactedasiftheydidnothearher.MymotherhaslongrealizedthelimitationsofherEnglishaswell.WhenIwasfifteen,sheusedtoaskmetocallpeopleonthephonetopretendIwasshe.Inthisguise,Iwasforcedtoaskforinformationorevencomplainandyellatpeoplewhohadbeenrudetoher.OnetimeitwasacalltoherstockbrokerinNewYork.ShehadcashedouthersmallstockportfolioanditjustsohappenedweweregoingtogotoNewYorkthenextweek,ourveryfirsttripoutsideCalifornia.Ihadtogetonthephoneandsayinanadolescentvoicethatwasnotveryconvincing,"ThisisMrsTan."Andmymotherwasstandinginthebackwhispering,"Whyhedon'tsendmecheck,alreadytwoweekslate.Somadhelietome,losingmemoney.AndthenIsaidinperfectEnglish,"Yes,I'mgettingratherconcerned.Youhadagreedtosendthechecktwoweeksago,butithasn'tarrived."Thenshebegantotalkmoreloudly,"Whathewant,IcometoNewYorktellhimfrontofhisboss,youcheatingme"AndIwastryingtocalmherdown,makeherbequiet,whiletellingthestockbroker,"Ican'ttolerateanymoreexcuses.IfIdon'treceivethecheckimmediately,IamgoingtospeaktoyourmanagerwhenI'minNewYorknextweek."WhyaretherenotmoreAsianAmericansrepresentedinAmericanliteratureWhyaretheresofewAsianAmericansenrolledincreativewritingprogramsWhydosomanyChinesestudentsgointoengineeringWell,thesearebroadsociologicalquestionsIcan'tbegintoanswer.ButIhavenoticedinsurveysthatAsianstudents,asawhole,alwaysdosignificantlybetteronmathachievementteststhaninEnglish.AndthismakesmethinkthatthereareotherAsian-AmericanstudentswhoseEnglishspokeninthehomemightalsob