1、Aiming for fluency想学好英语并没那么难Growing up in Venezuela, there was never really much cause to learn English. For years I knew nothing past “hello,” until I started high school. For five years, I spent two hours a week immersed in understanding the verb “to be”, numbers, colors, and the difference betwee
2、n saying “good evening” and “good night”.I thought two hours a week was enough time to invest in learning a foreign language. I would always get top marks, and my teachers would regularly praise me. Even as an adult, I still thought I spoke the language, just by understanding English menus or transl
3、ating common phrases. Yep, that used to be me, walking like a queen among everyday Spanish speakers.“Bring it on, life,” I said. “I can handle whatever youve got; Im a rock star.” But when I moved to Canada, life hit me so hard that it knocked me down. Years later, I am still recovering.Living in a
4、new land, with different people, new rules, new weather, a new culture and language, I was no longer a queen.Did I speak English?No, not at all.So, I went back to school, thinking that it was a challenge I would conquer in record time. But the reality was different. English was more like a solid wal
5、l in my path.Even after getting a job, it took all my courage to stop myself from hiding in the washroom during my lunch break, crying, completely overwhelmed (不知所措的) and scared.Learning English, speaking, listening it hurt me. Not the language. Not the unkind people, it hurt because I wasnt good, d
6、espite my efforts.Now, after almost seven years in Canada, Ive decided not to apologize for my accent, grammar mistakes, or pronunciation. Im going to chase my dreams and enjoy a beautiful, rich, and fascinating language without being ashamed.Dont get me wrong, my brain still screams “Give me a brea
7、k!” from time to time, but thats completely natural. I know its going to take a while, but at least now I accept the person I am not the perfect person I thought I was.（选自Readers Digest）1. What do we learn about learning English in Venezuela?A. Everyone invested a lot of time in it. B. It didnt requ
8、ire much effort.C. Its standard was very high in high school.D. It could bring a lot of benefits to students.2. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 show about the author?A. She was proud of her command of foreign languages.B. She felt confident enough to face any challenge.C. She deligh
9、ted in all kinds of competition.D. She looked down on others.3. What happened after the author moved to Canada?A. She adjusted to the new environment rapidly.B. She regretted not working hard in English.C. She quickly put her language talent to use.D. She expected to improve her English easily.4. Wh
10、at can we infer from the last three paragraphs? A. The author has a realistic understanding of herself.B. The author has conquered English eventually. C. The author now can pass as a native speaker.D. The author is frustrated with her English.译文：在委内瑞拉长大，从来没有太多理由学习英语。多年以来，直到我进入高中之前，我对“你好”一无所知。五年来，我每周
11、花两个小时沉浸在理解动词“要”，数字，颜色以及说“晚安”和“晚安”之间的区别上。我认为每周两个小时足以花时间学习外语。我总是会获得最高分，而我的老师会经常表扬我。即使是成年人，我仍然认为我会说英语，只是通过理解英语菜单或翻译常用短语。是的，过去是我，每天在讲西班牙语的国家中像皇后一样行走。“带上它，生活，”我说。“我可以应付你所拥有的一切；我是摇滚明星。”但是当我搬到加拿大时，生活使我受了沉重的打击，以至于把我打倒了。多年后，我仍在恢复。我生活在一个新的土地上，拥有不同的人，新的规则，新的天气，新的文化和语言，我不再是女王。我会说英语吗？一点都不。因此，我回到学校，以为在创纪录的时间内我将克服
12、的挑战。但是现实是不同的。在我的路上，英语更像是一堵坚固的墙。即使找到了工作，我仍然全心全意地阻止自己在午休时间躲在洗手间，哭泣，完全不知所措和害怕。学习英语，口语和听力伤害了我。不是语言。不是粗鲁的人，这是痛苦的，因为尽管我努力，我还是不好。现在，在加拿大待了将近七年之后，我决定对我的口音，语法错误或发音不道歉。我将追逐自己的梦想，享受一种美丽，丰富而迷人的语言，而不会感到羞耻。别误会我的意思，我的大脑仍在尖叫：“休息一下！”有时，但这是完全自然的。我知道这将需要一段时间，但至少现在我接受了我自己-不是我以为自己是完美的人。点睛：本文属于新课标“人与自我”主题语境下“认识自我，丰富自我，完善
13、自我”范畴。去加拿大前后，作者对自己英语水平的认识发生了巨大变化，她是如何对待这种落差呢？ 去加拿大之前，对自己的英语水平充满信心1. For five years, I spent two hours a week immersed in immerse v. become or make sb completely involved in sth 使专心于用法：immerse yourself/sb in （使）深陷于；沉浸在She immersed herself in her work.2. two hours a week was enough time to invest in i
14、nvest v. spend time, energy, effort, etc. on sth that you think is good or useful 投入（时间、精力等）用法：invest in (doing) sth；invest in还可以表示“投入资金”。同根词：investment n. 投入；investor n. 投资者She had invested all her adult life in the relationship. 到加拿大之后，倍受打击3. life hit me so hard that it knocked me down.knock sb do
15、wn hit sb to the ground 打倒（或击倒、撞倒）某人She was knocked down by a bus.4. thinking that it was a challenge I would conquer in record time.conquer v. succeed in dealing with or controlling sth （成功地）对付，克服The only way to conquer a fear is to face it.5. it hurt because I wasnt good, despite my efforts.despit
16、e prep. used to show that sth happened or is true although sth else might have happened to prevent it 即使，尽管同义词：in spite ofHer voice was shaking, despite all her efforts to control it. 决定不再自卑，接受不完美的自己6. enjoy a beautiful, rich, and fascinating language without being ashamed.ashamed adj. feeling shame
17、 or embarrassment 惭愧，羞愧用法：be ashamed of/that 对感到羞愧ashamed 和 embarrassed辨析：做了明知故犯的事或犯了重大错误用ashamed；犯了错误，干了傻事或在他人面前感到难为情用embarrassed。答案：1-4 BBDA1. B。从文章前三段可知，作者每个星期只要花两个小时在英语学习上，就能在英语考试脱颖而出，获得高分，并得到老师经常性的表扬，所以答案为B。2. B。Bring it on表示的意思为“放马过来”，说明作者对自己的英语能力是非常有信心的，所以答案为B。3. D。根据第11段“ I went back to school, thinking that it was a challenge I would conquer in record time.”可知，作者发现了自己在英语能力上的缺陷，但是认为可以很快克服这些挑战，所以答案为D。4. A。文章后三段讲述的是作者的信心恢复期，她决定好好地感受英语语言的魅力，不再自卑，接受自己的不完美，所以答案为A。
