专业学位硕士研究生英语教程03

Unit 3

Language Learning

Preview

The future looks as though children will have to speak at least one other language than English in their adult lifetime. The second most widely used language in the world is Chinese. Learning Mandarin today or teaching children to be bilingual for tomorrow is becoming one of the best decisions American parents could make. It is in the best interests of Americans to have complete understanding and a working knowledge of the Chinese language in order to keep focus, improve communications. The future will address more blending of cultures and the need for sensitivity in a diverse world economy.

Part I Text Reading Warm-up

I. Why learn Chinese?

Just a few years ago, most westerners might not have been thinking very much about China. However, these days, with China's booming economy, the need to interact with China is apparent. More and more westerners may be wondering, I be learning Chinese?The answer is a resounding

Why are so many people interested in China and learning its language? Please discuss more reasons besides those mentioned above with your partner. The following tips may be useful for your discussion.

1. China currently boasting the fastest growing economy in the world 2. following what others are doing 3. to stay competitive 4. global supply chains

5. to be a smart business move

6. the Chinese market being the largest consumer market in the world 7. for seeking a better career

8. Chinese being spoken by over 1.2 billion people 9. China being the world manufacturing factory 10. traditional Chinese culture and long history

II. Please give some reasons to illustrate the nationwide English learning in China, and make comparison to the growing popularity of Chinese learning abroad. Text

East Meets West in U.S. Schools

Edward B. Fiske

[1] Paris Buedel is a typical American 8-year-old (boy) who is into basketball, piano lessons and Lego1. And, oh yes, he spends half of each school day speaking Mandarin (spend time/ money doing sth.).

[2] Paris is enrolled in a

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School here in which the pupils--half native Chinese, half English speakers--do their lessons in two languages (bilingually). The program is indicative of (=shows) one of the fastest-growing curriculum trends in U.S. schools: the study (n.) of Chinese.

[3] 'Americans are used to hearing about people in other countries learning English. Now we're seeing the opposite trend,said Michael Levine, executive director of the Asia Society2, which promotes (encourages) international content (n./a.内容) in U.S. schools. nd students are deciding that, since more people speak Mandarin (Chinese) than any other language, it might be a useful skill to have.

[4] ppreciate (=enjoy/ understand) the importance of China in the (globe->) global economy and the notion that our son's knowing Chinese (knowledge about China) may give him a leg up (help him a great deal) later in life,(I am) reading the newspapers we can point to articles about China, culturally, politically and economically. China (=China’s influence) is everywhere.

[5] Because (of) interest in Chinese language and culture has taken off (started/ begun) in the past few years, accurate statistics are hard to come by (get). A 2002 study (research) at Princeton University3 put (estimated) the number at 24,000 students in Grades 7 to 12, but, according to Levine, the current (present) figure (number) is certainly much larger.

[6] This autumn (fall) the College Board4 initiated (launch/ started) a new advanced (高年级的) placement (streaming) curriculum and exam in Chinese language and literature. Thomas Matts, who supervises the program, estimated that possibly as many as 300 secondary schools were already in a position to (be ready/ willing to) offer (provide) the program (courses). haven't seen such interest (enthusiasm) in a particular (specific) subject since the Soviet Union5 launched Sputnik6 and people got (became) interested in Russian and physics,

[7] Rosemary Feal, executive director of the Modern Language Association7, reported that the number of students in two- and four-year college courses studying Chinese (rise->) rose (=increased) by 20 percent between 1998 and 2002, to slightly more than 33,000. 既然) the pipeline is active at the high school level, we expect many more students to be enrolling in advanced (higher高级的) courses, ow under way will show further increases of 25 to 50 percent.

[8] The most ambitious program (project) can be found in Chicago, where more than 5,000 students, virtually (actually/ in fact) all of them native English speakers, are studying Chinese in 17 elementary and 10 high schools (junior high school/senior high~). The program, which began in 1999 in response to pressure from a group of parents, has been heavily promoted (urged) by Mayor (市长) Richard Daley and now has a waiting list of schools seeking to participate (join/ take part in). hink there will be two languages in this world, he mayor said. will be Chinese and English.

[9] Large programs can also be found in the suburbs (郊区->suburban) of Washington, and (inner city<->) outer cities (卫星城) with (cosmo->)cosmopolitan (huge) populations. [10] The program at Glenwood, which involves (includes) 116 of the school's 460 pupils, began six years ago when (then/ at that time) a group of parents put pressure on the local school (region/ zone/ area/ district) district to begin teaching Chinese. Chapel Hill is a university town (大学城), site of the flagship campus (主校区) of the University of North Carolina, and a substantial (=huge) number of (a great number of) Chinese families work at the university or in nearby Research Triangle Park. Some of the English-speaking pupils are Chinese who were (adapted<->) adopted as

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infants (babies) by American families.

[11] The program began accepting 24 students each year into kindergarten (nursery), and the first cohort (group) has now reached Grade 4. Each class is taught jointly (together) by two teachers, one Chinese-speaking and the other English-speaking, who divide the curriculum. Students arc admitted (enlisted) by lottery (=draw lots) and there is a waiting list, Amy Rickard, the principal, said.

[12] Teachers say they tend to use Chinese for concrete (specific) topics like (such as) geometry or science, and English for more abstract concepts. o deliver (teach/ address/ discuss; ~milk/newspaper/~a bay; natural delivery自然分娩) science in a second language, foundation (base) vocabulary.

[13] The biggest obstacle to expanding Chinese instruction (teaching) in U.S. schools is finding qualified (competent) teachers. Robert Davis, manager (director) of the Chicago program, said that he searched the Internet and even traveled in May to Shanghai, a sister city to Chicago (the key to that lock), to recruit (enlist) teachers for two-year stints (=experience). He said that the problem had been complicated (have gone from bad to worse) by the federal No Child Left Behind8 legislation (act), which requires (demands) all teachers to be certified (qualified). has no certificates for language teachers,he said. had to work with (cooperate) the state to get one (school) started.

[14] Finding teaching materials is another bottleneck (puzzle). Lund said that she and her teaching partner (colleague) had to develop them from scratch (from the very beginning). %use materials from China because the curriculums are not aligned (same),she said. we download materials from the Internet and paste Chinese characters [1.小说戏剧中的人物；2.汉字] over English words in books.

[15] Proponents (advocates) of more study of Chinese in U.S. schools are finding an active ally [1.合作；2.集合) in the Chinese government, which helped underwrite (take some responsibilty) the Chicago program and new Advanced Placement exam and has a new agreement with the College Board to build Chinese language programs (projects) in 2,000 public [（英国）；[美国]私立的]) schools over the next five years. The U.S. Department of Education and the Ministry of Education in Beijing have cooperated to create Chengo9, an online games-based program for beginning Chinese (汉语入门课).

[16] Walters said that Chinese parents at Glenwood were supportive of (were helpful to/ support) her son's study of their language. %up for (ask问请/ ask for索取/ turn to sb. for help向某人求助) help with homework (help sb. with sth.帮助某人做某事), hat Paris viewed (considered/ regarded) spending half of his day operating in (teaching) Mandarin as quite (abnormal) normal for an 8-year old American boy. expects to use his Chinese language skills (the other day过去的某一天) someday (将来的某一天) to run (start) a Lego factory

Notes

1. Lego: a (Demark->) Danish toy company producing the brick-building toys with the brand of the same name.

2. the Asia Society: a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Americans about Asia and fostering (cultivating/ developing) understanding between Americans and the peoples of Asia. It has

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several centers in the United States (Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.) and around the world (Hong Kong, Manila, Mumbai (孟买), (汉城/ 首尔), Shanghai, Makati City (马卡提：菲律宾吕宋岛西南部的一个城市) and Melbourne. All of these centers are overseen (=supervised) by the Society's headquarters in New York (City).

3. Princeton University: a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the (colony->colonize->) Colonial Colleges. Founded in 1746, Princeton is the fourth institution of higher education in the U.S. to conduct classes.

4. the College Board: a non-profit membership association (society协会) in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). It is composed of more than 5,700 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It manages many different standardized tests used by academically oriented postsecondary education institutions to measure a student's ability. The College Board is headquartered (=based on) in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.

5. the Soviet Union: the common short name for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It was a (constitute->constitution->constitutional->) constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.

6. Sputnik: a robotic satellite launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, to explore the upper (atom->) atmosphere(大气层/ 氛围), which was the first human-made object to orbit the Earth.

7. the Modern Language Association (MLA): the principal (adj. major) professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature (文学).

8. The No Child (Be) Left Behind Act (NCLB): Enacted on January 8, 2002, proposed by the administration of President George W Bush, NCLB is the latest federal (legislate->) legislation that enacts the theories of standards-based education reform, which is based on the belief that setting high standards and establishing (setting up) measurable goals can improve individual outcomes (result) in education.

9. Chengo: the (abbreviate首字母缩略->) abbreviation for nd English on the go (under the move /change; in the use实用英汉语)

Word Bank

align: v. to fall into a line成一条线

ambitious adj. full of ambition; greatly (desire->) desirous; eager; requiring; challenging雄心勃勃的

bottleneck n. the narrow part of a bottle near the top瓶颈

(Certificate->) certify (=prove): v. to confirm; (quantity<->quality->)qualify确认 cohort: n. a group of people一群人; a crowd of people; gang/ band concrete: 1.adj. actual; specific; real具体的; 2. n. (cement)混凝土 cosmopolitan: world; international: adj.世界的，国际的

curriculum: n. courses offered by an educational institution全部课程 dual: adj. double成双的

elementary (primary): adj. fundamental; basic基础的; chemical~化学元素; elementary (primary)school小学

enroll (enlist): v. to enter or register in a roll征兵，招生; enable sb. to do sth.

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(execute->)executive: 1.adj. carrying out or executing; (administrate->) administrative; (manage->manager->) managerial执行的，行政的; 2. 首席执行(CEO)

flagship : n. the chief one of a related group王牌，旗舰 geometry: n. one branch of mathematics几何学

(immerse->) immersion: n. covering with water; (submerge->) submerging it浸没; sub-/ sup-: under, e.g. submarine潜水艇;

(indicate=imply->implication) indicative: adj. suggestive指示性的，象征性的 initiate: v. to begin; start首创, 开始

jointly: adv. in common; together共同地，联合地; join in加入 launch: v. to set going; initiate发动，发射

lottery: n. a selection made by lot from a number of applicants or competitors抓阄法，彩票； draw lots抽签

notion: n. a belief or opinion思想，概念 concept/ idea paste: v. to adhere粘贴

pipeline: n. a direct channel渠道，管道; smoke a pipe抽烟斗

placement: n. assignment; arrangement布置，编排；place=put；placement test=streaming test分班考试

proponent: n. advocate (n./ vt.); supporter倡导者; pro-: 1. forward; 2. officially recruit: v. to enroll; to enlist征募，招收

secondary: adj. not primary; minor; lesser第二的，次等的; secondary school中专/ 中学; high school

stint: n. task; limitation; restriction定额，限制

(substance->) substantial: adj. material; true or real; ample (enough); (consider->) considerable物质的，真实的，相当多的a substantial meal丰盛的饭

triangle: n. the plane figure formed by connecting three points三角形；tri-：

underwrite: v. to assume (=take responsibility) financial responsibility for同意承担的…费用 (virtue->) virtually: adv. in fact; practically; nearly; almost实际上，几乎；virtual：adj. 1.虚拟的2. 实际的3.道德的

Phrases and Expressions

be in a position: be able to能够; be ready to do sth./ be willing to do sth.; pose->posing picture come by: to gain; to acquire/ get 获得

from scratch: from the very beginning 从头开始，

(give sb. a hand=) give sb. a leg up: to help improve the situation of帮某人改善状况 (respond->) in response to: in answer to回应，响应 take off: to achieve wide use or popularity广泛使用，大受欢迎; put on<->take off. E.g. ~one’s clothes; the plane will soon ~.

(on the way#) under way: in operation; in progress进行中，启动; a bridge under building正在建设中的桥梁

Reading Comprehension

I. Choose the best for each of the following.

1. Paris Buedel does all of the following except _____. A. taking basketball lessons B. playing the piano

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