para.12 Examples from other parts of the world show how complex the language-cultural identity relationship really is. The Chinese, for example, identify themselves ethnically as Chinese even though they speak languages or dialects which are mutually unintelligible. Despite the fact that a large number of Chinese don't know how to read and write, it is the Chinese character-writing system and the art of calligraphy that are the major factors of an overall Chinese group identity.

　　Task 1: For each of the following items, study the reading passage and choose A, B or C that best completes the statement (30/150):

　　(1)In the sentence "By their accent, their vocabulary, their discourse patterns, speakers identify themselves and are identified as members of this or that speech and discourse community," the phrase "discourse community" means:

　　A) communal group B) cultural group C) discourse group

　　(2)When the author states: "[The modern, historically complex, open societies it is much more difficult to define the boundaries of any particular social group and the linguistic and cultural identities of its members," he implies that an open society is:

　　A)a society of many people

　　B)a society of diverse discourses

　　C)a society of multi-ethnic structure

　　(3)"[T]he sense of a Belizean national identity" means a sense of

　　A) languageB) belongingC) history

　　(4)When the author declares that "there is no necessary correlation between a given racial characteristic and the use of a given language or variety of language," he thinks that the relationship between a language and a culture is

　　A) complexB) fixedC) uncertain

　　(5)Georges Marchais said, "every man and woman of French nationality is French. France is not a multinational state: it is one nation, the product of a long history...." He probably regarded "'French" as

　　A)a historical symbol of a state

　　B)a primary token of a national identity

　　C)a product of a long history

　　Task 2: The following are definitions of the words contained in the above reading passage. Find these words in the paragraphs as marked in the parentheses (20/150):略

　　Part B Proofreading (30/150)

　　EXAMPLE

　　When ∧ museum wants a new exhibit,(1) __a__

　　it never buys things in finished form and hangs them (2) _never

　　on the wall. When a natural history museum

　　wants an exhibition, it must often build it.(3) exhibit

　　Part C Translation (40/150)

　　Translate the following passage into Chinese: (20/150)

　　Folktales played a very important role in the social and cultural life of the Plains Indians. Farmers and nomadic hunters alike enjoyed gathering around the fire, especially on wintry nights, to hear the tales of the storyteller. The talents of a good storyteller and the novelty of the tale had the power to figuratively transport hard working Indians to another world.

　　Even today, American Indians believe in the enormous power of the spoken word. As in the past, the imaginative storyteller, typically an old man or an old woman, builds up a reputation as a performer. They enhance their stories by adding gestures, voice changes and songs. He or she might occasionally adapt a particular tale to suit a specific cultural group or tribe. For example, there are usually many different versions of every good tale. Therefore, whenever a story is retold it is likely to be varied, but only within the limits of the tradition established for that particular tale. The storyteller is always mindful of his own, as well as the cultural background of the listener.

　　Translate the following passage into English: (20/150)略

　　Part D Writing (30/150)

　　The following is excerpted from a letter that appeared in the Letter-to-the-Editor column of China Daily: (30/150)

　　Editor:

　　I just graduated from university with a BA in English, but looking back at my university education, I have to say that I have wasted four years of my life. When I entered the university four years ago, I had the highest English score in the city where I grew up. However, on a job interview a few days ago, the personnel manager of a joint venture company said my English was not good enough.

　　It is my university that is to blame. I have never found my classes helpful; they often repeat what I learned in high school. What's more, the teachers often mispronounce words and use ungrammatical sentences or simply use Chinese throughout the class. Some of them often arrive in class unprepared. They have no interest in us or in teaching; they are probably only interested in making money and publishing their papers.

　　In comparison, my high school teachers were committed They had been well trained and were very strict with us. They gave me more help than those university professors. Even today, if I write an English essay, most of the words and sentence patterns I use would be those I learned during my high school years.

　　All in all, I do not think our government should fund a university undergraduate English program if most of the students are not satisfied. If it is a waste of time for us, it must be a waste of resources for our country.

　　Zhu Fan, Nanjing

　　This controversial letter has generated a lot of discussion in China Daily, and you would like to join the discussion, too. Complete the following tasks on your answer sheets:

　　(1) (4 / 150) Suppose you are going to write a letter for the Letter-to-the-Editor column of China Daily to express your agreement or disagreement with Zhu Fan, and the letter is about 400 words long. In the introductory paragraph (the first paragraph), you will begin with a sentence that introduces the topic. Write down the sentence that begins this paragraph.

　　(2)(5 /150) Write down the last sentence of the introductory paragraph, that is, the thesis statement that expresses your main idea.

　　(3)(4 x 2/ 150) Suppose you have two body paragraphs that support the thesis statement. Write down the topic sentence for each of them. You may begin it with "First,..." or "Second,...."

　　(4)(4 x 2/150) For each topic sentence you write in (3), give one concrete example that illustrates the point you make in the topic sentence. Each example should not exceed two sentences. (There will be a penalty for using more than two sentences for an example.)

　　(5)(5 / 150) Based on what you write down in (2), (3) and (4), write a conclusion paragraph that contains two or three sentences. (There will be a penalty for using more than three sentences.)

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