A
Have you ever been in a situation where your name is spelled incorrectly on a Starbucks cup even after you spell out every single letter to the barista (咖啡师)? What would you feel when a room freezes into a sudden silence as soon as you start talking — living with a foreign accent is difficult?
Recently a gentleman in his 40s noticed my accent, and asked me where I was from. Then he inquired about what I majored in and how long I’d been in the US to learn English. After a polite exchange, he said sympathetically that he couldn’t imagine how hard it was for me to deal with reading long English texts. Furthermore, he seemed genuinely puzzled to the fact that I learned to speak English “so well” in an African country. Usually I would have shown my defensive self, pointing out his ignorance and telling him how sad I felt that his education had failed him. But I didn’t.
Sometimes these everyday experiences can drive me crazy. I even think of trying to actively “sound American” as a way to escape the stereotypes (模式化观念) that people have. But if I practiced an American accent enough, would people actually focus on what I say rather than how I say it?
Actually, to speak in our accent itself is to tell a story of identity. My housemates and I come from seven different countries: Jamaica, USA, Gambia, Yemen, China, Ecuador and SA. None of us speak nativelike English, but we understand each other perfectly and get along harmoniously. If we all sounded the same, I think that would be boring. Together, we make up a cocktail of beautifully crafted accents with seasoned experiences. None of us owes anyone an explanation about why we don’t sound like how you expect us to.
Accepting that people sound different and embracing them for that reason is important. We are a generation of different languages, dialects, and accents. The world is more and more diverse with various cultures, and if that means making extra efforts to understand someone’s accent and learning how to spell their name, that’s just how it’s going to be.Deal with it.
语篇解读：本文是一篇议论文。作者从自身经历出发，一次和一位绅士交谈中，绅士表达了对作者有口音的同情和在一个非洲国家把英语说得“那么好”的困惑。作者由此提出世界文化的多样化并要求社会接受口音的不同。
1．What purpose do the two questions serve in the first paragraph?
A．To introduce the topic of the passage.
B．To share some unpleasant experiences.
C．To show it’s hard to live with an accent.
D．To express disappointment at the service.
解析：选A 推理判断题。根据第一段的内容可推知，前两句列举生活里发生的两种有关口音不同导致的情况都是为了引出下文。故选A。
2．What does the author probably do?
A．An English teacher.
B．An international student.
C．A Starbuck waiter.
D．A university professor.
解析：选B 细节理解题。根据第二段第二句“Then he inquired about what I majored in and how long I’d been in the US to learn English.”可知，他询问我的专业是什么和我在美国学习英语多长时间了，由此可知作者是一名学生。故选B。
3．How did the author probably feel after talking with the gentleman?
A．Ashamed. B．Amazed.
C．Amused. D．Annoyed.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第二段倒数第二句可知，作者按照往常的做法会表现出自我防卫的样子，指出他的无知，告诉他作者对他的教育失败感到多么难过。可知作者在跟绅士交谈过后觉得很恼怒，故选D。
4．Which of the following might the author most likely agree with?
A．Efforts should be made to get rid of accents.
B．We should speak the way we are expected to.
C．Acceptance of accents is needed in the society.
D．Education contributes to nativelike English.
解析：选C 推理判断题。根据最后一段第一句可知，作者认为接受人们有口音是很重要的，以及下文“The world is more and more diverse ... it’s going to be.”可知，作者认为世界文化的多样化要求社会接受口音的不同。故选C。
