Question

Learning a language is a long and difficult process. This process can become easier if you set goals (目標(biāo)). However, if your goals are too dfficult, you will probably become upset.

Many English learners set unreasonable goals, such as sounding like a native speaker (母語使用者), or losing their accents (口音 ). The goal of sounding like a native speaker is not easy for many people.

When English learners begin studying English after a certain age, they are not able to sound exactly like a native speaker. That’s the opinion of Eli Hinkel, a professor at Seattle Pacific University. She says that people who have not reached puberty (青春期) still have enough muscle (肌肉) and brain plasticity (可塑性)to allow their brain to control their mouth muscles. After your physical growth has stopped, the brain loses some of its ability to change the way it controls the muscles of the mouth. This is what results in an accent, according to Hinkel.

Having an accent does not mean that your language skills are poor or you should give up improving your pronunciation. Hinkel suggests English learners should not be too upset about their accents.

Another teacher says sounding like a native speaker is not necessary. Marla Yoshida is a teacher at the University of California, Irvine. She says that improving your pronunciation is surely possible—if you choose a reasonable goal. Marla Yoshida says that when you decide to diet, you may succeed if you set reasonable goals. She suggests working on certain areas of pronunciation that you can improve, instead of trying to sound like a native speaker.

1.What does the underlined part“unreasonable goals”probably refer to？

A. Goals that are meaningless. B. Goals that are too small.

C. Goals that are interesting D. Goals that are impossible to reach.

2.Why are English learners unable to sound like a native speaker?

A. They have no native speakers to talk to. B. They don’t have enough time to practice.

C. Their brain can’t control their mouth muscles. D. Their mother language stops them from doing so.

3.Which of the following statements would Eli Hinkel probably agree with?

A. Having an accent is acceptable B. Improving pronunciation isn’t that important.

C. Sounding like a native speaker is impossible. D. Poor pronunciation means poor language skills.

4.What does the passage mainly want to show?

A. Learning English well isn’t as easy as we think.

B. We should try our best to sound like a native speaker

C. Everyone can learn English well if he/she tries hard.

D. We can improve our pronunciation by setting reasonable goals.

Answer 1