Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Pronouncing a language is a skill. Every normal person is an expert in the skill of pronouncing his own language; but few people are even moderately proficient at pronouncing foreign languages. There are many reasons for this, some obvious, some perhaps not so obvious. But I suggest that the fundamental reason why people in general donot speak foreign languages very well is that they fail to grasp the true nature of the problem of learning to pronounce, and consequently never set about tackling it in the right way. Too many people fail to realize that pronouncing a foreign language is a skill – one that needs careful training of a special kind, and one that cannot be acquired by just leaving it to take care of itself. I think even teachers of languages, while recognizing the importance of a good accent, tend to neglect, in their practical teaching, the branch of study concerned with speaking the language. So the first point I want to make is that English pronunciation must be taught; the teacher should be prepared to devote some of the lesson time to this, and should get the student to feel that here is a matter worthy of receiving his close attention. So, there should be occasions when other aspects of English, such as grammar or spelling, are allowed for the moment to take second place.
Question 28. The writer argues that going about the problem of pronunciation in the wrong way is________.
A.a consequence of not grasping the problem correctly
B.not an obvious cause of speaking poorly
C.an obvious cause of not grasping the problem correctly.
D.a fundamental consequence of not speaking well
Question 29. The underlined word “aspects” in the passage probably means________.
A.sentences B.words C.pronunciation D.parts
Question 30. The best way of learning to speak a foreign language, he suggests, is by_________.
A.taking on systematic work
B.picking it up naturally as a child
C.not concentrating much on pronunciation
D.learning from a native speaker
Question 31. The underlined word “one” in the passage refers to_________.
A.special kind B.skill C.careful training D.itself
Question 32. What does the writer actually say about pronouncing foreign
languages?
A.No one is really an expert in the skill.
B.Only a few people are really proficient.
C.There are a lot of people who are moderately proficient.
D.There aren’t many people who are even fairly good.
