英语 热门试卷

A

How many hours does it take to be fluent in English?

There are plenty of people in the UK for whom even basic English is a problem.

According to the survey,726,000 people in England and Wales said they could not speak

English well, and another 138,000 said they did not speak it at all.

Ling,40,who arrived five years ago from China, found it difficult to learn English.

¨When I came here l was pregnant and s0 1 was at home for the next three years. It took

me longer to learn as l was very busy with the children.” Eventually she was able to begin

taking classes and now speaks good conversational English. But even with classes, it can

be a long process to pick up the language.

Age is the most important factor in language acquisition, says Mila Vulchanova,

professor of linguistics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.¨ There is

a sensitive period in language learning, which is biologically determined, with an onset at

birth and a decline around puberty. So the younger the immigrant, the better. Since this

decline is only gradual, teenagers are at an advantage over adults.” he says.

There are  a  number of systems for grading English. The government expects

immigrants to reach "ESOL Entry 3" or "B1 level" in Scotland, before they can be

granted citizenship. It's equivalent（相当的）  to being able to hold a confident

conversation and-it might take 360 hours of study to achieve.

George Osborne said in June following the spending review that welfare claimants

（申请者）who don't speak English will have their benefits cut if they fail to attend

language courses.

Huan Japes, deputy chief executive of English UK, a trade body for language

colleges, says a rule of thumb is 360 hours-120 hours for each of three stages-to get to

the standard the government expects benefit claimants to reach.

But many of the people who attend courses are visiting students rather than people

settling in the UK. Immigrants tend to have very varied levels of education.

" Using 120 hours( for each stage of English fluency) is a rather traditional approach

to course book learning," says Dr Elaine Boyd, head of English language at Trinity

College London. "If someone is really highly motivated, they can learn really quickly. It's

common for children under the age of 11 to be very immersed and be fluent in about six

months. "

B

Gabby Logan was a gymnast when she was young. She is now the 39-year-old mother

of seven-year-old twins, Reuben and Lois. The other day on TV she was dressed in a new

swimsuit, which was designed to show off her nice figure, which was admired by a great

number of television viewers.

Gabby, who won high praise for her television show of the Olympics, has asked the

woman of the whole nation to go to the swimming pool, saying the secret of her figure is

regular swimming. She is also making advertisements for the new Sculpture Swimwear of

Speedo, an international swimsuit company, to help women find the perfect swimsuit.

Gabby said, "We all felt uneasy about getting into our swimwear at first. But we

should be excited by the sporting achievements we have seen at the Olympics this

summer. To get ourselves a little healthier, have a try and go to the swimming pool. " The

she said," Swimming is the perfect exercise if you want to feel healthy or simply relax. I

find that going for a swim always clears my mind and also gives me some valuable 6 my

time'. I like the calm of swimming which I can't experience when I am not in the pool. "

A study by Speedo, an International company, which sells swimsuits, reported the

biggest reason why women were put off going to the pool was the way they looked in

swimwear. More than half of the l,000 women surveyed have been reduced to tears when

trying on swimwear. And 48 percent said they felt too self-conscious to go swimming with

their children. Sally Polak, from Speedo, said, " We're hoping to give women the courage

and confidence to get back into the water. "