Question

AsI was thinking about language learning the other day, the image of baking breadcame into my mind. I compared some of the exercises and drills that we putourselves through in order to learn a language to the various ingredients (原料)that go into baking a loaf of fresh bread.

Reallanguage learning takes place in human relationships. No one sits down and eatsa cup of flour, even if he is hungry and in a hurry. You don' t becomebilingual (双语的) by learning lists ofvocabulary. You don' t become a speaker of a language by memorizing grammaticalrules. You become bilingual by entering a community that uses that otherlanguage as its basic means of communication.

Iam not suggesting that we can make bread without ingredients. Flour isnecessary, as are yeast (酵母), salt, water andother ingredients. Vocabulary is part of any language and will have to belearned. Grammatical rules exist in every language and cannot be ignored. Butmerely combining the appropriate ingredients in the recommended proportionsdoes not result in bread. At best, you only end up with a ball of dough (面团).

Inorder to get bread, you have to apply heat to the dough. And in language learning,that heat comes from the community. Anyone who has learned a second languagehas experienced that heat. It creeps up your neck when you ask the babysitter,“Have you already been eaten?” when you meant to say, ‘‘Have you alreadyeaten?” When you try to say something quite innocent and the whole room burstsinto laughter, you are experiencing the heat that turns raw dough into goodbread.

Rememberthe old saying, “If you can’ t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen".This is where language learning often breaks down because we find the heatuncomfortable and we stop the baking process. In other words, we can' t standthe heat, so we get out of the kitchen.

However,the language learner who stays in the kitchen—in the heat—until the combined

ingredientsare thoroughly transformed will enjoy the richness of a quality loaf of bread.He is glad that he did not "get out of the kitchen” at the importantmoment when the oven seemed too hot.

Nowthe baker enjoys good bread, seated at the table with family members andguests. However, he does not focus on "bread" but rather on enjoyingthe whole feast: fine salads, pastas, fresh vegetables, rich desserts and soon. And the language learner has arrived when he no longer needs to focus onlanguage. Language merely becomes one element in the "feast" ofmembership in his chosen community.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

 BD C A

【解析】略