阅读试题

One of the latest trends (趋势) in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs. Au Pair in Stamford, Conn, for example, has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from zero to around 4,000 since 2004. And that's true all across the country.

"I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age" Joseph Stocke, the managing director of a company, says of his 2-year old son. "I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future." After only six months of being cared for by a 25-year-old woman from China, the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions, his dad says.

Li Drake, a Chinese native raising two children in Minnesota with an American husband, had another reason for looking for an au pair from China. She didn't want her children to miss out on their roots." Because Iam Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to(接触) the language and culture." she says.

"Staying with a native speaker is better for children than simply sitting in a classroom," says Suzanne Flynn, a professor in language education of Children." But parents must understand that just one year with au pair is unlikely to produce wonders. Complete mastery demands continued learning until the age of 10 or12."

The popularity if au pairs from china has been strengthened by the increasing numbers of American parents who want their children to learn Chinese. It is expected that American demand for au pairs will continue to rise in the next few years.

阅读试题

29. What does the term" au pair" in the text mean?

A. A mother raising her children on her own

B. A child learning a foreign language at home

C. A professor in language education of children

D. A young foreign woman taking care of children.

30. Li Drake has her children study Chinese because she wants them ______.

A. to live in China some day

B. to speak the language at home

C. to catch up wit other children

D. to learn about the Chinese culture

31. What can we infer from the text?

A. Learning Chinese is becoming popular In America,

B. Educated woman do better in looking after children

C. Chinese au pairs need to improve their English Skills.

D. Children can learn a foreign language well in six months.

参考译文

美国儿童保育的最新趋势之一就是由中国夫妻照料。例如，自2004年以来，美国康涅狄格州的斯坦福对中国保育夫妻的需求量从零增长到约4000，横贯全国，这种情况确是实情。

某公司的执行总经理约瑟夫•斯托克在谈论他两岁的儿子时说：“我认为这有利于他早期汉语的学习。”“至少我愿意给他机会在将来使用这种语言。”仅仅被一个来自中国的25岁女人照顾了6个月之后，他的爸爸说他已经能够理解汉语的基本表达。

与她的丈夫一起在明尼苏达州抚养了两个孩子的中国本土人李德瑞克寻找来自中国的夫妻的另一个原因是她不想让她的孩子们错过了他们的本源。她说：“因为我是中国人，所以我和我的丈夫想让孩子们继续接触我们的语言和文化。”

儿童语言教学教授苏珊弗林说：“对于儿童而言，住在母语区要比单纯地呆在教室里好得多。但父母必须明白，仅仅是与母语区的人呆一年时间是不可能产生奇迹的。要完整地掌握一门语言还需要继续学习直到他们10岁或12岁。”

如果来自中国的夫妻越来越受欢迎，那么说明越来越多的美国家长希望他们的孩子学习中文。那么预计美国对中国夫妻的需求量在未来几年里仍将继续上升。

答案解析

29. D 推理判断题。根据第二段的Joseph请了一个25岁的妇女照顾2岁的儿子，给儿子学习汉语的机会，以及第三段一位华侨母亲也以这种方式教育自己的两个孩子，和第四段一位语言教授提到"和说母语的一起，学习语言比在教室好"等信息可知，au pair指的是负责照顾孩子的外国保姆。

30. D 细节理解题。根据第三段中的"Because I am Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to the language and culture"可知她这样做的目的是让孩子们接触中国的文化和语言。

31. A 推理判断题。本文通过列举一些具体的例子，说明了美国的父母们正在兴起一种"au pair热"，即通过请说汉语的中国保姆来照顾自己的孩子，从而有机会让孩子们学习汉语。这说明在美国汉语日益受到欢迎，因此选A项。