"English the Hard Way"

Reading Comprehension Test

I learned English much as most British Columbians learned French - from unilingual teachers and books. When I landed here from Hong Kong in 1974 at the age of 22, I had a fairly good English vocabulary but extremely poor command of conversational English.

My first job in Canada was working as a waiter at the Terminal City Club. I still remember when the salad lady, an Englishwoman named June, called me "Honey", I almost flipped. She was, you see, about 20 years of my senior and, shall I say, not my type! I had no idea that "honey" was just a friendly colloquial term she used to address just everybody.

I got angry when another cook, not much older than me, called me "son". In the Chinese custom, you only call your real or adopted son, son. To call someone else son is derogatory.

My first day at work was also memorable. At noon, I approached two fine gentlemen sitting at a rather well-used table. When I asked them what they would like for lunch, one of them shook the table a bit and looked at me. "I would like a screwdriver".

When I took the screwdriver to the table, the two gentlemen broke into hysterical laughter. After catching his breath, one said: "Lucky Jack we didn't ask for a Bloody Mary or Black Russian".

When I went to the University of British Columbia, every day I took a tape recorder, taped the lecture and played it over and over again when I got home.

Participating in class discussions was simply out of the question. Each time I wanted to say something, I would literally translate my thoughts into English. I would mouth it silently for a couple of times before I could gather enough courage to raise my hand. By then the discussion had moved to other areas and I would feel so embarrassed that I would put my hand down.

I was told to take a remedial course then. It was in those classes that I found out the question "What's new?" doesn't mean someone wants to know whether I am wearing a new watch or a new pair of pants. I had also learned that the sky is not the only answer to the question: "What's up?"

One of the techniques Mary Scott taught us was to listen to the radio or TV and repeat what was being said. For a long while I listened to CBS News and repeated after the newscaster.

My Japanese friend took to listening to Western movies. You should hear the accent he picked up.

Some of us also went to the UBC pub to learn conversational English. After a few drinks, your self-consciousness vanishes and it's much easier to talk in another language.

Another way we figured would help improve our conversational skills was to date English-speaking girls. One Italian student took his girl-friend to a very romantic restaurant for dinner. There was candlelight, a cozy setting and quiet music in the background. He said gently, while gazing straight into her eyes: "Susan, you are the world's most beautiful, intelligent and attractive woman". She smiled. "Gio, you are pulling my leg". My Italian classmate immediately raised both of his hands in the air and protested: "No, I didn't touch you at all."

Another classmate came from a small village in South Korea and, coming to Vancouver, was invited to his English girlfriend's home for dinner. A salad was served. My friend had never eaten uncooked vegetables since raw vegetables are pig food in his home village. While he was gazing at the dish wondering what to do, the girl's mother asked: "Would you like some dressing?" "No," he says, "I'm warm enough."

"No, I don't mean that, I mean if you would like some Italian or French dressing."

My friend looked at the label of his suit and politely replied: "Thank you. But mine was made in Hong Kong."

We learned to tell people not to speak louder when we didn't understand what they were saying. One of our classmates, out of frustration, learned to say: "Are you Dutch?" after making repeated tries to be understood. Needless to say how hard it is for some of us to master English. It took me almost six years before I felt confident enough to articulate my thoughts in English.

I. Choose the correct answer to the questions:

1) The text is about:

a) the most difficult ways of learning English

b) the easiest ways of learning English

c) different methods of teaching English

d) different ways of learning English.

2) The action takes place:

a) at an International English school

b) in a restaurant in England

c) at an American university

d) in Canada.

3) The main character of the story was:

a) a child

b) a teenager

c) a young man

d) an old man - when he came from Hong Kong to study English.

4) The main character was:

a) only working

b) studying at university

c) taking English courses

d) working, studying and taking English courses.

II. Choose the best Russian equivalent to the sentences:

1) You are pulling my leg.

a)ты меня дразнишь

b) ты меня толкаешь

c) ты толкаешь мою ногу

2) I would mouth it silently.

a) я пережевывал это молча

b) Я npoговаривал это npo ce6я

c) я обдумывал это молча

3) What's up?

a) что там наверху?

b) в чем дело?

c) что нового?

4) Would you like some dressing?

Не хотели бы вы

a)кое-чего их одежды

b) выпить

c) какую-нибудь закуску

III. a) Find the words in the text which are antonyms to the words: 1) cooked 2) multilingual 3) a written term 4) to raise the hand.

b) Find the English equivalents in the text to the words in brackets:

    1) They were able to (перевести дух) after working so much.

    2) Their going to Columbia was (не могло быть и речи).

    3) He (приобрел) a strange accent after watching too many westerns.

    4) ( Нет необходимости говорить) it's extremely important to

study English.

IV. Complete the sentences:

1) In English "honey" means ... .

2) In the Chinese custom you call "son" a person who ... .

3) A screw driver, a Bloody Mary, Black Russian are the names of ... .

4) When you make repeated attempts to be understood you may ask a person: ... ?

V. Answer the questions:

1) Did the narrator have many problems in learning English?

2) What did he and his friends do to master their English?

3) What methods of mastering English were the most effective for the narrator?

4) What methods and techniques of learning a language are most effective in your point of view? Why?