G11-T3-mother Tongue-Revision

Read the sentence from “Mother Tongue.

'I was saying things like . . . “There is an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus-and-thus”—a speech filled with carefully wrought grammatical phrases, burdened, it suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized forms, past perfect tenses, conditional phrases, all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school . . . .”

Which statement BEST explains why author Amy Tan says that the language in her speech seemed “burdened”?

• She thinks English is a difficult language to learn.
• She is unhappy with her early writings in English.
• She worries that the English she learned can be dense and unclear.
• She feels compelled to speak perfect English to impress her audience.

What is the MAIN reason that Tan uses a different kind of English with her mother than with other people?

• Tan is more comfortable speaking correct English.
• Tan’s mother has a limited ability to speak formal English.
• The language Tan and her mother share deepens their connection.
• Tan’s mother is unhappy with her daughter’s American identity.

Tan says that she understands much more of her mother’s English than her American friends do. This difference is MOST LIKELY explained by her American friends’

• opinions of the author’s extended family.
• lack of experience with the mother’s English.
• willingness to learn to speak another language.
• acceptance of diversity in how people speak English.

In Tan’s view, why do the terms “broken English” and “limited English” represent a problem?

• They apply only to Chinese speakers who also speak English.
• They imply that the speaker of such English lacks intelligence.
• They suggest that the speaker of such English can’t read well.

Read the excerpt from “Mother Tongue.” And when the doctor finally called her daughter, me, who spoke in perfect English—lo and behold—we had assurances that the CAT scan would be found . . . . Tan includes the anecdote about her mother’s lost CAT scan and the hospital’s response to support the claim that

• people sometimes experience prejudice because of how they speak English.
• people who work at hospitals should be fluent in a language other than English.
• people who misunderstand what another person says should apologize sincerely.
• people should communicate about important matters in person rather than by phone.

In “Mother Tongue,” what does Tan MOST LIKELY mean when she says that her translation of her mother’s Chinese “could certainly be described as ‘watered down’”?

• Tan’s Chinese is not as good as it used to be.
• Tan had to simplify her mother’s sentences.
• Tan struggled to capture her mother’s complex ideas.
• Tan expressed her mother’s thoughts in a kinder way.

In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan explains her difficulty with word analogies and her attempt to answer them by thinking of “an associative situation.” An associative situation is one that

• conforms to the rules of logic.
• reflects the author’s experience.
• shows connections between ideas.
• relates to familiar instructional content.

Read the excerpt from “Mother Tongue.” In this sentence, pre-med means

• under ongoing medical care.
• in preparation for medical school.
• returning to school after an illness.
• deciding whether to study medicine.

Choose TWO reasons that authors vary sentence structures in their writing.

• to keep readers from becoming bored by their writing
• to make their writing easier to understand
• to create engaging rhythm in their writing
• to show that they have mastered their writing skills

Read the sentences. I grew up in a neighborhood in Pittsburgh. The neighborhood was large. It was also friendly. Which revision BEST combines the sentences for better flow and rhythm?

• I grew up in a large, friendly neighborhood in Pittsburgh.
• I grew up in a friendly Pittsburgh neighborhood that was large.
• I grew up in Pittsburgh. My neighborhood was large and friendly.
• I grew up in a large neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It was friendly.