BorninAmericaIspokeEnglishnotChinesethelanguageofmyancestors.WhenIwasthreemyparentsflashedcardswithChinese36atmyfacebutIpushedthem37.MymombelievedIwouldlearn38Iwasready.Butt

Question

Born in America I spoke English not Chinese the language of my ancestors. When I was three my parents flashed cards with Chinese   36  at my face but I pushed them   37  . My mom believed I would learn   38   I was ready. But the   39   never came.

On a Chinese New Year’s Eve my uncle spoke to me in Chinese but all I could do was   40  at him confused scratching my head.  “Still can’t speak Chinese?” He   41  me “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown.”

“Hey this is America not China. I’ll get some   42  with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for   43  .

“Remember to ask for fresh fish Xin Xian Yu ” she said handing over a $20 bill. I   44  the words running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.

I found the fish   45  surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish ” I shouted to the fishman. But he   46  my English words and turned to serve the next customer. The laugh of the people behind increased   47  their impatience. With every   48  the breath of the dragons（龙）on my back grew stronger---my blood boiling---   49  me to cry out “ Xian Sheng Yu ，please.” “Very Xian Sheng ” I repeated. The crowd erupted into laughter. My face turned   50  and I ran back home   51  except for the $20 bill I held tightly in my pocket.

Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I’m Chinese. I should feel right at   52  .  Instead I was the joke a disgrace（丢脸）to the language.

Sometimes I laugh at my fish   53  but in the end the joke is on   54  . Every laugh is a culture   55  ; every laugh is my heritage（传统）fading away.

36. A. custom            B. games             C .characters           D. language

37. A. ahead            B. around            C. along               D. aside

38. A. when            B. before            C. unless              D. until

39. A. success         B. study             C. time               D. attempt

40. A. aim             B. joke              C. nod                D. stare

41. A. cared about      B. laughed at       C. argued with          D. asked after

42. A. right now      B. from now      C. at times             D. in time

43. A. decision          B. permission       C. information          D. preparation

44. A. repeated         B. reviewed        C. spelled               D. kept

45. A. farm             B. stand           C. pond               D. market

46. A. guessed         B. forgot          C. doubted             D. ignored

47. A. by              B. as             C. with                D. from

48. A. second          B. effort           C. desire              D. movement

49. A. forcing        B. allowing        C. persuading          D. leading

50. A. bright           B. blank           C. pale                D. red

51. A. open-mouthed    B. tongue-tied    C. empty-handed        D. broken-hearted

52. A. service          B. home           C. risk                D. root

53. A. trade           B. deed            C. challenge             D. incident

54. A. it             B. us             C. me                 D. them

55. A. thrown        B. lost            C. divided             D. reflected

Answer 1

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