学习汉语的诀窍

孙启禄

1 I studied Mandarin 50 years ago. It took me nine months to reach a level where I could translate newspaper editorials from English into Chinese and from Chinese into English， read novels and interpret for people. Now， when I reflect on （思考） what I did， I find that there were five things that helped me learn faster than other students who were studying with me.

2 Start out by focusing on listening. Just get used to the sounds. You should read whatever you are listening to， but do so using a phonetic writing system， such as pinyin， in order to get a better sense of what you are hearing.

3 Devote time to memorizing characters. The study of Mandarin， is a long?term project. It will bring you in touch with the language and the culture well. For this reason， I always recommend learning Chinese characters if you are going to learn the language.

4 Focus on patterns. Dont get caught up in complicated grammar explanations， and just focus on patterns. When I was studying， I had a wonderful book by Harriet C. Mills and P. S. Ni. It is called Intermediate Reader in Modern Chinese. In every single lesson， they introduced patterns to me. Thats how I got a sense of how the language worked. The patterns were the frames around which I could build whatever I wanted to say.

5 Read a lot. I learned faster than my fellow students because I read everything I could get my hands on. I read much more than other students. I am not just talking about special texts for learners， but rather a wide range of material on subjects of interest to me.

6 Speak a lot. You will need to practice a lot， both speaking to yourself and speaking to others. Practice imitating what you are listening to. You can also record yourself to compare. If you can get “infected” with the rhythm of the language， not only will your control of tones improve， but your choice of words will also become more native like.

一、閱读自测

1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us？

A. The importance of learning Chinese.

B. The authors ability to use Chinese.

C. The difficulty in learning Chinese.

D. The authors experience in learning Chinese.

2. What does the author think of the study of Chinese？

A. It is helpful in improving mental health.

B. It takes a long time.

C. It is easy for foreigners.

D. It is too complicated to use.

3. How did the author get a sense of how the language worked？

A. By reading widely. B. By focusing on listening.

C. By memorizing characters. D. By concentrating on patterns.

二、语篇解码

本文是一篇说明文。文章的作者是位语言专家，在文中他介绍了自己学习汉语的秘诀，这些秘诀对我们的语言学习也大有裨益。

三、语言学习

（一）语料荟萃[语篇单词 tip n. 提示；建议translate vt. 翻译

interpret vi. 口译system n. 系统；体系

project n. 项目   recommend vt. 推荐；建议

character n. 文字；性格complicated adj. 复杂的

explanation n. 解释   special adj. 特殊的

material n. 材料 individual adj. 单个的

practice vt. & vi. 练习imitate vt. 模仿

record vt. 录音；记录 compare vi. 比较

control vt. 控制  improve vi. 提高

choice n. 选择 重要短语 reflect on 回想；反思                              focus on专注于

get used to 习惯于                                  in order to 為了

devote...to 把……专用于                       get caught up in 陷入

introduce...to 把……介绍给……          get ones hands on 得到；找到

a wide range of 广泛的 ]

（二）语句分析

1. It took me nine months to reach a level where I could translate newspaper editorials from English into Chinese and from Chinese into English， read novels and interpret for people. 我用了九个月的时间就达到这样的水平：我可以将报纸社论从英文翻译成中文、从中文翻译成英文，阅读小说，为人们口译。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。It took me nine months to reach a level是主句，是“It takes sb +一段时间+to do sth”句式，意为“某人做某事用了多长时间”，where引导的是限制性定语从句，修饰level。

2. You should read whatever you are listening to， but do so using a phonetic writing system， such as pinyin， in order to get a better sense of what you are hearing. 你应该阅读你正在听的任何内容，但要使用语音书写系统，例如拼音，以便更好地理解你所听到的内容。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。whatever引导的是宾语从句，in order to get...hearing作目的状语。

3. If you can get “infected” with the rhythm of the language， not only will your control of tones improve， but your choice of words will also become more native like. 如果你能被汉语的节奏“感染”，那么你对音调的控制不仅会得到提高，而且对词汇的选择也会变得更地道。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句。主句是由not only...but also...连接的并列句，由于not only位于主句句首，句子使用部分倒装语序；If引导的是条件状语从句。

四、语言运用

（一）例句仿写

1. 他花了好几个星期才做好这件礼物。这就是为什么我更珍惜它。

. Thats why I value it more than any other gift.

2. 我们都相信他，并且支持他决定做的任何事情。

We all believe in him and support                                           .

3. 我们不仅自己为他们捐款，而且还号召别人为他们捐款。

， but we also called on others to make contributions to them.

（二）写作实践

假定你是李华，你的外国朋友Jack正在学习中文，他给你写邮件询问中文中的四字成语。请给Jack回一封邮件，介绍一个中文中的四字成语。

注意：

1. 词数80左右；

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

参考词汇：四字成语four?word Chinese idiom

Dear Jack，

I admire your passion for the Chinese language and Im more than happy to give you some help.

Yours sincerely，

Li Hua