第四部分 阅读理解（共六篇）
第三十四篇
Declining Interest in Developing Foreign Language Skills
Australia's foreign language skills are declining, Voice of America1 has reported. New figures show that only 13 percent of high school graduates can speak a foreign language. But four decades ago, 40 percent had foreign language skills.2
Professor Elise Tipton, from the University of Sydney, says increasingly students do not feel the need to learn another language to boost their career. She believes that Australia's economic boom, which is driven by red-hot demand for its minerals, is helping mask serious deficiencies in its language skills.
Australia does business very successfully in English with most of its trading partners. But as the world's economic power shifts to emerging regions such as Asia, its language gap could soon be exposed. According to the new figures, less than 6.5 percent of high school graduates are proficient in an Asian language. Academics worry that this means Australia will increasingly be isolated from its economically important Asian neighbors. Dilip Dutta, from the economics and business faculty at Sydney University, says language skills can enhance trading opportunities. If Australians want to trade with Asian countries, it is very important for them to learn the language that will help them to get closer to the culture.
But students have different opinions about Asian language learning. Pippa McCowage, a 22-year-old Australian student, says many young Australians have a half-hearted approach to foreign languages3, and the language curriculum is often weak. "While we're encouraged in high school to learn another language, it's not really apparent to me as a realistic expectation that you will have to speak it," said McCowage. "For example, I learned Japanese in high school, when I went on an exchange in Year 10, I found that the Japanese students of my age had a much greater proficiency in English than I did in Japanese. So in that sense, it almost discourages you.
At present, about 70 percent of Australia's major exports go to Asia and the Australian government has been keen on developing closer economic and diplomatic ties with Asia. Academics say that, as Asia becomes one of the world's economic powerhouses, Australia needs to improve its language skills if it is to take full advantage of the business opportunities on its doorstep.
词汇：
red-hot adj. 非常有活力的
academic n. 学者
half-hearted adj. 不热心的
powerhouse n. 经济体
注释：
1．Voice of America 美国之音
2．She believes that Australia’s economic boom, which is driven by red-hot demand for its minerals, is helping mask serious deficiencies in its language skills.她相信，由疯狂的矿物需求驱动的澳大利亚经济的繁荣进一步掩盖了该国语言技能方面存在的严重缺陷。
3．a halfhearted approach to foreign languages半心半意地对待外国语言
练习：
1. How much percent of high school graduates were proficient in foreign languages forty years ago?
A) 70.
B) 13.
C) 40.
D) 6.5.
2. What can be inferred from paragraph 2?
A) Australia has rich deposits of minerals.
B) Australia is essentially a self-sufficient country.
C) Australia has no intention to trade with Asian countries.
D) Australian students are not required to learn a foreign language.
3. What does Dilip Dutta think language skills can do?
A) Improve your relation with your partner.
B) Help settle international conflicts.
C) Remove barriers in negotiations.
D) Increase trading opportunities.
4. Why has the Australian government been keenly interested in strengthening ties with Asia?
A) Because Asia is where Australia is located.
B) Because Asia is where Australia's major exports go.
C) Because Asia is where Australians go and spend their holidays.
D) Because Asia is where Australia can play a big role in international affairs.
5. The word faculty in paragraph 3 can be replaced by
A) college.
B) institute.
C) university.
D) department.
答案与题解：
1．C 问题问的是：四十年以前多少百分比的高中毕业生外语是熟练的?答案在第一段。该段是这么说的：根据美国之音的报道，澳大利亚的外语技能在滑坡。新的数字表明，只有13％的高中毕业生能说一种外语，而四十年前是40％。
2．A 问题问的是：从第2段我们能推出什么？答案可以从第二句话中找到，见注释2。
3．D 问题问的是：DilipDutta认为语言技能能干什么?答案在第三段的一句话中，这句话是这么说的：Dilip Dutta, from the economics and business faculty at Sydney University, says language skills Can enhance trading opportunities．悉尼大学经济和商务系的Dilip Dutta说道，语言技能可以增加就业机会。
4．B 问题问的是：澳大利亚政府为什么热心于加强与亚洲的联系？最后一段的第一句话是这么说的：目前，澳大利亚主要的出口货物的70％流向了亚洲，因此澳大利亚政府热心于发展与亚洲的经济和外交联系。
5．D 问题问的是：第3段中的“faculty”(系)由哪个词替换最合适？“department”也是“系”。
