C Reading

Марина в категроии Английский язык, вопрос открыт 30.03.2018 в 02:14

Read the extract from a newspaper article. Then read the sentences below. Decide which five sentences are true.

Singlish – A unique language
Arriving in the island republic of Singapore for the first time, one of the first things I noticed was the unusual use of English. I heard local people use expressions like ‘I catch no ball’ and ‘You take 20 cents go’, which use English words, but are not expressions used in standard English. I also heard English sentences that used words I didn’t recognise: ‘I’m hungry, let’s makan.’ or ‘This food is shiok!’ It was all very different from the way people spoke English in other English-speaking countries.
At first I was confused about why so many people spoke like this, but when I started to understand a bit more about Singapore’s culture and history, I began to understand the reason. Singapore is a country of many ethnic and linguistic groups, and has four official languages, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English. English is the most common language, but speakers borrow words and expressions from the other three languages. Sometimes these words and expressions are translated into English, and sometimes they are left as they are. The result is a local version of English called Singaporean English, or Singlish for short. So ‘I catch no ball’ and ‘You take 20 cents go’ are translations of informal Chinese expressions, meaning ‘I don’t understand’ and ‘Go away!’ Makan and shiok are Malay for eat and fantastic.
Singlish, like ‘real’ languages, is constantly changing, with new words and expressions being added almost daily. For many Singaporeans it is an important part of their national culture. Singlish dictionaries have been written, there are films, songs and even books in Singlish, and there are even some people who would like it to become the country’s official language. However, others think it is bad English, and that it makes Singaporeans seem less intelligent than they are. There is even an organisation called the ‘Speak Good English Movement’ (SGEM), which promotes standard English on television, on the radio and in newspaper advertisements.
So far, the SGEM has been unsuccessful. I asked Jioti Popatlal, a language professor at Singapore University, why this might be. ‘A lot of people think that it doesn’t sound right when a Singaporean talks standard English, especially with a western accent,’ she explained. ‘We say that they jiat gentang.’ I looked confused at this new Singlish expression and asked her to translate. ‘Jiat means eat in Chinese, and gentang means potato in Malay,’ she explained. ‘Many Singaporeans think that people who speak standard English sound like they have a potato in their mouth, so we use the expression jiat gentang – eating potatoes – to describe that way of speaking.’
I nodded my head. ‘I understand,’ I said. ‘I catch ball perfectly.’ I think I’m going to enjoy using this wonderful language!

a At first, the author didn’t know the meaning of words like makan and shiok. 
b The English that people use in Singapore is similar to English in other places.
c The author did a course in Singapore’s culture and history.
d English is used more than any other language in Singapore.
e Singlish is a mixture of English and four other languages.
f Most Singaporeans speak Malay.
g Singlish is not just a spoken language.
h Not everybody thinks Singlish is a good thing.
i The SGEM has not managed to change the way Singaporeans speak English.
j People who speak Singlish sound like they have a potato in their mouth.
k The author likes Singlish.

Example:
a

11 ____
12 ____
13 ____
14 ____
15 ____