Chapter 3 Part 1: How to speak English I am Mariana

I'm Mariana i am marianna Who are you, please? who are you? I'm Mariana. I'm Mariana. Mariana? Mariana? Yes, I am Mariana. Yes, I am Mariana. You are Marianna, really? Are you really Mariana? Yes, I'm sure Marianna. Yes, I am Mariana. At that time, I had to force myself to think like this almost every day, and I thought very persistently.I must try to convince myself that I am Mariana.But before learning English, I didn't know Mariana, and I didn't know that there was someone named Mariana in the world.Later I was able to read some simple English texts, so I gave myself the name Mariana.Why is it called Marianne and not something else?Such as Margaret, Frances, Christina, Elizabeth, Catherine or Virginia, Rebecca, this It's because the appearance of Mariana was completely my inspiration. When the name was about to pass through my mind, I felt that it was the one to choose.

Since I named myself Mariana, I have been writing my diary in English every day and writing letters to my friends in English.Create a virtual English environment for yourself, which is very important for self-study English.In the process of translating sentences and articles, I try to get used to using another language. This is a replacement process, which is a complex high-level neural activity of the human brain - converting one language into another language to express Your will and will, and your senses and feelings.This kind of activity is easy to say, but difficult to do.Even for those who have learned English for many years, it is not easy to change one's mother tongue into another language clearly.Think about the birthplace of that language in another country thousands of miles away from you.In addition to distance, there are huge differences in race, history, politics and culture, and even differences in pronunciation parts. All these are invisible obstacles for native Chinese speakers. If you want to learn to use this language easily and freely, It is more of a challenge.

When I start translating sentences, I can't get rid of the shadow of Chinese in my mind.For example, I wrote in my exercise book: I went to a concert last night to hear the symphony orchestra. I went to a concert last night to listen to the symphony. She didn't go abroad till she graduated from university. She went abroad after graduating from university. If we make one more effort, we shall succeed. As long as we try harder, we will succeed. I found myself subconsciously still using Chinese idioms to express and translate these sentences. I know I'm not the character who speaks English, I'm Heidi, and I'm just learning to use another language.I even subconsciously reject that method of use, and sometimes only regard these sentences translated into English as a symbol of language expression.I can't get rid of a life instinct, I was born in a Chinese-speaking land, I was born to be a Chinese speaker, so I have to speak Chinese, write Chinese, can't speak English, write English... I often repeat, silently ask yourself:

Why should you study English? Why do you want to learn English? Why should you be able to speak English? Why do you want to speak English? Why should you write in English? Why do you write English? Why should you… Why are you…… I answer myself again and again: Because English is a beautiful language. Because English is a beautiful language. I must study English and I study it for one aim. I have to learn English, and I study for a goal. I should be able to speak, and to write. I can speak and write. This is what I've chosen. This is my choice. I kept convincing myself to obey my will—I often thought later that perhaps it was this self-persuasion that gave me the motivation and encouragement to keep learning.Until one day, I picked up a novel I translated and it was published.The cover is beautiful with my name clearly printed on it.I didn't feel particularly happy at that moment. I thought my heart would cheer, but it was quiet there, like a silent green field. In the field in the morning, I saw myself coming from there, wearing a pair of brown long The outside is an apron with white lace, the white soft-brimmed hat covers the chestnut curly hair, and she is holding a straw basket full of bright red berries. People in the distance are calling me Mariana...

Yes, I'm Mariana! During those study days, I always let myself play the role of Mariana. In the plays I wrote and directed for myself, I did many descriptions of Mariana in English, such as a description that I still keep in my notebook: Perhaps you have read Jane Eyre. My home village is near the place the story occurred. Here it was winter. The sky was gray and the weather was cold. All tree leaves fell early before and the fields seemed vast and solitary under the cover of white snow. Occasionally several sounds came from the distant bell, which reminded people the existence of the time. If you look in the distance, you will find there are no trails of life, even the wild rabbits had also disappeared. Only before a dozen days or more I saw a carriage driving across the solitary fields. I did not know where it was going, but it surely took messages there, no matter if they were good news or bad…

(Maybe you have read the book "Jane Eyre", my home is very close to there, it is winter here, the sky is gray and very cold, the leaves have long since fallen, and the open fields are covered with snow, It looks so lonely. Occasionally, there will be a few bells from the bell tower in the distance, which reminds people of the existence of time. Looking into the distance, there are almost no signs of life around, and even the hares don’t come here. It’s only in a dozen days Once upon a time, I saw an old wagon ride across a desolate field. Where the wagon went I don't know, but it must have brought news, good or bad, to the people there...)

Later, as my English learning continued to deepen, I described more and more of Marianne, and her life was constantly changing, expanding from the initial description to an event, and from an event to a novel. I am never tired of writing novels like this, and I am full of enthusiasm for the characters I play. I am Mariana, yes, I am her. My pen led me to a cottage in the English countryside in the nineteenth century. I got to know my neighbors, Mr. Cowman and Mrs. Cowman. I gradually became familiar with their shapes, their figures, and their gestures. , and their voices and expressions.I have talked to them countless times in my heart, and often write their stories into my English diary (diary).I think all this is my reading of the Chinese version, "The Letters of Charlotte Bronte", "Study of the Bronte Sisters" and the impression left, this impression is very valuable for people who learn foreign languages ​​- a person While learning a foreign language, it is very beneficial to constantly supplement various knowledge related to that language.In this way, when reading the original text or translating, you will not feel that the place is out of reach, you will not feel that the characters are a hundred times unfamiliar, and you will not feel that the language is jerky and difficult to understand.Maybe there will also be a smooth reading pleasure, which is a beautiful realm of learning English, a pleasure that may only be understood with the heart, but cannot be clearly expressed in words.

Yes, at this time, I am Mariana, I am her, and this virtual experience is really wonderful.When I eat steamed buns, I imagine it is bread, and when I drink rice porridge, I imagine the feeling of drinking oatmeal porridge.In the infinite imagination space in the mind, all scenarios can be hypothesized as much as you like, until you get used to using this language.People say that habit becomes nature.Indeed, the process of learning a language is from unaccustomed to accustomed, from unnatural to natural.We may not be aware of this kind of quiet excess at ordinary times, and after a long period of time, we may get unexpected surprises - one day, when you are talking with your friends, you suddenly find that you can speak English fluently.

But the current situation is more real, it has no distance from us, maybe it is the people around us, maybe it is the TV program at home.I usually like to watch the programs of CCTV English Channel, and almost every day I watch English News, English Dialog, and Culture Express.Wait, I take it as a kind of study, a kind of leisure, a kind of entertainment, and also a kind of course for learning English.Sometimes I turn on the TV while doing housework. Whether it’s news or interviews with people, I try my best to listen carefully, and watch it carefully when I have time. Watching people speak English and getting familiar with their mouth shapes, expressions, and movements, I think this is The most vivid English!After a long time, you will find that you have understood a lot of content without knowing it. In the past, some phrases that were not easy to distinguish can be understood even after reading, and you even feel fluent when you speak English. This is English self-training. the result of.However, this requires patience. Perhaps this approach is much slower than some so-called intensive training, but I think the accumulation of knowledge depends on long-term learning, not just a period of surprise.

Some people may think that learning is like farming, which is a heavy thing, but I found the seeds of happiness from the soil. As time goes by, that seed sprouts in my heart and blooms into beautiful flowers.So, I got the joy of the harvest season. This night, the weather was very hot, and when I was about to end this random thought, I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of Coke with ice. I held the glass carefully in one hand, and slowly turned the wheelchair with the other. When passing the living room, I suddenly remembered that today is Sunday, what good programs will the English Channel have?I decided to watch TV for a while.The screen flashed, and a group of college students were asking questions in English to Prime Minister Blair who was visiting China. This was a round table forum, and the questioners were all fluent in English. Some of the questions made the Prime Minister feel relaxed, and some made him feel embarrassed.Blair answered very seriously, what about medical security, Sino-British relations, whether the British government lied about the Iraq war...

For a moment, I forgot that I was watching TV and wanted to ask Blair: My question is: How do you think about the contemporary English literature, and have you read the book A Colder Eye that I'm reading now?