大学英语精读预备1册 lesson 1

        Is Learning¹ English Easy or Not   

　　There are about fifteen hundred languages in the world .But only a few of them are very important .English is one of these .Many ,many people use it ,not only in England and the U.S.A. but also in the other parts of the world .About 200000000 speak it as their own language. Many millions are trying to do so.
Is it easy or difficult to learn English? Different people may has different answers .Have you ever noticed ads of this kind in the newspapers or magazines? “Learn English in six weeks. or your money back ...” “Easy and fun ! Our records and tapes help you master your English in a month. From the first day your pronunciation will be excellent. Just send…” of course ,it never happens quite like that.
The only languages that seems easy to learn is the mother tongue. We should remember that we all learned² our own language well when we were children. If we could learn English in the same way ,it would seem not so difficult . Think of what a child does. He listens to what people say. He tries what he hear. When he wants something ,he has to ask for it . He is using the language, talking in it ,thinking in it all the time. Just imagine how much practice that gets.
So it is hard to say learning English is easy. Because a good command of English depends upon a lot of practice. And practice needs great effort and takes much time. Good teachers ,records ,tapes ,books ,and dictionaries will help .But they cannot do the student’s work for him .

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。