Read the excerpt from "Mother Tongue."
Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. Some say they understand 80 to 90
percent. Some say they understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese. But to me, my mother's English is
perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It's my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and
imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world.
Which best summarizes the central idea of the excerpt?
Nonstandard forms of English arealid, complete languages.
People from different cultures can easily learn to speak English.
The English and Chinese languages have similar structures.
Parents should use standard English with their children in the home.

A. Nonstandard forms of English are valid, complete languages

Explanation:

This is the excerpt from Amy Tan's essay that deals with nonstandard variations of English language, usually in immigrant families, and the attitude society has towards people speaking them.

This particular excerpt shows how Tan's mother's English sounds to her friends because of her heavy accent. On the other hand, Tan, having grown up listening to her mother's English, finds it completely comprehensible.

In her opinion, all nonstandard variations should be regarded as complete languages because they can be understood in the community where they are spoken and they are part of one's cultural identity.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)