which could help save my dignity. Every child has got a talent for learning language, as it is known to all. So in approxi mately three months I could speak Putonghua as fluently as any other pupil in the class. Since then l never spoke a single word in Sichuan dialect. The experience taught me that speaking dialect

hardly had any good on me.

      Before I could find out whether abandoning a dialect so quickly was beneficial for me or not, my parents moved to Shanghai to work here.  Undoubtedly, they brought me here,which meant I should again study in a new place. I was eight years old then. My parents brought me to school the next day we moved to  Shanghai.  Before I  approached  the  door  of the teacher's office I heard people in the office were talking with a dialect that I could not understand. Though the teachers talked to me kindly in Putonghua when they saw me tiptoeing into the office I was worried what I could do if I couldn't understand Shanghai dialect.  Hardly had I made up my mind to study Shanghai dialect when I stepped into a small shop to buy a bottle of orange juice to relieve my thirsty caused by the anxiety of golng to the new school. I talked to the shop assistanct that I wanted a bottle of orange juice in Putonghua, but she didn't even lift her eyelids. She coldly squeezed two words between her tightly closed lips. Unfortunately, I couldn't catch what she said. So I asked again.  Then maybe my words annoyed her because she suddenly shouted at me in Shanghai dialect. The only word I could understand was "Xiangwuning" which means the people from rural places.  The despise word hurt me so deeply that I thought there was no good in speaking Shanghai dialect. I didn't like the Shanghai natives who were so impolite towards people from other cities. In the following years, when my father, who is a Shanghai native and can speak fluent Shanghai dialect, wanted to teach me Shanghai dialect, I always shook my head.

     Now I can understand Shanghai dialect very well.  But as there are more and more people from other cities in Shanghai, it brings a trend to speak Putonghua. When I speak Putonghua in stead of Shanghai dialect, The Shanghai natives look down upon me. Then I will just speak English. Seeing the confusing expression on his or her face, I will leave without any more words.

     I'll not worry about whether I am a real Shanghainese or not. I believe Putonghua dominates all the dialects and most people in Shanghai will speak it other than Shanghai dialect in the future. So there is no use for me to pick up Shanghai dialect.Next time I introduce myself, I will still tell others that I can't speak Shanghai dialect without any shame.

简  评

    世界上的语言难以计数，只有自己的语言最美；一个国家的方言难以计数，只有自己使用的最动听。语言作为一种人类特有的交流手段本来无所谓优劣，但人们由于各种原因将其与社会身份和地位联系起来。这样一来，某些发达经济地区的方言便有了优于其他方言的理由。这篇文章中谈及的现象发人深思，但和上面一篇文章一样，这篇同样要在材料的取舍上下功夫。如第一个经历可以写得简单点，而把笔墨主要放到后面时间的描写和思考上。

    (点评教师：汪中平)