There are several features of spoken English that make it difficult for me to understand. First, many words are not pronounced as they are spelled, so when I learn new words through reading, I sometimes don’t understand them when they are spoken. Second, native speakers contract words and phrases. “What are you doing?” becomes “Whatcha doing’?” In my opinion, people should write clearly. Third, native speakers have a wide range of accents. A British accent is very different from a Texas one. Fourth, there are lots of idioms and slang expression. These expressions also differ depending on the area a speaker is from. Finally, there are sounds that don’t exist in my language that do exist in English and vice versa. These sounds are difficult for me to distinguish.

34.  The writer finds it                      to understand spoken English.

a. easy                         b. interesting               c. difficult                   d. useful

35.    The writer sometimes doesn’t understand new words when they are spoken because of

                    .

a. their pronunciation                                      b. their spelling

c. their expression                                           c. their meaning

36.  Native speakers                     .

a.  have the same accent

b.  have a wide range of accents

c.  speak English with a strong accent

d.  speak heavily accented English

37.  Idiom and slang expressions are                     .

a. different from area to area                          b. not difficult to learn

c. dependent on the speakers                          d. widely used in English

38.  The writer finds it hard to distinguish                     .

a. vowel sounds          b. familiar sounds       c. soft sounds              d. strange sounds