9．
根据短文内容，回答下列问题。
I am
Canadian. I started learning French when I was 10 years old. But my whole
experience with the language was in the classroom. All of that changed, however,
during my last summer of high school. As a 17-year-old girl, I flew across the
country by myself for the first time! I headed for Quebec to live in the
province with a French—speaking host family, who
didn't speak any English. And I would learn French at a local school.
On
the first day of school, all of us students were given a test to determine(测定)our language level. We were required to speak only French all
summer.
I
made every effort to communicate in a second language by making new friends, seeing
movies and even ordering food from restaurants in French. Though I couldn't
understand most of it at the very beginning, the whole experience was exciting
and refreshing.
On
weekends, my classmates and I took trips to different places around the
province. On one trip, we went whale watching on the St. Lawrence River. Even
though it was raining, we could see huge whales swimming around our boat. The
most memorable part of our trip was a visit to historic Quebec City. I walked
along the stone streets, took pictures of the European-style(欧式的)buildings, and learned some stories there.
Finally
my efforts paid off! At the end of the summer, I was able to communicate pretty
well. I couldn't wait to go back to school and talk with my French teacher. Being
fully immersed(沉浸)in a French-speaking
environment was a valuable learning experience. And it could be the main reason
for my improvement in French.
