Word: fluent
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...Students of putonghua, or Mandarin Chinese, need to learn not just a romanization system like pinyin but also simplified and complex Chinese characters. While conversational Mandarin can help you get around town, only fluent literacy can lead to an understanding of the Chinese people. Shortly after beginning my study of the language in the U.S. 27 years ago, I discovered that knowing which restroom to use and how to read a menu, a newspaper or (much later) postings on the Internet are critical to fully participating in another culture. And that's not all. Language alone is not enough...
However, a language is only useful around those who speak it, and it’s hard to find an audience that’s fluent in the diminished scale. Even fairly serious jazz musicians will find these pieces exhausting; untrained listeners will find them completely impenetrable...
...soon hit the ground running. She quickly overcame the English barrier, learning much of the language by watching old sitcoms, including “The Cosby Show” and “Small Wonder.” By the end of the third grade, she was nearly fluent...
Since Air Force GeneralMichael Hayden was tapped on May 8 to head the CIA, there has been much speculation that Stephen Kappes, a former CIA operations chief fluent in Farsi and Russian, might leave a lucrative private-sector post to return as Hayden's deputy. As reported on TIME.com last week, a June 1 London Stock Exchange filing by ArmorGroup International, a London-based security firm where Kappes has worked since April 2005, confirms that he plans to rejoin the CIA. The company said Kappes "will be leaving the Group in early June 2006 to accept the position...
...Kappes, who served in the Marines before spending nearly 25 years in the CIA, is fluent in Russian and Farsi and served in the Agency's Frankfurt station running operations against Iran. He rose to become deputy director for operations just before George Tenet stepped down as CIA director in the summer of 2004. But Kappes resigned in November of that year in solidarity with his then-deputy, Michael Sulick, after Kappes refused a request to reassign Sulick several days after an angry run-in with Goss' chief of staff, Patrick Murray...