14.Towards the end of Middle English,a sudden change in pronunciation started,with vowels (元音) being pronounced shorter and shorter.From the 16th century the British had contact with many people from around the world.This meant that lots of new vocabulary entered the language.The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print.Books became cheaper and more people learned to read.Spelling and grammar became fixed,and the dialect of London became the standard.In 1604the first English dictionary came out.
Early Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words.Late Modern English has many more words,mainly because of the following two reasons:First,the Industrial Revolution led to the need for new words.Second,the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth's surface,and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.
From around 1600,the English colonization (殖民地化) of North America led to American English.Some English pronunciations and words"froze"when they reached America.In some ways,American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English.Some expressions that are called"American English"are in fact from British expressions.They were kept in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain.Spanish also had an influence on American English.For example,words like canyon,ranch,stampede and vigilante are from Spanish.They entered English by the people of Spain who settled in the American West.French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today,American English has a greater influence,because of the USA's movies,television,popular music,trade and technology.
8.What helped to increase the vocabulary of Late Modern English?D
a.the invention of printing
b.the Industrial Revolution
c.the colonization
d.the contact with other countries
A.a(chǎn),b,c
B.a(chǎn),c,d
C.a(chǎn),b,d
D.b,c,d
9.The third paragraph mainly talks aboutB.
A.English colonies in North America
B.the development of American English
C.other languages'influence on American English
D.the difference between American English and British English
10.The underlined word"froze"can best be replaced byA.
A.remained unchanged
B.disappeared
C.improved
D.kept active.
分析 本文著重講述了在幾個不同的國家的英語上存在著很大的差異,并分析了具體的原因.
解答 8、D 細節(jié)理解題:從第二段的句子:First,the Industrial Revolution (工業(yè)革命) led to the need for new words.Second,the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth's surface,and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.可知現(xiàn)代英語詞匯量的增加主要是因為工業(yè)化革命,和其他國家的接觸,根據(jù)第三段的句子:From around 1600,the English colonization (殖民地化) of North America led to American English.可知還有一個原因是殖民化,選D.
9.B 段落大意題:從第三段的句子:From around 1600,the English colonization (殖民地化) of North America led to American English.可知這段講的是美式英語的發(fā)展,選B.
10.A 猜測詞義題:從第三段的句子:In some ways,American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English.一些美式英語有點象莎士比亞時期的英語,說明當英語來到這些殖民地的時候就不再變化了,故該詞指的是保持原樣.選A.
點評 本文主要介紹了不同國家的英語存在的差異,主要考查閱讀基礎(chǔ)上的邏輯推理能力,要求考生根據(jù)文章所述事件的邏輯關(guān)系,對未說明的趨勢或結(jié)局作出合理的推斷;或根據(jù)作者所闡述的觀點理論,對文章未涉及的現(xiàn)象、事例給以解釋.考生首先要仔細閱讀短文,完整了解信息,準確把握作者觀點.