Module 4 Which English?

跟踪导练

阅读理解

A

Languages have been coming and going for thousands of years， but in recent times there has been less coming and a lot more going. When the world was still populated by hunter-gatherers， small， tightly knit （联系） groups developed their own patterns of speech independent of each other. Some language experts believe that 10，000 years ago， when the world had just five to ten million people， they spoke perhaps 12，000 languages between them.

Soon afterwards， many of those people started settling down to become farmers， and their languages too became more settled and fewer in number. In recent centuries， trade， industrialization， the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education， especially globalization and better communications in the past few decades， all have caused many languages to disappear， and dominant languages such as English， Spanish and Chinese are increasingly taking over.

At present， the world has about 6，800 languages. The distribution of these languages is hugely uneven. The general rule is that mild zones have relatively few languages， often spoken by many people， while hot， wet zones have lots， often spoken by small numbers. Europe has only around 200 languages; the Americas about 1，000; Africa about 2，400; and Asia and the Pacific perhaps 3，200， of which Papua New Guinea alone accounts for well over 800. The median number （中位數） of speakers is a mere 6，000， which means that half the world's languages are spoken by fewer people than that.

Already well over 400 of the total of 6，800 languages are close to extinction （消亡）， with only a few elderly speakers left. Pick， at random， Chiapaneco in Mexico （about 150）， Lipan Apache in the United States （two or three） or Wadjigu in Australia （one， with a question-mark）： none of these seems to have much chance of survival.

1. What can we infer about languages in hunter-gatherer times？

A. They developed very fast.             B. They were large in number.

C. They had similar patterns.             D. They were closely connected.

2. What word can best explain the underlined word “dominant” in Paragraph 2？

A. Complex.       B. Advanced.       C. Powerful.        D. Modern.

3. How many languages are spoken by less than 6，000 people at present？

A. About 6，800.     B. About 3，400.     C. About 2，400.     D. About 1，200.

4. What does the text mainly tell us？

A. New languages will be created.

B. Geography determines language evolution.

C. People's lifestyles are reflected in languages.

D. Human development results in fewer languages.

B

For the last five years， I have been fortunate enough to work on a large vocabulary research project for Cambridge English， the English Vocabulary Profile. Working with Carol Cassidy， we developed a database， containing the words and phrases that learners of English around the world typically know and use. We analyzed a 50-million-word collection of learners' writing from Cambridge English exams， but we also looked at the vocabulary taught in best-selling British and American English course books.

We have found that there are some words that are still characteristically British or American. British people have biscuits with their cup of tea or coffee， but Americans have cookies. We have cookies too in Britain， but they are a certain type of biscuits， such as chocolate chip cookies， where the original recipe is American. A British person goes on holiday， while an American takes a vacation; you visit a city center in Britain but go downtown in the US.

A few words have different meanings across the two varieties of English， which could cause some embarrassment： Americans who are wearing pants have their legs covered， but if a British person is dressed only in pants， they are in their underwear （clothes that you wear next to your body under your other clothes）！ And if you need to fill up your car with fuel， you can ask for gas in the US， but you need to buy petrol in Britain， as “gas” is not a liquid in British English.

Overall， though， our research shows that British and American English are still very close to each other. The 10 most common words （the， of， to， and， a， in， that， is， for and I） are the same in both countries， and most of the UK's 5，000 most common words are also in the USA's top 5，000.

5. What can we learn about the project the author worked on？

A. It offers vocabulary courses online.       B. It is based on powerful evidence.

C. It is a study on English exams.          D. It aims to collect new words.

6. What may British people refer to when they say “cookies”？

A. American biscuit recipes.              B. Biscuits made in Britain.

C. Tiny chocolate cakes.                 D. A variety of biscuits.

7. Which sentence is more likely from a British person？

A. My car has run out of liquid.           B. It's great to wear pants for the party.

C. I'll fill my car up with gas immediately.   D. I bought the pants in that shop yesterday.

8. What do the figures in the last paragraph suggest？

A. British and American English are still very similar.

B. The most common English words have changed greatly.

C. Short words are most commonly used in the English language.

D. The differences between British and American English are obvious.

阅读七选五

Different Cultures

The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish each other a lot. 1

The origin of the eastern cultures is mainly from two countries： China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers—the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India. 2

When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern cultures， another famous culture was brought up on the Mesopotamian Plain—the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures ofAncient Greece and Ancient Rome. 3

At the same time， some other differences add to the cultural differences. Take the language system for example. In the East， most languages belong to the pictographic language while the Western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. 4 But what's more， due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the West， the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries. So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference from the other.

The differences are everywhere. 5 But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural gap should not be the obstacle （障礙） to the civilization of human beings. It ought to be the motivation of our going farther.

A. Let us work together to keep the variety of culture.

B. One important thing is to learn about other cultures.

C. Other causes like human race difference count as well.

D. And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture.

E. They affect people's ways of thinking and their views of the world.

F. This is because the culture systems are two separate systems on the whole.

G. They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles.

1.            2.            3.            4.            5.

完形填空

For several months， I kept learning skills just for a competition. It sounds 1  ， I know. I had to 2  everything as well as I could in order to get the best result and try to avoid bringing 3  on myself.

I started to learn Latin dance three months ago at my school's dance sport club. The 4  idea was just to help me to exercise， but the activity gradually became one of my 5 .

When I was asked if I would like to compete with dancers from other local schools at the upcoming Orange Blossom Ball， I 6  immediately. I didn't believe a（n） 7 could take part in a dancing competition. But then a second thought 8  me. I would not dance to compete， but to 9  what it felt like to dance with people watching me. I also thought it would 10 me to practice more. 11 ， I put my name down on the sign-up table for rumba （倫巴）.

The competition began on a sunny Saturday morning. After watching several rounds， I finally understood the 12 of the game： since there were many groups of 13 in the competition， the judge randomly 14 groups to dance. The best would go into the next round.

When we were called， we got on the floor with the other couples and got into 15 ， ready for our round. When the music sounded， I， too 16 ， hesitated to start and had to eye my 17 for help. He quickly understood and 18 to help me count the steps. I slowly calmed down and began to focus on dance 19 like the walk， the spin （旋转） and the turn. My brain 20 and I forgot about everything else. Thanks to him， we finished the dance smoothly. We came fourth in the

competition.

1. A. reasonableB. crazyC. fantasticD. simple

2. A. knowB. learnC. prepareD. use

3. A. shameB. successC. troubleD. wonder

4. A. rightB. strangeC. brightD. initial

5. A. coursesB. choicesC. hobbiesD. faiths

6. A. understoodB. refusedC. acceptedD. quitted

7. A. amateurB. studentC. beginnerD. master

8. A. hitB. limitedC. scaredD. educated

9. A. judgeB. experienceC. claimD. wonder

10. A. warnB. guideC. persuadeD. encourage

11. A. EventuallyB. UnexpectedlyC. SuddenlyD. Luckily

12. A. importanceB. pleasureC. ruleD. meaning

13. A. coachesB. audienceC. judgesD. dancers

14. A. called onB. looked forC. sent awayD. joined in

15. A. groupsB. musicC. systemsD. position

16. A. nervousB. convincedC. politeD. happy

17. A. teacherB. partnerC. classmateD. father

18. A. continuedB. soughtC. laughedD. whispered

19. A. gesturesB. partiesC. historyD. exercise

20. A. achedB. blankedC. clearedD. screamed

语法填空

Once a manager wanted to test his people about their values of life. He announced that in their folder， there was a PVC pouch （小袋） and in 1 a seed. When they return， they must put the seed in a pot with good soil and look after it very well. He would hold a competition at the next year's seminar and the best plants would be awarded 2 （suitable）.

Everyone did what was told. And the next year in a big hall， there were hundreds of pots and a great 3 （vary） of plants—all except one. In this pot was soil， 4 no plant！ The owner of the pot 5 （stand） quietly and feeling ashamed of himself.

The manager asked him what had happened and he told him the truth. He planted the seed， 6 he was given， and did what needed 7 （do）—but nothing happened.

The general manager declared him the winner！ Everyone 8 （shock）.

It was announced， “Gentlemen！ The seeds I gave you were 9 （boil） seeds. You planted them and nothing happened！ You acted smartly and used some other seeds. This man was honest about his work and therefore， he did not cheat me or 10（he）！”

1. ______ 2. ______ 3. ______ 4. ______ 5. ______

6. ______ 7. ______ 8. ______ 9. ______ 10. ____

短文改錯

One day I happened to find chat room on my web， what people were chatting in English. I try to chat with some of them. To my great surprise， I found that the spoken English of some junior students were better than me. I asked them for advice and they told me to practice more on the web. So every day after that I would spend one hour read English after a tape recorder very serious. Day after day I learned from many useful words and expressions. With time gone by， I found that I couldeven communicate with some college student in English.