Module 4 Which English?

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matter   v.

count   v.

acquire   v.

convey   v.

clarify   v.

select   v.

withdraw   v.

reject   v.

abuse   v.

betray   v.

overcome   v.

oppose   v.

resist   v.

classify   v.

author   n.

ancestor   n.

link   n.

debate   n.

telegraph   n.

media   n.

revolution   n.

telecommunication   n.

association   n.

dilemma   n.

concept   n.

tendency   n.

significance   n.

offence   n.

statesman   n.

prayer   n.

prejudice   n.

conflict   n.

moral   n.

status   n.

sex   n.

approval   n.

curiosity   n.

candidate   n.

recognisable   adj.

unique   adj.

bilingual   adj.

convinced   adj.

splendid   adj.

straightforward   adj.

ambiguous   adj.

explicit   adj.

figurative   adj.

relevant   adj.

absurd   adj.

disorganised   adj.

vague   adj.

clumsy   adj.

potential   adj.

superior   adj.

instantly   adv.

furthermore   adv.

thus   adv.

initially   adv.

常用短语

tell... apart

as long as

lie in

in conclusion

let sb down

get down to sth

a huge number of

词汇短语园地

1. instantly   adv.   立即，马上

He has an instantly recognisable face.

他长着一副一眼就能认出来的面孔。

instantly   conj.   一……就……

Tell me instantly he arrives home.

他一到家就告訴我。

2. count   v.   很重要;很有价值

His opinions count because of his experience.

因为他有经验，所以他的意见很重要。

It/That doesnt count.

那不算数/重要。

count on/upon = rely on   依赖;依靠;期待;指望

You cant always count on the help from others.

你不能总是指望别人的帮助。

3. debate   n.   討论;辩论

A fierce debate on the tax cut was going on.

一场围绕着减税的辩论正在激烈地进行中。

debate   v.   讨论;争论

Whether he deserves what has happened to him is open to debate.

他是否罪有应得还有待于讨论。

（1） have/hold a debate on/over/about   举行一场关于……的辩论

（2） under debate   在讨论中

The whole question is still under debate.

整个问题还在讨论之中。

（3） debate sth with sb   与某人讨论某事

（4） debate on/over/about   就……辩论

4. acquire   v.   得到，获得

She acquired a good knowledge of English by careful study.

她通过认真学习精通了英语。

She has acquired a taste for bananas recently.

她最近开始喜欢吃香蕉了。

辨析：

比较gain，acquire，earn和achieve

（1） gain指“收获;获得（有用或必需的东西）”。它可以用于体重、力量的增加，奖学金的获得，更常用于经验、知识、教育、满足等的获得。

（2） acquire指“购得，得到（尤指昂贵的或难以得到的东西）”;“获得，掌握（知识、技能等）”。

（3） earn指“取得;赚得”。它通常指通过工作挣钱，也可指得到支持、认同、声望或尊敬等。

（4） achieve指“得到，获得”。它多指成就、目标、幸福的取得。

5. convinced   adj.   确信的，信服的

搭配：

be convinced of sth/that...   坚信某事/确信……

I am convinced of her innocence.

我坚信她是无辜的。

I was convinced that we were doing the right thing.

我确信我们做的事情是正确的。

（1） convince   v.   使相信;使确信

convince sb of sth   使某人信服某事

Youll need to convince them of your enthusiasm for the job.

你要使他们相信你渴望得到这份工作。

convince sb to do sth   说服/劝说某人做某事

What convinced you to vote for them？

究竟是什么使得你愿意投票给他们？

（2） convincing   adj.  有说服力的;令人信服的

His idea was not convincing. At last I convinced him to change his mind.

他的观点没有说服力，最终我说服了他改变主意。

6. convey   v.   传达，传递

搭配：

convey sth to sb   向某人传达某事

Please convey my apology to your wife.

请向你的妻子转达我的歉意。

convey   v.   表达;输送

I found it hard to convey my feelings in words.

我觉得难以用言语表达我的感情。

A taxi conveyed us to the train station.

出租车将我们载到火车站。

7. betray   v.   对……不忠;辜负

She felt betrayed when she found out the truth about him.

她发现他的真实情况后，感到受了欺骗。

She betrayed his trust over and over again.

她一次又一次地辜负了他的信任。

betray   v.   出卖;泄露

He was offered money to betray his colleagues.

有人收买他出卖他的同事。

Keep calm. Dont betray your identity.

沉住气，可别露馅儿。

betray a secret to sb   向某人泄露秘密

betray ones trust   辜负某人的信任

betray oneself   暴露本来的面目

8. oppose   v.   反对

搭配：

（1） oppose （doing） sth   反对（做）某事

He opposed adopting the new bill at the meeting.

在会议上他反对采纳新议案。

He opposed the proposal to build another new church.

他反对建一座新教堂的建议。

（2） be opposed to （doing） sth   反对（做）某事

We are opposed to any action that does great harm to the environment.

我们反对任何严重破坏环境的行为。

Most company bosses say they are opposed to employees working overtime frequently.

大多数公司老板说，他们反对雇员频繁加班。

9. resist   v.   反抗;抵抗

He is in good health; he is able to resist diseases.

他身体健康，能抵抗疾病。

resist还可表示“忍耐;忍住”，常用于否定句。

She could hardly resist laughing.

她忍不住笑起来。

（1） resistance   n.   反抗;抵抗;抵抗力

make some/no resistance   进行/不抵抗

（2） resistant   adj.   抵抗的;抵制的

be resistant to   抵抗……;抵制……

The club is resistant to any form of change.

该俱乐部反对任何形式的变革。

10. approval   n.   赞许;赞成

She desperately wanted to win her fathers approval.

她急不可待地想赢得她父亲的赞同。

approval还可表示“批准，认可”。

I cant agree to anything without my partners approval.

没有合伙人的认可我什么也不能答应。

with the approval of   经……的批准

in approval   同意，支持

give （ones） approval   給予批准

meet with ones approval   得到某人的赞许/认可

11. tell... apart   区分开

The twins are very alike. I cant tell them apart.

这对双胞胎长得太像了，我分不清他们谁是谁。

（1） tell... from...   把……和……区分开来

Can you tell Tom from his twin brother？

你能分得出汤姆和他的孪生弟弟吗？

（2） take... apart/take apart...   把……拆开

It is easy to take apart a clock but it is difficult to resemble it.

拆钟容易，重装难。

12. as long as   只要（引导条件状语从句）

You can go out to play as long as you stay in the backyard.

只要不出后院，你可以出去玩。

so long as/on condition that...   只要……

13. lie in   在于

His success lies in his hard work.

他的成功在于勤奋工作。

14. in conclusion   总之

In conclusion， I cant thank you enough.

总之，我真是太感谢你了。

reach/draw a conclusion   得出结论;下结论

come to/arrive at a conclusion   得出结论

15. get down to sth/doing sth   开始（做）某事

Lets get down to doing something meaningful.

让我们做点有意义的事情吧。

get across   越过;（使）被了解

get rid of   摆脱;处理

get through   通过（考试）;接通（电话）

16. let sb down   使某人失望

Please come and support me. Dont let me down.

请来支持我，别让我失望。

let alone   不干涉;不管;更不用说

let into   让……进入

let out   放走;发出（叫声等）;泄露（秘密等）

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， industrialisation， the development of the nation-state and the spread of universal compulsory education， especially globalisation 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 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 worlds 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， Busuu in Cameroon （eight remaining speakers）， Chiapaneco in Mexico （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. Peoples 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 UKs 5，000 most common words are also in the USAs 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 is great to wear pants for the party.

C. Ill 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.

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.

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 of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

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.  But whats 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.  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 a variety of culture.

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

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

D. They affect peoples ways of thinking and their views of the world.

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

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

I spent last summer volunteering at a hospital. It was a gift to  so many amazing people and Id like to share one of these moments. One day， I was called to a room where a（n）  woman was staying. Usually I helped with  who were ready to leave. Instead， she  to go to the gift shop. I got a wheelchair，  her into it， and headed down to the entrance.

When we got there， it wasnt open yet. After a 30-minute ， we entered the gift shop. As I pushed her around， I could see the  in her face as she looked at everything， happy to be out of her room. She  some window decorations， and then saw chocolates.

She asked me to push her in that ， and then I helped her  all the different chocolate arrangements.  she decided on three different boxes.

She told me to write the numbers 1， 2， and 3 on the boxes. She  that the nurses were taking such good care of her， so she  chocolates for each of the three shifts of nurses. As we gave the current shift of nurses their box of chocolate， they  offered some to me before taking some themselves.

There were  all around. Witnessing the old ladys  and getting the opportunity to spend time with someone who got so much joy from life was a  in itself. I have so many more stories， and each person made an impact （影響） on my life. Ive  that health has a way of bringing people together.  is a blessing， and being in a place where health is so  and appreciated is unlike anything else.

1. A. introduce B. meet C. attract D. describe

2. A. elderly B. strange C. important D. famous

3. A. nurses B. kids C. patients D. parents

4. A. drove B. wanted C. failed D. promised

5. A. helped B. led C. showed D. pushed

6. A. ride B. walk C. talk D. wait

7. A. relief B. anxiety C.  joy D. puzzle

8. A. chose B. made C. used D. received

9. A. manner B. case C. direction D. point

10. A. prepare for B. take up C. figure out D. look through

11. A. Suddenly B. Eventually C. Fortunately D. Actually

12. A. explained B. declared C. expected D. imagined

13. A. exchanged B. designed C. tasted D. bought

14. A. in fact B. at random C. in turn D. at ease

15. A. whispers B. smiles C. shouts D. cheers

16. A. kindness B. worry C. decision D. loneliness

17. A. lesson  B. shelter C. gift D. sign

18. A. pretended B. resisted C. predicted D. learned

19. A. Health B. Luck C. Virtue D. Praise

20. A. tested B. valued C. maintained D. promoted

語法填空

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  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  （compete） at the next years seminar and the best plants would be awarded  （suitable）.

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

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

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

It was announced， “Gentlemen！ The seeds I gave you were

（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 himself！”

1.                2.                3.                4.                5.

6.                7.                8.                9.                10.

短文改错

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 practise 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 could even communicate with some college student in English.