专题 20 英美文化阅读理解专项：英语 美国语言 美国英语和英国英语-2024年高考英语常考英美文化阅读专练 素材积累.docx

1、51. International Language-English English is the native or official language of one-fifth of the world. It is spoken in North America, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. In South Africa and India it is one of the official languages.More people study English than any other language. In many

2、countries, the textbooks in universities are in English. Many university classes are taught in English even though the native language is not English.English is the language of international communication. It is the language of international business, research, and science. More than three-fourths o

3、f the worlds mail is written in English. More than half of the scientific research articles are in English. Most other languages have borrowed many English words.Why did English become the international language? In the middle of the 19th century, French was the international language. Then Britain

4、became very powerful in the world. England started colonies in North America and India in the 17th century. By 1900 England also had colonies in other parts of Asia, Africa and the South Pacific. The people in the colonies had to use English. Slowly it became more important than French international

5、ly. After the Second World War, the United States became very powerful, and even more people began to learn English. Is English a good international language? It has more words than any other language. The grammar is simpler than in the other major languages. However, English spelling is difficult.

6、Foreigners all have trouble spelling English. So do native speakers.Since 1880, people have invented over fifty artificial (not natural) languages. No one speaks them as a native language. However, none of them has ever become popular. Some people dont want to study English, but it is the internatio

7、nal language. (292 words)Exercise:Helper:South Pacific南太平洋 artificial :tifil人造的, 人为的 colony殖民地 Brief Introduction:英语是世界上五分之一人口的母语或者官方语言，学英语的人比学任何其它语言的人都多，在许多国家大学的教材是英文版的，甚至英语不是母语的国家的许多大学用英语授课。英语成了国际语言，为什么呢？在19世纪中期的法语是国际语言，后来英国强大了，在17世纪的时候在北美和印度进行殖民统治，到20世纪的时候已经到亚洲、非洲和南太平洋地区。殖民地的人不得不学英语，后来美国强大起来，学英语的

8、人就更多了。 英语是一种好的语言吗？词汇量大、语法简单，但是拼写困难。从1880年起，人们就造了50多种语言，没有人把这些作为母语，甚至每一种能够流行开来。有些人不想学习英语，可它目前应该是一种国际语言。 Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned? A. The English grammar is simple B. It has a great vocabulary. C. Its pronunciation sounds pleasant. D. It is difficult

9、to spell correctly.2. The author concludes that_ A. it is necessary to invent a new language B. English is the international language whether you like it or not C. English is much better than other languages D. English should be spoken all over the world3. Which of the following is TRUE? A. All univ

10、ersity classes are taught in English where the native language is not English.B. In most countries, the textbooks in universities are in English.C. The number of the people who study English is greater than those who study any other language.D. More than three-fourths of the scientific research arti

11、cles are in English.Keys and Explanations:1-3 CBC1. 选C。细节理解题。根据第5段的叙述可以找到A、B、D项，每提到发音问题。故选C。2. 选B。推理判断题。根据最后一段的最后一句Some people dont want to study English, but it is the international language.可以看出不管你是否想学英语，它是国际语言，这是事实，暗示“不管你是否愿意学，英语是国际语言，这是事实”。故选B。3. 选C。细节理解题。根据第二段的第一句More people study English than

12、any other language.52. Languages in America美国语言面面观What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? An American.To people in many countries, being bilingual or even trilingu

13、al is a way of life. But since the mother tongue of most Americans is English, a language widely spoken around the world, they often dont feel they need to learn a foreign language. Moreover(besides), people who live in the heartland of America have little contact with other language speakers.Actual

14、ly, though, this land of immigrants has always had people of many different nationalities and languages. The 1990 census showed that almost 14% of Americans spoke a non-English language at home. Yet only 3% of them spoke English not well or not at all. That means that slightly more than one out of 1

15、0 Americans could be considered bilingual. Besides that, many high school and college students and even some elementary school students are required to take a foreign language as a part of their curriculum. In addition to Spanish, German and French, more and more students are choosing Eastern Europe

16、an and Asian languages.At some places, especially in major big cities immigrants have kept up the language and culture of their own. Some natives can get along quite well with their native language, without having to bother learning English. Regions such as southern Florida and the Southwest have ma

17、ny Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In fact, Spanish speakers-numbering over 17 million make up the largest non-English language group in America. But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Polish and many other groups add to the language flavor of America. Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethni

18、c neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!Although some Americans welcome this linguistic and cultural diversity, others have begun to fear that the English language is being threatened. Since the 1980s, some organizations have sought to establish English as the official

19、language and restrict the use of non-English languages. However, some groups object to such language restrictionism.Whether or not English is the official language of the United States, it remains the language of wider communication. Nearly everyone recognizes the need to study English in order to d

20、o well in America. To help those who want to improve their English, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes come up. Cities with large numbers of recent immigrants often set up bilingual education programs to teach students certain subjects in their native language while they improve their Englis

21、h. Language educators often have strong and different views as to which can help learners achieve better results: a bilingual approach, an ESL approach or even a pure immersion (sink or swim) approach. However, all these teachers share a common commitment: to help students do well in English. (471 w

22、ords)Helper:trilingual trailigwl 懂三国语言的 Bilingual bailigwl 懂两国语言的 census senss 普查 curriculum krikjulm (课程) regionri:dn地区 Vietnamese vjetnmi:z Polish波兰语 flavor fleiv 风味 diversity daiv:siti 多样性 restrictionism ristriknizm 限制主义 immersion im:n 浸入(专心) commitmentkmitmnt使命Brief Introduction:能说三种语言的人，我们可以称之为

23、“三语人”；能讲两种语言的称之为“双语人”；那么，只会一种语言的人呢？美国人。对于许多国家的人而言，会说两三种语言是件很平常的事儿。然而，美国人却觉得没必要学习外语，主要原因在于他们的母语英语是世界上广泛通用的语言。另外，居住于美国大陆内地的人很少与其它语言族群接触，因此外语能力对于他们更显得无关紧要。实际上，作为一块“移民之地”，美国一直拥有许多来自不同国籍、说不同语言的人群。1990年的一项调查显示，十分之一强的美国人是“双语人”。 此外，美国的许多中学生、大学生，甚至小学生在校的学科都必须加修一门外语。在一些主要的大都市的社区中，当地的移民还保留着他们自己的文化传统和语言。有些当地人平时

24、只讲母语就够了，不需要劳神地学英语。在一些外来民族的后裔社区里，由于外语的广泛使用，甚至会使来访者有身置异国的感觉。虽然不少美国人欢迎这种语言与文化的多元化，但也有些人已开始担心英语会受到威胁。自1980年代以来，一部分人主张通过立法讲英语定为法定语言并限制其它语言的使用，但同时有些团体反对这种“语言限制主义”。 无论英语是否是美国的官方语言，它仍是“广泛沟通的语言”。在美国，几乎每个人都了解，若想要出人头地，必须精通英语。为此，在拥有大批新进移民的一些大都市，都设有双语教学课程，在用移民们的母语教授某些科目的同时，帮助学生提高英语水平。 Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选

25、出最佳答案。1. Most Americans dont think they need to learn a foreign language because _. A. America is one of the most powerful countries in the world B. they dont like to have contact with other language speakers C. being bilingual or trilingual is not a way of their life D. their native language, Engli

26、sh, is widely spoken all over the world2. According to the 1990 census, _ of Americans could speak at least two languages. A. a little more than 17% B. about 3% C. a little more than 10% D. less than 10%3. What is the main idea of paragraph 4? A. Some immigrants have kept up their own language and c

27、ulture in certain places of America. B. Some natives in America cant get along quite well with English. C. Spanish speakers make up the largest non-English language group in America. D. Many foreign language groups add to the language flavor of America.4. It is _ that makes some Americans fear that

28、the English language is being threatened. A. the arrival of new immigrants B. the linguistic and cultural diversity C. the curriculum which involves foreign languages D. Americans the curriculum involving foreign languages5. We can learn from the last paragraph that _. A. Learning English well helps

29、 a person gain success in America. B. English as a second language classes have benefited many people in America. C. Bilingual education programs has been set up by the government to teach recent immigrants in America. D. The bilingual approach has been proved to be the best language teaching approa

30、ch in America.Keys and Explanations: 1-5 DCABA1. 选D。细节理解题。根据第二段内容可知大多美国人认为他们所说的英语是世界上广泛通用的语言，因而没有必要学习外语，由此应选D项。2. 选C。具体信息题。第三段提到1990年的对美国人所使用的语言的一项调查，其中的一句话“That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered bilingual”可以帮助我们得出此题答案。3. 选A。段落大意题。第四段主要谈到美国的某些地区的移民依然保留着他们自己的语言

31、和文化，因此答案是A。4. 选B。推理判断题。由倒数第二段开头推断出造成美国人担心英语会受到威胁的主要原因正是美国社会里语言与文化的多元化。5. 选A。细节推断题。根据最后一段中的句子“Nearly everyone recognizes the need to study English in order to do well in America.”推断出正确答案是A。53. Br E and Am EAmerican and British people use different greetings. In the USA the most popular greeting is, H

32、i. In Britain it is Hello!” or How are you?. Hi!” is creeping into the British, too. When they are introduced to someone, the Americans say, Glad to know you. The British say, How do you do? or Pleased to meet you. When Americans say Good-bye, they nearly always add, Have a good day. or Have a good

33、trip. etc. to friends or strangers. The British are already beginning to use Have a good day.The British usually use got in the sense of have. The Americans hardly ever do. For example: AmE: Do you have a car room, etc.? Yes, I do. BrE: Have you got a car, room, etc? Yes, I have.There are a number o

34、f differences between American English and British English in the spelling of words, e.g. check (US) / cheque (UK). Many American words end in or, e.g. honor, labor. Many verbs in American English end with ize or izing forms, e.g. organize, realizing. Such words are spelt in BrE with ise or ising, e

35、.g. organise, realising. In American English, practice is used both for the verb and noun. In BrE. the verb is spelt practise, and the noun practice. In American English, one writes, traveler, while in British English, one writes traveller. It was once predicted that British and American English wou

36、ld become separate languages finally. But the opposite has happened. The links between the two countries are so strong that linguistically and probably culturally too, they are closer together than ever. (290 words)Helper:creepkri:p into开始发生于；溜进 predict预测 opposite相反的 link 联系 linguistically ligwistik

37、li语言上 culturally 文化上的 Brief Introduction:美国和英国使用的虽然都是英语，但是差别是存在的。首先美国人和英国人在问候语的使用上不一样，再者使用have的用法也不一样，而且单词拼写的也有许多不同。曾经有人预测说英国英语和美国英语最终会成为各自独立的语言，但是相反的情况出现了。两个国家的关系如此密切，结果他们的语言和文化上的联系也就更密切了，他们的关系比以前的任何时候都密切。 Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1. The Americans hardly say_. A. Good-bye. Have a good day!

38、B. Glad to meet you. C. Hi D. Have you got a car?2. What does the third paragraph talk about?. A. There are lots of differences in spelling between AmE and BrE. B. Why do the Americans and the British use different spellings? C. There are few differences in spelling between AmE and BrE. D. The diffe

39、rent usages of words in AmE and BrE.3. According to this passage, which of the following is NOT true? A. In American English we use check while in British English we use cheque B. Many American words end in or, such as honor and labor C. In American English, the word practice is used not only as nou

40、n but also as verb. D. In American English, one uses traveller, and in British English one uses “traveler”.Keys and Explanations:1-3 DAD1. 选D。细节理解题。根据第二段的The British usually use got in the sense of have. The Americans hardly ever do.知道美国人用have通常不加got，而英国常用have got。2. 选A。主旨大意题。根据本段的第一句话There are a number of differences between American English and British English in the spelling of words知道在单词拼写上英美有所不同，本句是主题句，接着后面具体列举说明。3. 选D。细节理解题。D答案的说法反了，traveller是英国英语，traveler才是美国英语。故选D。