Question

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with people from around the world. This means that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed and the dialect （方言）of London became the standard. In 1604, the first English dictionary was published.
The numbers of words in Early Modern English and Late Modern English differ. Late Modern English has a lot more words because of two main factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution created a need for new words; secondly, 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 resulted in the creation of American English. Some English pronunciation 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 the British call “ Americanisms” are in fact original （原先的）British expressions that were preserved (保存) in the colonies but were lost in Britain. Spanish also had an influence on American English, with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English. French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today, American English is the most influential(有影響力的). But there are many other kinds of English around the world, including Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English , Indian English and Caribbean English. They have differences.
【小題1】What can we know from Paragraph 1?

A．The dialect of London became the standard in the year 1604.

B．Vowels were pronounced longer towards the end of Middle English

C．The first English dictionary was published in the early 17th century.

D．Many new words entered English because many people moved to Britain.

【小題2】From Paragraph 2, we know that the Industrial Revolution __________.

A．required spelling and grammar to be fixed

B．required a greater number of English words

C．caused many old English words to be useless

D．led to the English colonization of North America.

【小題3】The underlined word “froze” in Paragraph 3 shows that some English words in America___________.

A．became longer	B．greatly changed
C．a little changed	D．stayed as they were

【小題4】What will the paragraph following this passage most probably discuss?

A．The development of Modern English

B．How the English vocabulary became larger

C．Differences among the different kinds of English

D．Differences between Middle English and Modern English

Answer 1

【小題1】C
【小題2】B
【小題3】D
【小題4】C

解析試題分析：這篇文章講述了從中世紀末開始，英語人開始和全世界的人類接觸，英語發(fā)生了很大的變化，隨著英國人在北美建立了殖民地，逐漸就產生了美式英語，如今，全世界范圍有著很多不同種類的英語。
【小題1】細節(jié)判斷題。根據(jù)文章可知，16世紀開始，英國人開始和全世界的人接觸，這樣就會有很多的新單詞進入英語，1604年，第一本英語字典出版了。文章并沒有說在1604年，倫敦方言變得標準了。故選C
【小題2】細節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章firstly, the Industrial Revolution created a need for new words;可知，工業(yè)革命引起了對新單詞的需求。故選 B
【小題3】推斷題。根據(jù)文章Some English pronunciation and words froze when they reached America.可知，當英國人到達美洲時，一些英語發(fā)音和單詞被繼承了下來。故選D
【小題4】推斷題。文章最后一段講述的是如今全球有著很多種類的英語，他們之間都是有區(qū)別的，接下來的話就會具體講述不同英語之間的區(qū)別。故選C
考點：社會歷史類說明文
點評：高考中對科普類題目會有所涉獵，是屬于比較難的題型，平時的練習中要注意積累此類題型的答題方法。本文圍繞英語發(fā)展的歷史進行說明，解答此類型的文章，首先對文章的寫作線索有個掌握，對于諸如細節(jié)題較多的題目，結合題目的關鍵字在文章中準確定位，找出正確的答案。