Question

American and British people both speak English of course．But sometimes it does not seem like the same language．In fact, there are some important differences between British English and American English．

1.Often, Americans don’t say each word separately．They say several words together．Americans may say “I dunno” instead of “I don’t know”．Or they may say “Whaddya say?” instead of “What did you say?” However, the British are more careful in their speech．They usually say all the words and keep them separate．

Sound is not only the difference between British English and American English．Words sometimes have different meanings too．2. Americans drive trucks, but in England people drive lorries．

3.In England, if you are going to telephone your friends, you “phone them up”．In America, you “give them a call”．

There are also some differences in grammar．For example, Americans usually use the helping verb “do” when they ask a question．They say “Do you have a storybook?” But the British often leave out the helping verb．4.

Most languages are like this．Languages change over time．When people live in separate places, the languages change in different ways．This is what has happened to English．5.Many people in Canada speak French but their French is very different from the French of France．

A. English is widely used in China．

B. It can also happen to other languages, such as French．

C. For example, the vocabulary for cars and driving is very different.

D. They say “Have you a storybook?”

E. English in these two counties is different only in sound.

F. First of all, they sound very different．

G. Many expressions are also different in the two countries．

Answer

1.F

2.C

3.G

4.D

5.B

【解析】

美国人和英国人都说英语，但有的时候似乎说的不是相同的语言，本文简述了英式英语和美式英语之间的重要的不同之处。

1.句意：首先，它们听起来非常不同。第一段是总起段，说了英式英语和美式英语中有很多重要的不同之处，这里是开始说不同之处，本段讲了美国人不分开讲每个词，这是关于发音的，也就是听起来不一样，故选F。

2.句意：例如，汽车和驾驶的词汇非常不同。空格后面原文“Americans drive trucks, but in England people drive lorries．”（美国人开卡车，英国人开卡车），这里两个卡车的单词不一样，说明关于汽车和驾驶的词汇是不同的，故选C。

3.句意：这两个国家的许多表达方式也不同。后文举了例子，在英国打电话的时候是说“phone them up”（给他们打个电话），而在美国是说“give them a call”，说明许多短语、表达方式是不一样的，故选G。

4.句意：他们说“你有故事书吗？”前句说“the British often leave out the helping verb”（英国人经常会把助动词删掉），所以他们可能会说的句子是“Have you a storybook”（你有故事书吗），故选D。

5.句意：它也可能发生在其他语言中，例如法语。空格后原文“Many people in Canada speak French but their French is very different from the French of France．”（加拿大的许多人讲法语，但他们的法语与法国的法语非常不同。），这是在引述法语的例子，说明在其他语言中也有类似英语的情况，故选B。