Question

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels (元音) being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact (接触) with many people from around the world. This meant that lots of new vocabulary entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary came out.

Early Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words. Late Modern English has many more words, mainly because of the following two reasons: First, the Industrial Revolution (工业革命) led to the need for new words. Second, 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 led to American English. Some English pronunciations 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 are called “American English” are in fact from British expressions. They were kept in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain. Spanish also had an influence (影响) on American English. For example, words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante are from Spanish. They entered English by the people of Spain who settled in the American West. French words and West African words also influenced American English.

Today, American English has a greater influence, because of the USA’s movies, television, popular music, trade and technology.

1.The main difference between Early and Late Modern English lies in _____.

A. vocabulary        B. pronunciation

C. spelling          D. grammar

2. What helped to increase the vocabulary of Late Modern English?

a. the invention of printing

b. the Industrial Revolution

c. the colonization

d. the contact with other countries

A. a, b, c         B. a, c, d

C. a, b, d         D. b, c, d

3.From the passage, we can learn the word “canyon” is from _____.

A. American dialect   B. African dialect

C. Spanish            D. French

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要介绍了英语的一些历史，印刷术等的发明使英语的语法等逐渐确定下来，英国的工业革命和殖民让英语增加了很多新的词汇和收入了很多外来词汇，西班牙语等对美式英语发展影响很大，如今，美式英语影响更广泛。

1. Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words.可以发现早期现代英语与晚期现代英语的主要区别是词汇。故选A。

2. invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print……可以看出印刷术的发明使得书面语流行起来，并未增加英语词汇。第二自然段讲了英国的工业革命和全球的殖民增加了英语的词汇。倒数第二自然段介绍了英语吸收了很多国家的词汇。故选D。

3. also had an influence (影响) on American English. For example, words like canyon, ranch.可知:西班牙语也影响了美式英语,例如,像canyon, ranch这些词来自西班牙。故选C。

考点：考查科普文阅读