Question

If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like "Shakespeare," "Samuel Johnson," and "Webster," but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English-William the Conqueror.

Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon(or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.

But this state of affairs did not last. In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modem English even shows a distinction(区别)between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.

When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more "foreign" than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man’s ambition.

1.Before 1066, people in Britain mainly spoke                          .

A. Welsh and Scotlish    B. Nordic and Germanic

C. Anglo-Saxon and Germanic    D. Celtic and Old English

2.How did William the Conqueror have a great effect on English?

A. By defeating the Saxons.

B. By speaking good English.

C. By teaching people in Britain to speak English.

D. By bringing French to Britain to greatly influence English.

3.Why does Americans feel France is less foreign than Germany?

A. They know French better than German.

B. They know little history of the English history.

C. In France most of the advertisements appear in English.

D. There are more similarities between English and French.

4.What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The history of Great Britain.

B. The French effects on English language.

C. The difference between English and French.

D. The great people who had effect on English.

Answer

1.D

2.D

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲了英语一开始是以德语为基础的，William the Conqueror使得英语更倾向于法语。

1.细节理解题。答案定位在第二段In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon(or Old English)可知在1066年前，英国人主要说凯尔特语和古英语，故选D。

2.细节理解题。答案定位在第三段In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants.可知William the Conqueror把法语带到英国，极大地影响了英语，故选D。

3.推理判断题。答案定位在第三段When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more "foreign" than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does.（当美国人第一次访问欧洲的时候，他们经常发现德语比法语“更外国”，因为他们在标志和广告上看到的德语，同法语相比较，与英语有更多的不同。）由此推知英语和法语有更多的相似之处，故选D。

4.主旨大意题。最后一段Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man’s ambition.是文章的主题句，结合全文内容，可知这篇文章主要讲了英语一开始是以德语为基础的，William the Conqueror使得英语更倾向于法语。这篇文章最好的题目是法语对英语的影响，故选B。