1、53. Historical Background of American English美式英语的历史背景The development of the English language in America can be separated into three periods. The first period starts from the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 to the end of colonial times. In this period the population in America numbered about four mi
2、llion people, 90 percent of whom came from Britain. The second period covers the expansion of the original thirteen colonies. This time may be said to close with the Civil War, about 1860. This period was marked by the arrival of the new immigrants from Ireland and Germany. The third period, since t
3、he Civil War, is marked by an important change in the source from which the European immigrants came. They came from northern and southern Europe in large numbers.As time went on, the English language gradually changed on both sides of the Atlantic. The Americans took many words from foreign languag
4、es and invented large number of new words to meet their various needs.American English began in the seventeenth century. At the beginning of the 17th century the English language was brought to North America by colonists from England. At first the language stayed the same as the language used in Bri
5、tain, but slowly the language began to change.Following American independence, famous persons like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Webster began to consider that the country should have a language of its own. English in America has developed a character of its own, reflecting the life and the phys
6、ical and social environment of the American people. (250 words)Helper:colonial klunjl 殖民地的 reflect riflekt反映Jamestown：詹姆斯敦(圣赫勒拿岛首府 1607年英国在美洲建立的一个殖民地,在弗吉尼亚州詹姆士河的河口处 美国城市)Civil War: 美国内战(南北战争)，1861年开始，1865年结束。Thomas Jefferson：托马斯杰斐逊, 美国总统(1801-1809)John Adams：约翰亚当斯, 美国总统(1797-1801)Webster：韦伯斯特, 1758-
7、1843, 美国词典编辑家Brief Introduction:美式英语的发展大致经历了三个时期：第一个时期是从1607年詹姆斯敦的建立到殖民时代的结束；第二个时期贯穿了最初的13个殖民地扩展的全过程，直至美国内战的爆发；第三时期开始于美国内战，这一时期的重要标志是大量的来自于欧洲南部和北部的移民涌入北美大陆。美式英语源于17世纪伊莉莎白时期的英语。从十七世纪初英国殖民者踏上美国的土地到后来很长的一段时间里,美国的英语和英国的英语没有什么明显的差异。然而随着时间的推移，大西洋两岸的英语逐渐产生了不同的变化。美国人吸收了大量的他族语言，同时也创造出许多新的词汇。美国独立之后，诸如托马斯杰斐逊、约
8、翰亚当斯、诺亚韦伯斯特等的一些社会名流开始考虑美国应有自己的语言的问题。如今，美式英语已成为能反映出美国独特的社会生活特征的一种英语。 Exercises:从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1. In America, during the first period of the development of American English, there were about _people who were from Britain. A. 4 million B. 4.4 million C. 7.6 million D. 3.6 million2. The developm
9、ent of American English came to the second period when _. A. Jamestown was settled B. the colonial times ended C. the American Civil War ended D. many immigrants from northern and southern Europe arrived3. Americans borrowed foreign words and invented new words to _. A. enlarge the vocabulary of Ame
10、rican English B. make American English different from British English C. satisfy their needs in life D. communicate with foreign people more easily4. According to the author, _. A. American English has a history of about 300 years B. American English changed more than British English with time going
11、 on C. American independence marks the beginning of the third period of the development of American English D. American English hadnt developed its own character before American independence5. The last paragraph mainly tells us about _. A. the contributions made by some famous Americans to American
12、English B. the settlement of American English C. the characters of American English D. the development of American English in futureKeys and Explanations: 1-5 DBCDB1. 选D 数据推算题。第一段介绍美式英语发展第一阶段的情况中提到美国这一时期总人口大约有4百万，其中百分之九十来自英国，由此推算出来自英国的人口数目为3.6百万。2. 选B 具体信息题。依照第一中的一句话“The first period starts from the
13、 settlement of Jamestown in 1607 to the end of colonial times.”可知殖民时代的结束即意味着美式英语发展的第二个时期的到来。3. 选C 细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句话可知答案。4. 选D 推理判断题。最后一段谈到美国独立之后一些社会名流开始考虑美国应有自己的语言的问题，之后美国英语才逐渐拥有自己的特色，因此选择D项。其余各项与文中所述不相符合。5. 选B 段落大意题。最后一段主要介绍美式英语的确立，因而选B。54. English Names英国人的姓名The history of nomenclature in Britain i
14、s so old that no one knows the beginning of the story. Since written history began, people have had names. It is therefore impossible to do more than guess at how the earliest given names were chosen. Most names appear to have had some sort of original meaning, usually descriptive, rather than being
15、 simply a pleasing collection of sounds.These descriptive names developed both from nouns and adjectives. The Irish Gaelic people used descriptive nouns and adjectives which were meaningful. Early in prehistory some descriptive names began to be used again and again until they formed a name pool for
16、 that particular culture. Parents would choose names from the pool of existing names rather than invent new ones for their children.With the rise of Christianity, Christians were encouraged to name their children after the holy people of the church. These early Christian names can be found in many c
17、ultures today, in various forms. The pool of names in use in England changed basically after they came in 1066. Then French names of Germanic origin became popular within three generations. As a result names like Emma, Matilda, Richard, and William, became common in English nomenclature. At the same
18、 time a few old English names, like Edward remained because they were names of holy people or kings; others were kept because they were used with slight changes by Germanic names from the Normans like Robert.Surnames developed from bynames, which are additional ones used to differ from people with t
19、he same given name. These bynames fall into particular patterns. These bynames started out as specific to a person and were handed down from father to son between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. The noble usually used inherited surnames early and the peasants did so later. (300 words)Helper:nom
20、enclaturenumenklt命名 original ridnl 原始的 Gaelic geilik 盖尔人的prehistory史前时代 Christianity kristiniti 基督教 holy圣洁的 various各种各样的 Norman诺尔曼人 byname绰号，别名 inherit继承Brief Introduction:英国人起名字的历史源于何时已无从追溯。关于最早的名字是如何选择使用的，人们所做的只能是些猜测。大多的名字似乎都有着某种最初的描述性的意义，而并非单纯地为了好听。描述性的名字都是由名词和形容词发展而来的，如北爱尔兰的盖尔人曾选用具有丰富意义的名词或形容词来起
21、名。早在史前时期描述性的名字就开始被反复使用，从而形成了名字库。人们倾向于从名字库中选择已有的名字来给孩子命名，而不是自己为孩子创造出新的名字。随着基督教的兴起，基督徒们被鼓励使用教会里圣人的名字给孩子起名。1066年起，受到基督式名字的影响，英国人的名字库发生了根本性的变化。之后，源自日耳曼语的一些法语名字受到了英国三代人的欢迎。与此同时，一些古老的英语名字和来自于诺曼第人中间的名字仍被保留使用。英国的姓起源于别名。12世纪到16世纪间，别名作为明确一个人身份的标志出现并由父辈传承给下一代。贵族们较早地使用起继承下来的姓，后来农民们也仿效起这种做法来。 Exercises:从所给的A、B、C
22、、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。1. We can infer from the passage that_. A. people had no names before written language was invented B. names began to be used long before there was written language C. the history of nomenclature is just as long as written history D. the first given names had not any actual meanings2.
23、The underlined word they (in Paragraph 3) refers to_. A. Christian names B. names of holy people C. names of Germanic origin D. other old English names3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE? A. Names like Edward and Alfred were French, names of Germanic origin. B. Nam
24、es like Emma and William were the most popular in 1066. C. Robert is a Germanic name from the Normans. D. Names of holy people couldnt be used by others.4. Which is the right order of surname development in history? a. People used bynames to differ people with the same given names. b. People chose g
25、iven names from the pool of existing names. c. Bynames started out as specific to a person. d. Surnames became popular with common people. e. Surnames were handed down from father to son in noble families. A. b-a-e-c-d B. a-b-c-d-e C. a-b-c-e-d D. b-a-c-e-d5. In the past, _ were passed down from gen
26、eration to generation. A. descriptive names B. Christian names C. given names D. bynamesKeys and Explanations: 1-5 BACDD1. 选B。推理判断题。根据第一段前两句话可以推断出早在文字出现以前人们就开始使用名字了。2. 选A。词意理解题。第三段的前两句提到“Christian names”的出现和使用，因而第三句中的“they”所指应该就是A项的“Christian names”。3. 选C。 细节理解题。第三段的最后一句后半部分的“others were kept because they were used with slight changes by Germanic names from the Normans like Robert”可告诉我们答案。4. 选D。事实判断题。由文章后三段对英国人姓名使用发展的历史的叙述可得出此题答案。5. 选D。细节推断题。依据最后一段第三句话所提供的信息可推断出此题答案。
