Question

British English may have come first, but around the world, the American way of spelling is now far more popular.

A recent examination of the English language shows that publications now largely use the American version swapping words like “centre” for “center” after the 1880s. To get data, researchers used Google’s Ngram Viewer to analyze the words found in all English-language publications from 1800 to 2000. Entering a word into the viewer will show how frequently it occurs within the massive corpus(语料库)of books around the world.

According to the data, this shift was further strengthened around World War I. Since then, English-language publications have preferred “gray” and “flavor” instead of “grey” and “flavour”. The American spelling has continued to grow over the years, with “liter” passing “liter” around 1900, and “center” becoming the more common choice over “centre” in 1913. “1913 marked a turning point in British spelling, as the American alternative became more frequently used in literature,” the post explains, in regard to “center”. This was just a year before the beginning of World War I, which many views as a key period in America’s rise to superpower status.

Though this switched again between 1920s and the late 1930s, the American, spelling took over for good around 1940, during which time the spelling “airplane” shifted dramatically over “aeroplane”.

Ever since the middle of the 19th century, even the British Isles have slowly rejected the old spelling. The future is gray for British English.

1.Which of the following is true?

A. American spelling takes over all the time

B. British people refuse to use American spelling

C. All the media prefer American spelling

D. The change in spelling is more obvious around World War I

2.What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?

A. The popularity of American spelling

B. The examples of the change in spelling

C. The history of English spelling

D. The reason for the change in English spelling

3.The passage is developed _______.

A. by space    B. by time

C. by process    D. by logic

4.The passage is written to _____.

A. introduce the change of English spelling

B. encourage the change in English spelling

C. compare the difference between American spelling and British spelling

D. introduce different views on English spelling

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.A

【解析】本文介绍英语拼写的变化。

1.D

细节理解题。根据第三段第一句According to the data, this shift was further strengthened around World War I.可知在第一次世界大战时拼写变化更明显。D为正确答案。

2.A

段落大意题。根据第二段第一句A recent examination of the English language shows that publications now largely use the American version swapping words like “centre” for “center” after the 1880s.可知本段讲的是美国拼法的普及。答案为A。

3.B

推理判断题。纵观全文，文章的发展是按着时间进行的，B项正确。

4.A

目的意图题。根据文章第一段British English may have come first, but around the world, the American way of spelling is now far more popular.和最后一段Ever since the middle of the 19th century, even the British Isles have slowly rejected the old spelling. The future is gray for British English.可知本文介绍英语拼写的变化。答案为A。