Question

    I did some research and examined how British English and American English changed between the 1930s and the 2000s. Take spelling, for example towards the 1960s it looked like the UK was going in the direction of not using the “u” in “colour” and writing “centre” as “center”. But since then, the British have become more confident in some of their own spellings. In the 2000s, the UK used an American spelling choice about 11% of the time while Americans use a British one about 10% of the time. There is also no need to worry too much about American words, such as “vacation”, “liquor” and “lawmaker” entering British English. There are a few examples of this kind of vocabulary change but they are mostly uncommon words and are not likely to change British English too much. The British are still using “mum” rather than “mom” and “petrol” rather than “gas”.

But when we start thinking of language more in terms of style than vocabulary or spelling, a different picture appears. Some of the bigger trends (趋势) in American English are moving towards a freer use of language. American sentences are usually one word shorter in 2006 than they were in 1931.

Americans also use a lot more apostrophes (撇号) in their writing than they used to, which has the effect of turning the two words “do not” into the single “don’t”. “The hand of the king” becomes the shorter “The king’s hand”.

However, in all these ways Brits are changing too—and in the same way as Americans. They’re just about 30 years behind the trend that Americans seem to be leading.

So this raises a question, is British English actively following American English or is this something that is simply a natural trend in language use? Perhaps the British would have gone in that direction even if America had been discovered? I'd like to agree with the second idea but because of the fact that British people learn plenty of American language through different ways, I think the first is more correct.

1.What did the British do in the 1960s?

A.They use some American spellings.

B.They built up confidence in their language.

C.They did research on language difference.

D.They went in the direction of harder spellings.

2.What does the author try to show by using examples like “petrol”?

A.British English has changed a lot.

B.Some uncommon words are used less often.

C.American words are entering British English.

D.American spelling won’t change British English too much.

3.Which of the following is a trend of American English?

A.It is using shorter words.

B.It is turning to proper grammar.

C.It is trying to make sentences simpler.

D.It is avoiding using apostrophes.

4.Which of the following is the author’s opinion about the languages?

A.American English is going the wrong way.

B.British English is following American English’s example.

C.American English is borrowing a lot from British English.

D.Languages wouldn’t change much if America was not discovered.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇议论文。文章讨论英式英语与美式英语的变化及其变化原因。

1.推理判断题。由第一段中的 Take spelling, for example—towards the 1960s it looked like the UK was going in the direction of not using the “u” in “colour” and writing “centre” as “center”（拿拼写举例，20世纪60年代，英国人开始写不带字母u的color并且将centre写成center）可知，20世纪60年代的时候英国人开始使用一些美式拼写。并且这一推断与本文主旨“英国语言的变化遵循着美国语言变化的趋势”一致，故选A。

2.推理判断题。根据第一段中There are a few examples of this kind of vocabulary change but they are mostly uncommon words and are not likely to change British English too much.（有几个例子能说明词汇的这种变化，但是它们大多是不常用的单词，不可能改变英式英语太多）可知，一些词汇的变化不会影响到英式英语的使用的，接下来就是举例说明这一点，以 petrol为例阐明不会过多地改变英式英语的使用。故选D。

3.细节理解题。由第二段末的 American sentences are on average one word shorter in 2006 than they were in1931（美国英语2006年的句子比1931年的句子平均少一个单词）及第三段中的例子可知，美式英语的句子更加简单化。故选C。

4.细节理解题。由最后一段中的 is British English actively following American English or is this something that is simply a natural trend in language use（是英国英语跟随了美国英语变化的趋势还是英国英语的变化是语言运用过程中一种自然的趋势呢？）及最后一句 I think the first is more correct（我认为前者是正确的）可知，作者认为英式英语在效仿美式英语。故选B。