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 l066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of Eng-land 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, modern 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.The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before l066 were      

A.Welsh and Scottish B.Nordic and Germanic

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

2.Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?

A.president, Lawyer, beef B.president, bread, water

C.bread, field, sheep D.folk, field, cow

3.Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?

A.Most advertisements in France appear in English.

B.They know little of the history of the English language.

C.Many French words are similar to English ones.

D.They know French better than German.

4.What is the subject discussed in the text?

A.The history of Great Britain.

B.The similarity between English and French.

C.The rule of England by William the Conqueror.

D.The French influences on the English language.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇议论文。如果让你列举那些对应于做出最大贡献的人，你一定会得到类似莎士比亚，塞缪尔约翰逊这样的答案，但实际上，没有任何人的对英语的影响力能够超过征服者威廉。在1066年以前，我们现在称为英国的土地上存在两种主要语言，一种是凯尔特语，另一种是古英语。而后来由于威廉的雄心，使得古英语成为英国的主要语言，而法语也成为对英语影响颇深的语言。

1.细节理解题。根据第二段第二句“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.”在中西地区住着威尔士人，他们说凯尔特语，在南部居住着苏格兰人，他们的语言不同于威尔士人的语言，但也是凯尔特语。由此可知一大主要语言为凯尔特语。根据第二段第三句“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. ”在国家的其余地方居住着撒克逊人，他们是英国人、撒克逊人、德国人、日耳曼人的混合，他们讲的语言是英格兰语（即古英语）。可知另一大分支为古英语。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段中“As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German.”结果导致，英语中关于政治和法律的词来源于法语而不是德语。“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.”我们甚至在食物尤其是肉食上有不同的词，这取决于它是长在田野里，还是在家煮着吃，事实证明，撒克逊农民在耕作而上层社会的诺曼人在大部分食物上贡献更多。由此可见，有关政治、法律以及家中煮着的食物最可能来源于法国，故选A。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段第一句“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”当美国人到欧洲旅游时，他们经常发现德语比法语更像外国语，以为在德国，他们看见的标签和广告语看起来比法语更与英语不同。所以可知，许多法语词汇和英语很像。故选C。

4.主旨大意题。文章开篇即抛出问题：谁对英语的影响最大，接着给出答案：征服者威廉。可见文章即将讨论的问题就是他对英语的影响。接下来，作者介绍了1066年以前的英国语言由两大派系组成，而之后由于威廉的雄心，才使得古英语成为英国的主要语言，而法语也成为对英语影响颇深的语言。故选D。