精品高中英语Module 1 British and American English.docx

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1、Module 1 British and American English IntroductionRead the quotations and answer the questions.Quotations:a. We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except of course, language.Oscar Wilde, 19th century writerb. Within a century British and American English speakers will not be abl

2、e to understand each other.Henry Sweet, 19th century linguistc. America and England are two countries divided by a common language.George Bernard Shaw, 20th century writerd. It doesnt make much of a difference whether a teacher speaks British or American English.Dave Sperling, founder of Daves ESL C

3、afQuestions:1. What is the topic of the quotations? 2. Which is the most optimistic? 3. Which is the most pessimistic? 4. Which (if any) do you think are funny? 5. Which is good news for students of English? 6. Can you guess which quotations are from British people?Read the emails and say what the w

4、riters have in common. Then decide which writer is American.Hi there Mum,Everythings going well. Lessons start tomorrow for students on the exchange programmes. Ive already decided to join the theatre group. First practice is on Thursday. Good news Ive realised I understand what people say, so the a

5、ccent isnt going to be a problem.You can write to me at the school address or use my usual email address.CallumHi Mom,There was a party for exchange program students yesterday. They had it in the school theater. It was great fun. Everyone was friendly. The only problem was I didnt realise the local

6、accent would be so different, but I guess Ill learn with practice.Write me or email when you have a moment.SamanthaReading and SpeakingBritish and American EnglishWords, words, wordsBritish and American English are different in many ways. The first and most obvious way is in the vocabulary. There ar

7、e hundreds of different words which are not used on the other side of the Atlantic, or which are used with a different meaning. Some of these words are well known Americans drive automobiles down freeways and fill up with gas; the British drive cars along motorways and fill up with petrol. As a tour

8、ist, you will need to use the underground in London or the subway in New York, or maybe you will prefer to get around the town by taxi (British) or cab (American).Chips or French fries?But other words and expressions are not so well known. Americans use a flashlight, while for the British, its a tor

9、ch. The British queue up; Americans stand in line. Sometimes the same word has a slightly different meaning, which can be confusing. Chips, for example, are pieces of hot fried potato in Britain; in the States chips are very thin and are sold in packets. The British call these crisps. The chips the

10、British know and love are French fries on the other side of the Atlantic.Have or have got?There are a few differences in grammar, too. The British say Have you got .? while Americans prefer Do you have .? An American might say My friend just arrived, but a British person would say My friend has just

11、 arrived. Prepositions, too, can be different: compare on the team, on the weekend (American) with in the team, at the weekend (British). The British use prepositions where Americans sometimes omit them (Ill see you Monday; Write me soon!).Colour or color?The other two areas in which the two varieti

12、es differ are spelling and pronunciation. American spelling seems simpler: center, color and program instead of centre, colour and programme. Many factors have influenced American pronunciation since the first settlers arrived four hundred years ago. The accent, which is most similar to British Engl

13、ish, can be heard on the East Coast of the US. When the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw made the famous remark that the British and the Americans are two nations divided by a common language, he was obviously thinking about the differences. But are they really so important? After all, there is prob

14、ably as much variation of pronunciation within the two countries as between them. A Londoner has more difficulty understanding a Scotsman from Glasgow than understanding a New Yorker.Turn on the TVSome experts believe that the two varieties are moving closer together. For more than a century communi

15、cations across the Atlantic have developed steadily. Since the 1980s, with satellite TV and the Internet, it has been possible to listen to British and American English at the flick of a switch. This non-stop communication, the experts think, has made it easier for British people and Americans to un

16、derstand each other. But it has also led to lots of American words and structures passing into British English, so that some people now believe that British English will disappear.However, if you turn on CNN, the American TV network, you find newsreaders and weather forecasters all speaking with dif

17、ferent accents American, British, Australian, and even Spanish. One of the best-known faces, Monita Rajpal, was born in Hong Kong, China, and grew up speaking Chinese and Punjabi, as well as English.This international dimension suggests that in the future, there are going to be many Englishes, not j

18、ust two main varieties. But the message is Dont worry. Users of English will all be able to understand each other wherever they are.Complete the sentences with the correct words or phrases.1. There are _ differences between American and British varieties of English.a fewnolots of2. Americans _ under

19、stand what the British are saying.usuallysometimesnever3. There are _ differences between British and American grammar.manynonot many4. American spelling is _ British spelling.simpler thanthe same asharder than5. For a Londoner, an American accent may be easier to understand than _.some British acce

20、ntsa Chinese accenta CNN newsreader6. Television and the Internet have made it _ for the British and Americans to understand each other.easierharderimpossibleMatch the British and American words and phrases in the box.British English American English flat ground floor holiday lift lorry petrol rubbi

21、sh torch fall sidewalk stand in line Rewrite the sentences in British English.1. We really like going on vacation in the fall. 2. You dont need to take the elevator. Our apartment is on the first floor. 3. Did you see that truck come out of the gas station? 4. Pass me a flashlight, Eddie. Ive lost m

22、y wallet.Cultural Corner The Man Who Made Spelling SimpleIn English the spelling of words does not always represent the sound. So people say /raIt/ but spell it right, or write, or even rite. Combinations of letters (like ough) may be pronounced in a number of ways. And some words just seem to have

23、too many letters.For Americans things are a little bit easier, thanks to the work of Noah Webster, a teacher who graduated from Yale University in 1778. As a young man he had fought against the British in the American War of Independence, and he felt that written English in the newly independent Uni

24、ted States should have a distinctive American look.So he began his work on American English. His first book, The Elementary Spelling Book, suggested simplifying the spelling of English words. The book was extremely popular. By the 1850s it was selling one million copies a year, making it one of the

25、most popular school books ever.Many of the suggestions were quickly adopted. Center instead of centre, program instead of programme, and flavor instead of flavour. Others, however, such as removing silent letters like the s in island or the final e in examine, were not.Webster is best known for his

26、American Dictionary of the English Language, which first appeared in 1828. It introduced lots of new American words, with information about their pronunciation and use, and, of course, the new spelling. The British criticised the dictionary, but it quickly became a standard reference book in the Sta

27、tes. Today, Websters dictionary is still the number one dictionary for American students.Grammar Match the sentences with the correct meanings.1. The British say Have you got .? while Americans prefer Do you have .? 2. Many factors have influenced American pronunciation. 3. Some experts believe that

28、 the two varieties are moving closer together. 4. Some people now believe that British English will disappear. 5. In the future, there are going to be many Englishes. 6. Look! The man is filling his automobile with gas. a. a changing situation b. an event which is happening now or around now c. a po

29、ssible future d. a certain future e. past events which have an effect on the present f. an everyday eventComplete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs.1. All languages (change) over a period of time. 2. English (develop) very rapidly. 3. How many people (speak) Chinese? 4. I (not think)

30、American English is very different from British English. 5. Millions of people (watch) satellite TV every day. 6. The percentage of non-English web pages (grow). 7. What languages people (study) in China? 8. What you (study) this year?Complete the sentences with since or for.1. English grammar has n

31、ot changed much the time of Shakespeare. 2. The American spelling system has existed about 200 years. 3. I have been studying English I was in primary school. 4. We have an American teacher. He has been here January. 5. CNN has been on the air more than twenty years. 6. Monita Rajpal has worked for

32、CNN the year 2000.Complete the sentences with the correct verb forms.1. What _ you _ tonight? Can you let me know?do, dowill, doare, doing2. Lets watch the news on CNN. It _ at eight oclock.will startis startingstarts3. The prime minister _ an important announcement at the moment.is makingwill makei

33、s going to make4. Many of the worlds languages _ in the next hundred years.are disappearingwill disappeardisappear5. One day there _ easier ways of learning a foreign language.will beare going to beare6. I _ linguistics when I go to university.am studyingam going to studystudyVocabulary and Listenin

34、g Think about problems exchange students have. Number them in order of importance.(The answers are open. The answers given here are not the only ones. Check and discuss with someone else.)1. understanding the language 2. getting on with people 3. food 4. different school subjects and timetable 5. lo

35、cal customs 6. climate Complete the passage with the words in the box.ask; exist; happen; give; live; speak; think Hello, and welcome to todays edition of In the air. As you know, every week on this programme we discuss an aspect of the way we now, and todays topic is the language we English. So tha

36、ts something which affects us all. The question is, whats going to to the way we speak English in the future? Are we all going to speak like Americans? Or will British English still ? Later on were going to you to phone in and your views on the subject, but first were going to to two young people, o

37、ne American, and one British, who have spent time on an educational exchange in the others country, because we perhaps they would have some interesting ideas on the subject.Listen to the interviews and answer the questions.1. Who found the local accent difficult to understand? 2. Who didnt find the

38、local accent difficult to understand? 3. Who gets on well with the other students? 4. Who played in a school sports team? 5. Who discovered a lively music scene? 6. Who enjoyed the end-of-year dance? 7. Who thinks everyone will speak American English one day? 8. Who thinks its only natural that ther

39、e are lots of varieties of English?Listen and answer the questions.1. Which part of the country is Samantha staying in? 2. How long did it take her to understand what people were saying? 3. What did she notice about the pronunciation of words like dance and bath? 4. What is the last question the int

40、erviewer asked Samantha? 5. How long did Callum spend in the US? 6. What didnt he like about the place he stayed in? 7. What did he say about the way people spoke? 8. What did girls like about Callum?Everyday EnglishComplete the sentences with the correct phrases.1. How are you getting on? is a ques

41、tion about _ .what Samantha is doingSamanthas health2. I didnt get what people were saying means _ .I didnt like itI didnt understand it3. When Samantha got used to the accent she _ .used it when she spoke Englishbegan to understand it4. So far means _ .until nowfor a long time5. Thats a good point

42、means _ .I agree with youwhat you say is interesting6. The girls in Callums school made a fuss of him by _ .showing a lot of interest in himlaughing at him7. A cute accent is _ .attractivehorrible8. A couple of means _ .two or threetwo9. If Callum picked up the local accent he _ .wasnt able to use i

43、tstarted to use it10. If Callums American accent has worn off, it has _ .become very noticeabledisappearedFunctionUnderline the words which introduce reasons.1. I like Leeds because theres more going on here than back home in the States. 2. Since English is spoken all over the world, there are lots

44、of varieties. 3. As I was the only British person in the school, they made a fuss of me. 4. Im getting on just fine, now that I understand the local accent.Now answer the questions.a. Which word do we use more often to introduce a reason? b. Which expression shows that a situation has changed? c. Wh

45、ich two words often come at the beginning of a sentence?Complete the sentences with because, since / as or now that.1. It is useful to learn English it is spoken all over the world. 2. they see lots of American films, the British are used to American accents. 3. Americans like the British accent they think it is cute. 4. Its easier to compare British and American English we have the Internet.