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Although the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have English as an official language, the United States does not have an official language. This is how it’s possible to become a US citizen without speaking English. Canada also has French as an official language, though it is mostly spoken in the province of Quebec. Because many of the English speakers who originally inhabited (居住) Canada came from the US, there is little difference in the American and Canadian dialects of English. Similarly, Australian and New Zealand English have few differences, except Australia was originally settled as a penal colony (流放地) and New Zealand was not.

British colonialism has spread English all over the world, and it still holds prestige (影响力) in South Africa, India, and Singapore, among other nations. In South Africa, English became an official language, along with Afrikaans and 9 African languages, in the 1996 constitution (宪法). However, only 3% of the country’s 30 million people are native English speakers. Twenty percent are descendants (后代) of Dutch farmers who speak Afrikaans, and the rest are native Africans.

India became independent from Britain in 1947, and the English language was supposed to be phased out (淘汰) by 1965. However, today English and Hindi are the official languages. Indian English is characterized (具有…的特征) by treating mass nouns as count nouns, frequent use of the “isn’t it?” tag, use of more compounds, and a different use of prepositions. In Singapore, Chinese, Malay and Indian languages have an effect on the form of English spoken. Everyone is taught English in the school system, but there are a few differences from British English as well. Mass nouns are treated as count nouns, “use to” means usually, and no articles (冠词) are used before occupations (职业).

1.Why can people become a US citizen without speaking English?

A.Different languages are spoken in the US.

B.The US doesn’t have an official language.

C.They can speak their own language there.

D.They can learn English there.

2.Compared with Australian English, the English spoken by New Zealanders      .

A.is closer to American English B.is a kind of old English

C.is very similar in many ways D.is different from British English

3.What do we know about South Africa?

A.It has 11 different official languages.

B.English is its only official language.

C.20 percent of its people are native English speakers.

D.English is becoming less important there.

4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A.The Indians are poor with English grammar.

B.Singaporean English is similar to Indian English.

C.People in Singapore tend to misuse count nouns.

D.English is a required subject in Singaporean schools.

高一英语阅读理解中等难度题

少年,再来一题如何?
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