Not all English is the sameTo many learners o...

Not all English is the same

To many learners of English, it’s easy to think that all native speakers have no trouble communicating with one another.

1.

Well, it turns out that being a native English speaker from one country doesn’t mean that you’re able to perfectly understand a native English speaker from another country, and vice versa (反之亦然)

Take the UK and the US for example.

As a Briton, I grew up hearing American accents alongside British ones – on TV shows, movies and in songs.2. and how they would eat “cookies” instead of “biscuits”.　 And it took me a while to figure out that the “trunk” (n. 后备箱) of a car is what us Britons call its “boot”.

The confusion didn’t stop at just vocabulary –3. For example, when talking about shopping malls, Americans pronounce it “mawl” instead of “mal”. And for some reason that’s hard for Britons to understand, Americans remove the “H” sound from “herb”, pronouncing it “erb”.

These small differences may not change much in a day-to-day conversation between a Briton and an American.4. Recently, for example, an American friend told me that she liked my pants. “You can see them?” I asked, shocked. Pants means “underpants” to most British people, which explains my horror.

5. In the US, for example, a “bum” is a homeless person, while the same word in the UK is used to describe one’s backside（n.臀部）.

And, more amusingly, “trump” was only ever really used as a verb in the UK – meaning “to pass gas” – until the US’ current president came into the spotlight.

But as long as you can speak one version of English, it’s easy enough to understand any other – and any confusion just makes your day more interesting.

A. English is changing as it spreads around the world.

B. After all, English is English, isn’t it?

C. I soon noticed how Americans would put “gas” in their cars instead of “petrol” .

D. However, confusion can still happen every now and then.

E. There are different words that mean the difficult thing.

F. Some words can even be offensive (adj.无礼的) without you realizing it.

G. I discovered that many words are even pronounced differently.

高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析

Many foreigners who have not visited Britain call all the inhabitants(居民) English, for they are used to thinking of the British Isles as England. In fact, the British Isles contain a variety of peoples and only the people of England call themselves English. The others refer to themselves as Welsh, Scottish, or Irish, as the case may be; they are often slightly annoyed(苦恼) at being classified as 'English'.

In Scotland the sound denoted by the letter 'R' is generally a strong sound, and 'R' is often pronounced in words in which it would be silent in southern English. In the Highlands and the Western Isles the ancient Scottish language, Gaelic, is still heard. The Scots are said to be a serious, cautious, thrifty(节约的) people, rather inventive(善于创造的) and somewhat mystical. All the Celtic peoples of Britain (the Welsh, the Irish, the Scots) are often described as being more 'fiery(暴躁的)' than the English. They are often of a race that is quite different from the English.

The Welsh have protected their language to a remarkable extent. The English generally look upon the Welsh as an emotional(易动感情的) people who are, however, somewhat difficult to get to know easily.

Ireland is divided into two parts. The six countries of Northern Ireland are still part of Great Britain, though, in normal circumstances(环境), they have their own Parliament. The Irish are known for their charm and vivacity(活泼), as well as for the beauty of the Irish girls. Irish, often calls Erse, is a form of Gaelic. It was in danger of dying out, but when the territory(地域) of the Republic became independent, Erse was received, and is now the official first language of the Republic, English being the second. The Irish are known for their charm and vivacity, as well as for the beauty of the Irish girls.

1.Why do many foreigners call the inhabitants English?

2.Today we still can hear Gaelic--the ancient Scottish language in __________.

3. According to the passage, which of the statements is TRUE?

4.Irish is a form of ________, and is now the official ______ language of the Republic.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

阅读理解D

The deserts of the world are not all covered with sand. Many of them have surfaces of rock or clay(黏土) or small stones. They are not flat, either. They often have high hills and deep valleys. There is some plants’ life in many parts of the desert. There is little rain in the desert, but it does fall often enough for most plants.

The deserts of the world are not uninhabited(无人居住的). People also live outside oases(绿洲), but these people are not farmers. They have camels, goats, donkeys, sheep, etc. These animals can live on the desert plants and do not need much water.

The people of the desert have to move constantly from place to place, they must always look for grass or desert plants for their animals. They usually live in tents. When there is no more food for their animals, they fold up their tents, put them on their camels and donkeys, and move to another place. In good years, when there is enough food for their animals, they trade their skins and their goats and camel hairs with the people of oases for wheat and fruit. But in bad years, when there is not enough food for their animals, the people of the desert would attack the oases people. But they are also hospitable, no man in the desert would ever refuse to give a stranger food and water.

【小题１】According to the passage, deserts are mostly made up of ________.

A. clay         B. rock             C. stones       D. sand

【小题１】The underlined word “hospitable” has the meaning of being ________.

A. kind         B. brave                C. cruel            D. strange

【小题１】 In the desert ________.

A. It rains in spring only.         B. it rains for a short time every month

C. the rainfall is just enough for the plants

D. there is some rain, but far from enough

【小题１】People live ______.

A. only inside the oases                B. both inside and outside the oases

C. only outside the oases               D. in places with regular rainfalls.

高二英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

There are so many expressions in American English that sound good but are not.

“Face the music” is a good example. When someone says they have to face the music, it does not mean they are going to a musical show or concert. To face the music means to accept the bad results of an action.

Imagine a friend asks you to take care of her beautiful red sports car. She gives you the keys and says, “Thanks so much for watching my car while I’m away. But please do not drive it. It is a very fast car and you are not on the insurance (保险).”

But you do not listen. You want to show it to some friends and pretend (假装) the car is yours. So, you drive it around town one night. As bad luck would have it you lose control of the car and drive it into a stop sign. The damage is serious. When your friend returns you must tell her what you have done and “face the music”.

The “music” here is the result of your actions. It could be losing her friendship or paying for repairs to her sports car or both. Whatever the music is, you must face it.

There are other American expressions that mean the same as “face the music”.

To “take your medicine” means to accept the results from something bad you have done. And if someone says, “You made your bed. Now lie in it.” He means you created a bad situation and now you will experience the results, or as we say in American spoken English, you must deal with it!

“Pay the piper” also means the same as “face the music”. But, that expression has its own very interesting beginning. We will talk about that in the next Words and Their Stories.

1.What’s the main idea of this text?

A.To invite a friend to go to a musical performance.

B.To tell people how to deal with a bad situation.

C.To give people a lesson on an action.

D.To introduce some expressions.

2.Which action belongs to “take your medicine”?

A.You broke the traffic rules and caused an accident.

B.You worked hard but failed in the exam.

C.You caught a cold and took some medicine.

D.You moved to a new city and lost touch with your old friends.

3.What may the next programme talk about?

A.Other words and their stories.

B.The beginning of “pay the piper”.

C.The wider use of “face the music”.

D.An example of “take your medicine”.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。

1.Who is the speaker talking to?

A. Tourists.　　 B. English learners.　　 C. Customers.

2.What can people do in Kramer's Books & Afterwards Café?

A. Read books.　　 B. Hear jokes.　　 C. Learn English.

3.What is American Café?

A. A famous café.　　 B. A radio show.　　 C. A fun fair.

4.What makes Kramer's Books & Afterwards Café a success?

A. What it offers.　　 B. How it operates.　　 C. Where it lies.

高二英语短文中等难度题查看答案及解析

With the development of society, it is common that many people are rushing all the way and all day, tired and sub-healthy.1. She described all the things she had to do--- one was to make her bed ---from the moment she woke up until she flew out of the door for work. I suggested she experiment by not making her bed for two weeks. She was shocked, probably thinking I’d been brought up by wolves in a forest.2.

Two weeks later she went into my office merrily. She had left her bed unmade for the first time in 42 years--- and nothing bad had happened. “And you know what?” she said. “I don’t dry my dishes anymore, either.”

3. One was discovering that she had choices in her life that she had never seen before. The other was giving herself permission to be less than perfect. This story shows an important principle about managing time: no one can do it all. Each of us has to make choices and accept trade-offs(利弊权衡). The problem is that many people choose in ways that put themselves and their health last. They take better care of their houses and cars than they do of themselves.4.

So what is the solution? There’s an easy way. Decide what　 you want in your life, and put that first. On a daily basis, that should include regular meals, enough sleep and time with your family. Exercise, leisure, friendships and hobbies should also be regular aspects of life. 5. The choice is yours: whatever makes you feel good about yourself and your life. Take a nap. Take a walk. Take time to play the piano. Stop bringing your briefcase home from the office. Stop keeping your house as clean as your mother kept hers. Fill more of your time with want-to-dos instead of have-to-dos.

A. Most people do not take time to relax themselves.

B. The point is to do something for yourself every day.

C. This woman had made two major breakthroughs.

D. A patient came to see me about the stress in her life.

E. Above all, you needn’t do anything for yourself regularly

F.They put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own.

G. However, she went along with my idea.

高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析

Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish, ______ race, religion, gender, or any social makers of difference.

A. apart from　　　　 　　 B. according to

C. regardless of　　　　 D. thanks to

高二英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

With the development of society，it is common that many people are rushing all the way and all day，tired and subhealthy． 1. She described all the things she had to do—one was to make her bed—from the moment she woke up until she flew out of the door for work．I suggested she experiment by not making her bed for two weeks．She was shocked，probably thinking I’d been brought up by wolves in a forest．2.

Two weeks later she went into my office merrily．She had left her bed unmade for the first time in 42 years—and nothing bad had happened．“And you know what?”she said．“I don’t dry my dishes anymore，either．”

3. One was discovering that she had choices in her life that she had never seen before．The other was giving herself permission to be less than perfect．This story shows an important principle about managing time：No one can do it a11．Each of us has to make choices and accept trade-offs(利弊权衡)．The problem is that many people choose in ways that put themselves and their health last. They take better care of their houses and cars than they do of themselves． 4.

So what is the solution? There’s an easy way．Decide what you want in your life，and put that first．On a daily basis，that should include regular meals，enough sleep and time with your family．Exercise，leisure，friendships and hobbies should also be regular aspects of life．5.The choice is yours：whatever makes you feel good about yourself and your life．Take a nap．Take a walk．Take time to play the piano．Stop bringing your briefcase home from the office．Stop keeping your house as clean as your mother kept hers．Fill more of your time with want-to-dos instead of have-to-dos．

A．Most people do not take time to relax themselves．

B．The point is to do something for yourself every day．

C．A patient came to see me about the stress in her life．

D．This woman had made two major breakthroughs．

E．Above all，you needn’t do anything for yourself regularly．

F．They put everyone else’s needs ahead of their own．

G．However，she went along with my idea．

高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析

Of all the things we eat and drink, water is the most important. Not all people realize this, but it is quite true. The human body can live without food for a long time, but two or three days without water usually result in death.

Many people do not understand how much water the human body needs, but many people do not drink enough, especially in the hot weather. Most people drink when they are thirsty but often need more water after exercises.

65 to 70 percent of the human body is water. Water is important in several different ways. Most people need five to seven litres of water every day, but we need not drink this amount because a lot comes from the food we have. If we don’t have enough water, however, we will feel tired and many become ill. Do you know what the best drink is? Yes, you are right. Cold water!

1.Do most people drink five litres of water every day?

A. Yes, because water is the most important

B. No, because what we eat contains water

C. Yes, because we can’t live without water

D. No, because we are not thirsty

2.How much water is there in the human body?

A. About three fourths of the human body is water.

B. Nearly a half of the human body is water.

C. Less than a half of the human body is water.

D. Almost one fourth of the human body is water.

3.When do we need more water?

A. In cold weather or after exercises.

B. In hot weather or after exercises.

C. Before breakfast, lunch and supper.

D. When we feel tired or become ill.

4.Which of the following is not right?

A. Cold water is the best drink.

B. Few people understand how much water the human body needs.

C. Not all the people realize water is the most important.

D. When we feel tired or become ill, we never need any water.

高二英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

The world is a big place, and there are many, many different places you can visit. 1.

First of all, traveling allows us to escape our daily routines and expand perspectives, because seeing new places and gaining new experiences can broaden our perspectives.

Traveling is also the most valuable form of learning. 2. It helps us absorb information about other cultures. That is to say, traveling extends our knowledge of the world and lets us know the cultural diversity（多样性）.By doing so, we realize that there is not one way to live, nor is one way correct. 3.

What's more, traveling can have a direct effect on people's sense of happiness, and decrease their stress and anxiety. These improvements don't just disappear the moment travelers return to their daily lives. 4. As a result of travel, people change the way they communicate with others and learn to be more patient with others. Above all, people who frequently travel tend to be healthier and live a longer life.

5. We can escape our daily stress, expand our worldview, learn about others and ourselves, and improve our health. Many of the benefits people acquire from traveling improve the quality of their overall well-being. It is vital for people to visit different places, meet new people and discover a new way of living. Travelling helps us fully appreciate the beauty of the world and the diversity in it.

A. The improvements look likely to last.

B. Traveling has many positive effects on people.

C. In conclusion，traveling benefits people in many ways.

D. The process of traveling enriches people's knowledge.

E. We learn to accept other people and their different lifestyles.

F. Many people say that they appreciate their present lives more after traveling.

G. It's another type of new discovery and learning, and great for our soul and body.

高二英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析