首页 职称英语 概括大意与完成句子 第课时 PASSAGE 9 How did English Become a Global Language1.The rise of English is a remarkable tale as Professor David Crystal reminds us in his attractive, short book “English has a Global language.“2. It is certainly quite a theme. When Julius Caesar landed in Britain more than 2,000 years ago, English did not exist. Five hundred years later, English, virtually incomprehensible to modern ears, was probably spoken by about as few people as currently speak Cherokee, the language of a small North American Indian tribe-and with little influence. About 1,000 years later, at the end of the 16th century, and after the Norman Conquest, the Reformation and the arrival of commercial printing technology, English was the native speech of between 5 million and 7 million people. And yet now look at it. As the second millennium approaches, English is more widely scattered, more widely spoken and written than any other language has never been. In the title of the book, it has become a truly global language. According to David Crystal, about 2.09 billion people, well over one-third of the worlds population are routinely exposed to it.3. As he rightly points out, what is impressive about this staggering figure is: “not so much the grand total but the speed with which expansion has taken place since the 1950s. In 1950, the case for English as a world language would have been no more than plausible. Fifty years on and the case is virtually won. “4. So what happened?5. Someone once said that a language is a dialect with an army and a navy. In other words, when the British navy set out to conquer the world, is set out an “army“ of English speakers. As the British empire spread throughout the world, English became the basis of law, commerce and education. The British empire was succeed by another(the American), which shared virtually the same linguistic heritage. American English, which has become the rocket-fuel of the English language, has magically found its way into areas undreamed of 40, let alone 400 years ago.6 The most valuable part of Crystals study is the section devoted to a speedy analysis of the cultural basis of this global reach, notably the influence of broadcasting, press, advertising, popular music and film. He is also up-to-date and informative in his identification of the World-Wide-Web as a powerful reinforcer of American cultural and linguistic dominance.7. One of his most interesting passages concerns the role played by the League of Nations, and later the Untied Nations, in spreading English as an international language in the aftermath of the two world wars.8. What does the future hold? To this question, Crystal proposes the recognition of a new form of English-WSSE(world standard Spoken English)-which almost by definition rules out the possibility that English would fragment into mutually unintelligible language as Latin once did. “English, in some shape or form, will find itself in the service of the world community forever,“ Crystal writes. 1. Paragraph 2_2. Paragraph 3_3. Paragraph 5_4. Paragraph 6_A The figure of EnglishB The speed of the spread of EnglishC The role played by culture and the netD The role played by military expansionE The role played by educationF The 2,000 years of English5. The kind of English spoken 1,500 years ago was so different from the English we speak today_.6. What impresses people most is not the interesting number of speakers of English found all over the world, _ the language has spread in the past half century or so.7. The two international organizations founded after the two world wars made their contributions_.8. Crystal expresses the belief that in the future _ will not happen to English.A because of their similarityB that we would not be able to understand it at allC to the popularization of English as a world languageD the trend to become a global languageE what once happened to LatinF but the speed with whichKeys: FBDCB FCEPASSAGE 10 Singapore1 Singapore is an independent city-state in southeastern Asia, consisting of one major island -the Singapore island-and more than 50 small islands, located off the southern tip of Malay. The city of Singapore, the capital of the country, is at the southeastern end of the Singapore Island; it is one of the most important port cities and commercial centers of Southeast Asia. The total area of the republic is 640 sq.km.2 Low-lying Singapore Island has no outstanding relief(轮廓鲜明的) features. A central area of hills rises to the maximum height of 176m. The country has a wet tropical climate, with an average annual temperature of 27.20C. The average annual rainfall is 2.413 mm, the wettest months are November through January.3 Singapore is governed under a constitution of 1959. A president, elected to a four-year term, is head of state, and a prime minister is head of government. The president used to be selected by Parliament, but by 1991 constitutional amendment (修正案), the pres