Module 1　British and American English

模块话题导读

　　想知道美式英语的发展史吗？让我们通过下面的文章一睹究竟吧！

The development of the English language in America can be divided into three periods.1.________ In this period the population in America was about four million，90 percent of whom came from Britain.The second period covers the expansion(扩张) of the original thirteen

colonies.This may be said to close with the Civil War，about 1860.This period was marked by the arrival of the new immigrants(移民) from Ireland and Germany.The third period，since the Civil War，is marked by an important change in the source from which the European immigrants came.2.________

　　American English began in the seventeenth century.At the beginning of the 17th century the English

　　language was brought to North America by colonists from England.3.________ At first the language stayed the same as the language used in Britain，but slowly the language began to change.Sometimes，the English spoken in America changed but sometimes the language spoken in the place stayed the same，while the language in England changed.

　　根据短文内容，从下面所给选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

　　A．The few differences that exist between British and American English tend to enrich communication.

　　B．They used the language spoken in England，that is，Elizabethan English.

　　C．They began to speak American English.

　　D．They came from northern and southern Europe in large numbers.

　　E．The first period is 1607 to the end of colonial(殖民地的) times.

【答案】　1－3　EDB