Although the USA is by far the most powerful of the English-speaking
countries,English that is taught in most parts of the world is British English.
Besides,British English is the "mother"language upon which all English,written
or spoken,is based,including American English.In fact,most Americans like the
way the "English" speak.Many Americans,including some who have no British
blood in them,regard Britain culturally(文化上) as the Mother Country.
Americans read English literature(文学作品) without any difficulty at all,and
British readers of early 20th century American literature have no problems
either.But for the last fifty years the Americans have been inventing a large
number of new words and phrases,many of which have already reached the UK
and the whole English-speaking world.
　　However,there are occasional(偶尔的) misunderstandings(误会).A smart
English woman said to a smart American woman on a California beach.English
woman:It's the first time I've bathed for years.American woman(amazed):Is that
so?I can't believe it!English woman:It's true.You see,the water at home's always
so cold.American woman:But...But surely you have hot water in England?English
woman(laughs):Of course,but not in the sea!There can be similar
misunderstandings over the word "pants",though most English people know that
Americans call trousers "pant".American girl:I never wear pants.They don't
suit me.English girl:Really?Couldn't that be a bit embarrassing(难堪的)?
American girl:Embarrassing?Why?English girl:Well-that short skirt you're
wearing...American girl:Oh,my!But I wear panties(短衬裤)!In British English,
"pants"are undergarments.However,young people in Britain do sometimes say
"pants" for "trousers".

1. All the English is based on _______.

A. British English                      
B. American English
C. Canadian English  
D. Australian English

2. Which of the following sentences is NOT true?

A. Americans can read English literature easily.
B. British readers can read all the American literature with no difficulty,either.
C. Some of the English words we are learning now are from the USA.
D. There are sometimes misunderstandings between Americans and Englishmen.

3. "Pants" in American English mean "_______" in British English.

A. panties  
B. undergarments
C. underwear  
D. trousers

4.From the passage we know that "to bathe" in American English means
"_______" and means"______" in British English.

    I read yesterday (yes, on a blog) that there are now blogging competitions! I can't believe it. A man in England
won $2,000 for writing the best blog. There's even a list of the best Chinese bloggers! I've read a few of them
— before they were famous, I might add. I suppose that one blog can be better than another. It can be better
written, more interesting, funnier, and I suppose that blogs are there to be read and judged (点评) by other
people. If they're not good, they're not read. And they're not just personal feelings. If they were, they'd be called
diaries. Have locks, and be hidden under beds. So I'm OK with this whole competition thing. I just can't believe
I didn't win! 　　
    This has got me thinking about why I'm writing this blog. I'm not doing it to win a competition (or I wasn't
when I started...) and I'm not doing it to show all my personal feelings - I do that in my diary. So, why am I a
blogger? 　　
    To tell the truth, the first time I heard the word blog I thought it was a new word for a toilet. But I love
learning new words so I used my knowledge and found out that a blog was a personal website and the word
blog came from the words web log. Now a log is a type of diary kept by sailors, and web, well, we all know that
it has nothing to do with catching flies and everything to do with the Internet. Web log… weblog… blog. Being
a writer I loved the idea of getting my views onto the Internet where anyone could read them, and no editors
(编辑) could get their hands on them! 　　
    So my first reason for blogging: I'm a writer. I want people to read what I write (un - edited!). And I love
writing about anything I choose. I can write about saving the environment or complain about how the people in
front of me in the cinema always seem to have big heads. And sometimes I pour out my heart too. 　　
    My second reason is that it's relaxing. I don't have to do research and write an article. I can let my thoughts
go on as long as I like. 　　
    Third reason? To keep in touch. I'm terrible on the phone and all my friends around the world read my blog
(or they say they do...). Every now and then, I even upload a photo so they remember what I look like. 　　
    Is there a fourth reason? There probably is but now it's time for dinner. Tomorrow I might even tell you what
I ate.

1. The writer loves writing blogs mainly because ________.

A. his writing about feeling can be shown anywhere 　　
B. his writing would never be edited by others 　　
C. he enjoys writing something about big events 　　
D. he finds himself terrible on the phone

2. There're ________ reasons in the passage to explain why the writer is a blogger.

A. 2　　　
B. 3　　　
C. 4 　　　
D. 5

3. This passage is ________.

A. a blog about blogging　　　　
B. a diary about blogging 　　
C. a view on blogging 　　　　　
D. a judgement on blogging