The English language we know today is about six hundred years old. For half that time, English was just the language of the people living in England. The modem English language grew from about the year 1400. Now English is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is one of the working languages at International meetings, business, science and in other fields.

The differences between American English and British English are not very great. Written English is more or less the same in both Britain and America, though there are some spelling differences. For example, centre, license, color and traveled are spelt center, license, color and traveled in American English. In America, "cock, rubber, ill, holiday, lorry, and post... " are called "rooster, eraser, sick, vacation, truck, mail... ". But people from the two countries can still understand each other easily.

     There are only a very small number of differences in grammar between American English and British English. The most important differences are in spoken English. Some words may have two kinds of pronunciations. You may wonder "Which is correct?" The answer is that it doesn't matter. But you should speak either American English or British English. Don't try to speak both at the same time!

1. When did the modem English language begin to grow?

2. Is English the only working language at International meetings?

3. What is the word "color" spelt in British English?

4. What is the word "ill" called in American English?

5. How many differences are there in grammar between American English and British English?

阅读理解

　　The English language we know today is about six hundred years old. For half that time, English was just the language of the English living in England. The modern English language grew by about the year 1400. Many words were borrowed from French and German.

　　As people from Europe traveled outside Europe, European languages began to be used in other parts of the world. At first, the languages stayed the same as those in Europe, but slowly they began to grow apart.

　　Today, the differences between American English and British English are not very great. Written English is more or less the same in both Britain and America, though there are some spelling differences. But people from the two countries can understand each other easily.

1．From the passage we've learnt something about ________.

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A．the development of the English language.

B．the beauty of the English language

C．the difference between English and modern English

D．the difference between American English and British English

2．The English language after the beginning of ________ century is called the ________ English.

[　　]

3．Many English words come from ________.

[　　]

4．European languages used outside Europe ________.

[　　]

5．People from England and America can understand each other easily because ________.

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A．they are good friends

B．they are kind to each other

C．they speak the same language

D．they have the same ideas