British English and American English

A student is studying British English. He wonders: Can I have a talk with Americans? Can they catch me? Learners of English often ask--what are the differences between British English and American English? How important are these differences?

Certainly, there are some differences between British English and American English. There are a few differences in grammar（语法）. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital” and “Have you a pen?” Americans “in the hospital” and “Do you have a pen?” Pronunciation (发音) is sometimes different. Americans usually sound the “r” in words like “car”and “farm”. Some speakers of British English do not sound the “r” in these words. There are differences between British English and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour”and “honour” are British English spellings. “Color” and “honor” are American English spellings.

These differences are in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary. However, they are not important. For the most part, British English and American English are the same language.

1.In American English, we can say, “      ? ”

A．Have you a new book

B．Do you have a new book

C．Are you have a new book

D．Can you to have a new book

2.Between British English and American English, sometimes pronunciation is        .

A．poor             B．different          C．high              D．short

3.In American English, the word “favourite”can be spelt      .

A．favoruite          B．favurite           C．favorite           D．favrite

4.Englishmen say “in hospital”, while Americans say        .

A．at the hospital                          B．in the hospital

C．by hospital                            D．to hospital

5.The main idea of the passage is that                  .

A．there are no differences between British English and American English

B．British English and American English are two different languages

C．speakers of British English and American English speak the same language

D．we shouldn't speak English

阅读短文，根据短文内容，从短文后的五个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有一项为多余选项。（共8分，每小题2分）

What is a spelling bee?   1  , but it is so popular in the Unite States. It is a game for children to spell English words.

The National Spelling Bee is the largest education contest(比赛) . It first began in 1925 in Washington.D. C.   2 . It is open to students in eighth grade or lower and not reaching their 15th birthday.

The contest is quite simple. When it's your turn, the teacher says a word and you have to spell it.   3 , you stay in the game. If you spell it wrong, you're out. What's not so easy are the words the teachers ask you to spell.

Usually, children need to spend a lot of time learning vocabulary. They must remember thousands of English words and spell every word correctly in the contest. Only winners in regional (地区的) contest can enter the national contest. It’s many children’s dream to win the regional contest and go to Washington, D. C. The final winners will be called the Spelling Bee.   4 . Do you also think they are great?

A. If you spell it right

B. Not too many Chinese students know it

C. It is held in late May or early June of each year

D. The children like the sports a lot

E. It means they have worked hard