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

阅读理解

Quick Work?

Ted Robinson has been worried all the week.Last Tuesday he received a letter from the local police.In the letter he was asked to call at the station.Ted wondered why he was wanted by the police,but he went to the station yesterday and he is not worried at more.?

At the station,he was told by a smiling policeman that his bicycle had been found.Five days ago,the policeman told him,the bicycle was picked up in a small village four hundred miles away.It is now being sent to his home by train.?

Ted was most surprised when he heard the news.He was amused (感到有趣），too,because he never expected (指望）the bicycle to be found.It was stolen twenty years ago when Ted was a boy of fifteen.?

Answer the questions:?

1.What happened last Tuesday??

2.What was he told at the station??

3.What are the police doing with the bicycle??

4.Why was he surprised and amused??

5.How old was Ted when his bicycle was stolen??

What will the future be like? What do you think of it? Here are some answers from some students.
Roy Burns: I think life in the future will be better. Most people in the world will use “green cars” by 2020, so there will be less pollution and people will live to be 200 years old. As for space travel, I would say, we will travel to Mars(火星) and some other stars in about fifty years.
Helen Lester: If we don’t take good care of the earth now, our children and grandchildren will be born into a world with too much pollution. There will be fewer trees and more buildings, because there will be more people.
Kitty Smith: I agree with Helen Lester. Things will be worse. The weather in the future will be much hotter. Human beings will have to look for another planet to live on.
【小题1】What are the students doing?

根据句意和汉语提示，在空白处填入适当的单词
【小题1】_____________(节日)like Christmas and Halloween are also popular in China now.
【小题2】Pop star White Houston was found _______________( 死亡)on the eve of the Grammy Awards.
【小题3】---What are the workers doing over there?
----- They are busy_______________( 建造 ) the BRT between Haizhou and Xugou.
【小题4】Unluckily , the recent floods _______________( 摧毁) many farm-houses in the south.
【小题5】Daniel did the exercises too________________( 粗心 ) , and it made his teacher very angry.