高三英语阅读5
If you ask people to name the one person who had the greatest effect on the English language,you will get answers like “Shakespeare”,“Samuel Johnson”and“Webster”,but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn't even speak English—William the Conqueror.
Before 1066,in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups.In the westcentral region lived the Welsh,who spoke a Celtic language,and in the north lived the Scots,whose language,though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic.In the rest of the country lived the Saxons,actually a mixture of Anglos,Saxons,and other Germanic and Nordic peoples,who spoke what we now call AngloSaxon(or Old English),a Germanic language.If this state of affairs had lasted,English today would be close to German.
But this state of affairs did not last.In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England.For about a century,French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result,English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German.In some cases,modern English even shows a distinction (区别) between upper class French and lowerclass AngloSaxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods,meat in particular,depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked,which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming,while the upperclass Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time,they usually find Germany more“foreign” than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man's ambition.
1.The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before 1066 were_________.
A.Welsh and Scottish B.Nordic and Germanic
C.Celtic and Old English D.AngloSaxon and Germanic
2.Which of the following groups of words are,by inference,rooted in French?
A.president,lawyer,beef B.president,bread,water
C.bread,field,sheep D.folk,field,cow
3.Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe?
A.Most advertisements in France appear in English.
B.They know little of the history of the English language.
C.Many French words are similar to English ones.
D.They know French better than German.
4.What is the subject discussed in the text?
A. The history of Great Britain.
B. The similarity between English and French.
C. The rule of England by William the Conqueror.
D. The French influences on the English language.
【解析】
1. 这是一道细节题。从第二段可知，在1066年前，在英国主要说两种语言——Celtic和
Old English。答案为C。
2.这是一道细节题。从第三段可知，当时在英国，凡是政治、法律和供Normans上层阶级吃的食物的名称都来源于法国。答案为A。
3.这是一道细节推断题。从第四段可知法语单词和英语单词比较相似，所以法国人和美国人就会有某种相似感。答案为C。
4.这是一道主旨题。纵观全文第一段总论说出任何人同William the Conqueror在语言上对
英语的影响，都无法匹敌；二、三段则说明法国殖民统治后，从语言上对英语的影响；最后
一段进一步说明法语和英语的相似感。通篇短文主要讲了法语对英语的影响。答案为D。