Question

More people are trying to learn English than any other language in the world. 1       School children in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age.

Where did the English language come from? Why has it become so popular? To answer these questions we must travel back in time about five thousand years to an area north of the Black Sea in southeastern Europe.

Experts say the people in that area spoke a language called Proto-Indo-European. That language is no longer spoken. 2       These include the language that developed into English.

The English language is a result of the invasions of the island of Britain over many hundreds of years. The first invaders were a people called Angles about one thousand and five hundred years ago. Later the Saxons and the Jutes crossed to Britain. These groups fought with a people called the Celts. 3       Some escaped to live in the area that became Wales. Through the years,the Saxons,Angles and Jutes mixed their different languages. The result is what is called Anglo-Saxon or Old English,the earliest form of English.

The next great invasion of Britain came from the far north beginning about one thousand and one hundred years ago. Fierce people called Vikings raided the coast areas of Britain. 4       The next invasion of Britain took place in ten sixtysix. History experts call this invasion the Norman Conquest. The Normans became the new rulers of Britain. These new rulers spoke only French for several hundred years. The French language used by the Norman rulers greatly changed the way English was spoken by eight hundred years ago. 5       Middle English sounds like modern English. But it is very difficult to understand now.

The history of the English language continues as Middle English becomes Modern English,which is spoken today.

   A. English is the major foreign language taught in most schools in South America and Europe.

   B. Researchers do not really know what it sounded like.

   C. After a while,most of the Celts were killed,or made slaves.

   D. English became what language experts call Middle English.

   E. Many English words used today come from these ancient Vikings.

   F. Yet,Proto-Indo-European is believed to be the ancestor of most European languages.

   G. The Celts had lived in Britain for many thousands of years.

1.                  2.                  3.                  4.          5.         

Answer 1

本文介紹了作為全世界最通用的語(yǔ)言一英語(yǔ)的起源和發(fā)展過(guò)程。

1. A考查總分關(guān)系。第一段簡(jiǎn)單介紹了英語(yǔ)在世界范圍內(nèi)的流行性。根據(jù)后句"School children in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age."可知,本S應(yīng)選A.

2. F 本段介紹了Proto-Indo-European這種語(yǔ)言，盡管這種語(yǔ)言已經(jīng)不再流傳，但它被認(rèn)為是大多數(shù)歐洲語(yǔ)言的始祖，因此選F。

3. C根據(jù)前后句可知，本空應(yīng)該是談?wù)搫P爾特人的情況，因此選C.

4. E本段主要講述維京人對(duì)英語(yǔ)的影響，因此選5.

5. D 根據(jù)后句”Middle English sounds like modern English. But it is very difficult to understand now."可知，此空講述的是中世紀(jì)英語(yǔ)，因此選D