高中英语课本文章

the Road to Modern English At the end of the 16th century, about five to seven million people spoke English.

Nearly all of them lived in England. Later in the next century, people from England made voyages to conquer other parts of the world, and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countries.

Today, more people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before. Native English speakers can understand each other even if they don’t speak the same kind of English.

Look at this example: British Betty: Would you like to see my flat? American Amy: Yes. I’d like to come up to you apartment. So why has English changed over time?

Actually all languages change and develop when cultures meet and communicate with each other. At fist the English spoken in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today.

It was base more on German than the English we speak at present. Then gradually between about AD 500 and 1150, English became less like German because those who ruled England spoke first Danish and later French.

These new settlers enriched the English language and especially its vocabulary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was able to make use of a wider vocabulary than ever before.

In 1620 some British settlers moved to America. Later in the 18th century some British people were taken to Australia to. English began to be spoken in both countries.

Finally by the 19th century the language was settled.

At that time two big changes in English spelling happened: first Samuel Johnson wrote his dictionary and later Noah Webster wrote The American Dictionary of the English language. The latter gave a separate identity to American English spelling.

English now is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia. For example, India has a very large number of fluent English speakers because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947. During that time English became the language for government and education.

English is also spoken in Singapore and Malaysia and countries in Africa such as South Africa. Today the number of people learning English in China is increasing rapidly. In fact, China may have the largest number of English learners.

Will Chinese English develop its own identity? Only time will tell.

第二单元 世界上的

英语 Reading 通向现代英语之路 16世纪末期大约有5百万到7百万人说英语，几乎所有这些人都生活在英国。后来，在17世纪英国人开始航海征服了世界其它地区。于是，许多别的国家开始说英语了。如今说英语的人比以往任何时候都多，他们有的是作为第一语言来说，有的是作为第二语言或外语。

以英语作为母语的人，即使他们所讲的语言不尽相同，也可以互相交流。请看以下例子： 英国人贝蒂：“请到我的公寓(flat)里来看看，好吗?” 美国人艾米：“好的。我很乐意到你的公寓(apartment)去。” 那么，英语在一段时间里为什么会起变化呢?事实上，当不同文化互相交流渗透时，所有的语言都会有所发展，有所变化。首先，在公元450年到1150年间，人们所说的英语跟今天所说的英语就很不一样。当时的英语更多地是以德语为基础的，而现代英语不是。然后，渐渐地，大约在公元800年到1150年期间，英语不那么像德语了。因为那时的英国的统治者起初讲丹麦语后来讲法语。这些新的定居者大大丰富了英语语言，特别是在词汇方面。所以到17世纪，莎士比亚所用的词汇量比以前任何时期都大。在1620年，一些英国人搬迁到美洲定居。后来，到了19世纪，有些英国人也被送往澳大利亚，两个国家的人都开始说英语了。 最后，到20世纪，英语才真正定形。那时，英语在拼写上发生了两大变化：首先，塞缪尔·约翰逊编写了词典，后来，诺厄·韦伯斯特编纂了《美国英语词典》，后者体现了美国英语拼写的不同特色。 现在，英语在南亚也被当作外语或第二语言来说。比如说，印度拥有众多讲英语很流利的人，这是因为英国于1765年到1947年统治过印度。在那期间，英语成了官方语言和教育用语。在新加坡、马来西亚和非洲其它国家，比如南非，人们也说英语。目前在中国学习英语的人数正在迅速增长。事实上，中国可能拥有世界上最多的英语学习者。中国英语会发展出自己的特色吗?这只能由时间来回答了。 Using Language 标准英语和方言 什么是标准英语?是在英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、印度、新西兰所说的英语吗?信不信由你，(世界上)没有什么标准英语。许多人认为，电视和收音机里所说的就是标准英语，这是因为在早期的`电台节目里，人们期望新闻播音员所说的英语是最好的英语。然而，在电视和收音机里，你也会听出人们在说话时的差异。

当人们用不同于“标准语言”的词语时，那就叫做方言。美国英语有许多方言，特别是中西部和南部地区的方言，以及黑人和西班牙人的方言。在美国有些地区，即使是相邻城镇的两个人所说的语言都可能稍有不同。美国英语之所以有这么多的方言是因为美国人是来自世界各地的缘故。 地理位置对方言的产生也有影响。住在美国东部山区的一些人说着比较古老的英语方言。当美国人从一个地方搬到另一个地方时，他们也就把他们的方言随着带去了。因此，美国东南部山区的人同美国西北部的人所说的方言就几乎相同。美国是一个使用多种方言的大国。虽然许多美国人经常搬迁，但是他们仍然能够辨别、理解彼此的方言。

Journey Down the Mekong My name is Wang Kun. Ever since middle school, my sister Wang Wei and I have dreamed about taking a great bike trip.

Two years ago she bought an expensive mountain bike and then she persuaded me to buy one. Last year, she visited our cousins, Dao Wei and Yu Hang at their college if Kunming.

They are Dai and grew up in western Yunnan Province near the Lancang River, the Chinese part of the river that is called the Mekong River in other countries.

Wang Wei soon got time interested in cycling too. After graduating from college, we finally got the chance to take a bike trip. I asked my sister, “Where are we going?” It was my sister who first had the idea to cycle along the entire Mekong River from where it begins to where it ends.

Now she is planning our schedule for the trip. I am fond of my sister but she has one serious shortcoming. She can be really stubborn. Although she didn’t know the best way of getting to places, she insisted that she organize the trip properly.

Now I know that the proper way is always her way. I kept asking her, “When are we leaving and when are we coming back?”

I asked her whether she had looked at a map yet. Of course she hadn’t; my sister doesn’t care about details. So I told her that the source of the Mekong is in Qinghai Province.

She gave me a determined look -- the kind that said she would not change her mind. When I told her that our journey would begin at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, she seemed to be excited about it.

When I told her the air would be hard to breathe and it would be very cold, she said it would be an interesting experience. I know my sister well.

Once she has made up her mind, nothing can change it. Finally, I had to give in. Several months before our trip, Wang Wei and I went to the library. We found a large atlas with good maps that showed details of world geography.

From the atlas we could see that the Mekong River begins in a glacier to move quickly. It becomes rapids as it passes through deep valleys, traveling across western Yunnan Province.

Sometimes the river becomes a water fall and enters wide valleys. We were both surprised to learn that half of the river is in China. After it leaves China and high altitude, the Mekong becomes wide, brown and warm. As it enters Southeast Asia, its pace slows. It makes wide bends or meanders through low valleys to the plains where rice grows. At last, the river delta enters the South China Sea.

第三单元

游记Reading 沿湄公河而下的旅程 第一部分梦想与计划 我的名字叫王坤。从高中起，我姐姐王薇和我就一直梦想作一次伟大的自行车旅行。两年前，她买了一辆昂贵的山地自行车，然后还说服我买了一辆(山地车)。

去年她去看望了我们的表兄弟——在昆明读大学的刀卫和宇航。他们是傣族人，在云南省西部靠近澜沧江的地方长大，湄公河在中国境内的这一段叫澜沧江，在其他国家(境内)叫湄公河。很快，王薇使表兄弟也对骑车旅游产生了兴趣。大学毕业以后，我们终于有了机会骑自行车旅行。我问我姐姐：“我们要去哪儿?”首先想到要沿湄公河从源头到终点骑车旅游的是我的姐姐。现在她正在为我们的旅行制定计划。 我很喜欢我姐姐，但是她有一个很严重的缺点。她有时确实很固执。尽管她对去某些地方的最佳路线并不清楚，她却坚持要自己把这次旅游安排得尽善尽美。于是，我就知道这个尽善尽美的方式总是她的方式。我不停地问她，“我们什么时候出发?什么时候回来?”我还问她是否看过地图。当然她并没有看过——我的姐姐是不会考虑细节的。于是，我告诉她，湄公河的源头在青海省。她给了我一个坚定的眼神——这种眼神表明她是不会改变主意的。我说，我们的旅行将从5, 000多米的高地出发，这时她似乎显得很兴奋。当我告诉她那里空气稀薄，呼吸困难，而且天气很冷时，她却说这将是一次有趣的经历。

我非常了解我的姐姐，她一旦下了决心，什么也不能使她改变。最后，我只好让步了。 在我们旅行前的几个月，王薇和我去了图书馆。我们找到一本大型地图册，里面有一些世界地理的明细图。我们从图上可以看到，湄公河发源于西藏一座山上的冰川。起初，江面很小，河水清澈而冷冽，然后它开始快速流动。它穿过深谷时就变成了急流，流经云南西部。有时，这条江形成瀑布，进入宽阔的峡谷。我们俩惊奇地发现这条河有一半是在中国境内。当流出中国，流出高地之后，湄公河就变宽了，变暖了，河水也变成了黄褐色。而当它进入东南亚以后，流速减缓，河水蜿蜒缓慢地穿过低谷，流向生长稻谷的平原。最后，湄公河三角洲的各支流流入中国南海。 Using Language 夜晚的西藏山景 第二部分山中一宿 虽然是秋天，但是西藏已经开始下雪了。我们的腿又沉又冷，感觉就像大冰块。你看到过雪人骑自行车吗?我们看上去就像那样。一路上，一些身着羊毛大衣的孩子们停下来看着我们。下午晚些时候，我们发现由于天冷我们的水壶都冻上了。

然而，湖水在落日的余晖下闪亮如镜，景色迷人。像往常一样，王薇在我的前面，她很可靠，我知道我用不着给她鼓劲儿。上山很艰难，但是当我们环顾四周，(眼前的)景色让我们感到惊奇，我们似乎能看到几百里以外的地方。在某个时刻，我们发现自己置身高处，彷佛骑车穿越云层。然后我们开始下山，这非常有趣，特别是天气逐渐变得暖和多了。在山谷里，五彩斑斓的蝴蝶翩翩飞舞在我们身旁，我们还看到牦牛和羊群在吃草。这时，我们不得不把帽子、外衣、手套和长裤脱掉，换成T恤衫和短裤。 一到傍晚，我们通常就停下来宿营，(于是)，我们先把帐篷支起来，然后吃饭。晚饭后，王薇把头放在枕头上就睡觉了，而我却醒着。半夜里，天空变得清朗了，星星更亮了。(夜晚)非常安静——几乎没有风，只有篝火的火焰和我们做伴。当我躺在星空下，我想着我们已经走了多远。 我们很快就要到达云南的大理。在那里，我们的表兄弟刀卫和宇航将加入我们的行列。我们迫不及待地想要见到他们！