Question

Long after its introduction into the New World, American English was still considered non-standard English. According to some people of the 1780s American English was a peasant’s language that a “gentleman” will not speak. Considered in a bilingual point of view, British English was the dominant language linked to prestige and language purism （纯洁）. The belief in the authority or say in the superior of British English, has remained to the twentieth century, especially in the former British Empire or in the fields of British influence.

Thus, it is reported that in China, teachers and school textbooks refer to and recommend Received Pronunciation as the model, as well as standard British sentence structures, spelling and words. British English is also encouraged and accepted as the criteria of some major official examinations, for example, College English Test and Test for English Majors which are conducted by government. Similar situations could be found in countries, for example, in Africa, the West African Examination Council and Joint Admission accepts the British English as the standard English. Report can also be found that in Cairo some university students received lower grades if they used American spellings instead of British English. In Europe, we find teachers, British people as well as natives of the country in which they work, who follow the British English standard, and laugh at the American English.

However, the above attitudes are nothing but the last influence of a long-gone period of British supermacy （霸权）. The beginning of a clear lead of American English can be traced to the decades after World War Ⅱ. This coincides with the simultaneous （同时的） rise of the US as a military and technological power and the decline of the British Empire, which drove many to American English. And from then on, American English has continuously sent its influence to every corner of the planet.

 

56. From the first paragraph, we know that        .

A. American English was thought to be in a weaker position

B. American English was a kind of official language

C. American English was a language that gentlemen couldn’t understand

D. American English was spoken by peasants in the New World

57. Where do the students get poor mark if they use American spellings?

A. In China.      B. In Cairo.      C. In Europe.     D. In Western Africa.

58. From the last paragraph, we can make a conclusion that        .

A. Americans drive many people to learn American English by force

B. as the British Empire fell down in the WWⅡ, so did British English

C. a country’s language will spread as its economy develops

D. it is the WWⅡ that promotes the influence the American English

59. The main idea of the passage is        .

A. there are big differences between American English and British English

B. how American English developed into standard English in the end

C. people began to admit American English as standard as British English

D. American English is having advantage over British English.

Answer 1

ABCD