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

本文介绍了作为全世界最通用的语言一英语的起源和发展过程。

1. A考查总分关系。第一段简单介绍了英语在世界范围内的流行性。根据后句"School children in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age."可知,本S应选A.

2. F 本段介绍了Proto-Indo-European这种语言，尽管这种语言已经不再流传，但它被认为是大多数欧洲语言的始祖，因此选F。

3. C根据前后句可知，本空应该是谈论凯尔特人的情况，因此选C.

4. E本段主要讲述维京人对英语的影响，因此选5.

5. D 根据后句”Middle English sounds like modern English. But it is very difficult to understand now."可知，此空讲述的是中世纪英语，因此选D