Question

If you ask people to name a 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 people in two main language groups. One was a Celtic language, the other was what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or old English), a Germanic language. If this had lasted, English today would be close to German.

But this didn’t last. In 1066 the Normans led by William began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of farmers. As a result, English words of politics (政治) and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a difference between upper-class French and lower-class Old English 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. This shows the fact that the lower-class farmers were doing farming, while the upper-class 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 ads 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 results of one man’s ambition (野心).

1.Before 1066, the two main languages spoken in the place which we now call “Great Britain” were __________.

A. Germanic and French

B. Nordic and Germanic

C. Celtic and Old English

D. Old English and Germanic

2.According to the passage, which of the following groups of words are most probably from French?

   A. President, lawyer and beef.

   B. President, bread and water.

   C. Bread, field and sheep.

   D. Pig, cow and government.

3. Why do Americans find France less foreign than Germany?

   A. Many signs and ads are in English.

   B. They know little about the history of the English language.

   C. Many French words are similar to English ones.

   D. They know French better than German.

4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

   A. The History of Great Britain.

   B. The Similarity (相似点) between English and French.

   C. The Rule of England by William the Conqueror.

D. The French Influence on the English Language.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】略