Question

If you ask people to name the one 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 belonging to two major language groups．In the west-central region in the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, thought not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic．In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon(or Old English), a Germanic language．If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German． 　　But this state of affairs did not last．In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England．For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasant．As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German．In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction(区别)between upperclass French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon 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, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants 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 advertisements 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 result of one man's ambition． (1) The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before 1066 were ________． [　　] A． Welsh and Scottish B． Nordic and Germanic C． Celtic and Old English D． Anglo-Saxon and Germanic (2) Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French? [　　] A． president, lawyer, beef B． president, bread, water C． beard, field, sheep D． folk, field, cow (3) Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to Europe? [　　] A． Most advertisements in France appear in English． B． They know little of the history of the English language． C． Many French words are similar to English ones． D． They know French better than German． (4) What is the subject discussed in the text? [　　] A． The history of Great Britain． B． The similarity between English and French． C． The rule of England by William Conqueror． D． The French influences on the English language．

Answer 1

答案：1．C;2．A;3．C;4．D;
解析：

(1)	这是一道细节理解题。从第二段可知，在1066年前，在英国主要说两种语言——Celtic和Old English。
(2)	从第三段可知，当时在英国，凡是政治、法律和供Normans上层阶级吃的食物，其名称都来源于法语。
(3)	这是一道推断题。从第四段第一句话“When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more foreign than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does．”可知法语单词与英语单词比较相似。
(4)	这是一道主旨题。通读全文可知，短文主要讨论了法语对英语的影响。