American and British people both speak English, of course, but sometimes it does not seem like the same language. In fact, there are some important differences between British and American English.

    First of all, they sound very different. Often, Americans don’t say all the letters in each word especially the sounds like “t”and “d”. However, the British usually pronounce their consonants (辅音)more carefully.

    Also, some letters have different sounds. For example, Americans say the “a”in “half”like the “a”in “cat”, but the British say the “a”in “half”like the “o”in “soft”. The “r”is sometimes said differently, too. When an American says “farmer”, you can usually hear the “r”. But you can’t hear the “r”in British English. The British say “fahmah”.

    Sound is not the only difference. The two languages have different words for some things, for example, the words for clothing are different. Americans use the word“sweater”, but the British say“jumper”.

    Many expressions(短语)are also different in the two countries. In England, if you are going to telephone friends, you “ring them up”. In America, you “give them a call”.

    There are also some differences in grammar.

    These differences can be confusing (令人疑惑)if you are learning English. But there is a reason for the difference. Languages change over time. When the same language is used in different places, it changes differently in each place. This is what happened to English. It also happened to other languages, such as French. Many people in Canada speak French, but their French is different from the French spoken in France.

(    )1. What’s the main idea of the passage?

    A. The differences between British and American English.

    B. The two different languages, British and American English.

    C. The changes of the English language.

    D. Why American English is different from British English.

(    )2. Which of the following is Not true?

    A. In American English, the “a”in the word“can’t”sounds the same as the “a”in the word “can”.

    B. The American English is different from British English only in grammar.

    C. Learners of British English may have some difficulty in understanding American English.

    D. French is not only spoken in France but in some other countries as well.


    My husband had just bought a new washing machine for me. I decided to use it the very day and I washed a lot of things. Everything worked well, but I found one of my husband’s socks missing. I looked everywhere for it, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

    The next morning, I got ready for school as usual. When the bell rang, the students came in. I greeted (问候)them and told them what we were going to do that day.

    When I turned around to write on the blackboard, the class broke out a roar (大声笑)!

    They laughed and laughed. They laughed so much, in fact, that I was afraid the headmaster would be in to see all this, I asked the class to stop, but the more I talked, the more they laughed. I decided to pay no attention to them and I went on writing on the blackboard. When I did this, they roared even more.

    Finally, the teacher who had the room next to mine came in to see what all the laughter was about. When he came in, he started laughing, too!

    “Good heavens, ”I said, “Will someone please tell me what is so funny?”

    “Oh, God, ”said the teacher, “You have a brown sock stuck (粘,贴)to the back of your skirt! ”

    So that’s how I found my husband’s missing sock. “Oh, well,”I said to the class, “Let’s just say you have had an unforgettable lesson on static electricity(静电).”

(    )1. What was the writer?

    A. A washer.                B. A student.          C. A headmaster.           D. A teacher.

(    )2. What happened when the writer turned around to write on the blackboard?

    A. The class roared with anger.

    B. The class began to laugh loudly.

    C. Another teacher came in.

    D. There was a loud noise outside the room.

(    )3. Why did the teacher from the next room laugh?

    A. Because the whole class laugh.

    B. Because he saw the writer fooled by the class.

    C. Because he found a sock on the back of the writer’s skirt.

    D. Because he saw some of the students making faces.

(    )4. What did the writer do when she got to know why her students laughed?

    A. She did nothing but laugh.

    B. She explained (解释)the matter in a clever way.

    C. She did nothing.

    D. She got angry with the class.


    To help you decide what might make a good pet, we have put together a pet checklist.

    We have named some of the animals that are often kept as pets. We’ve shown some good points and bad points about each. And we’ve told you which are OK or not OK to keep.

Which pet is for you?

Pick-a-pet Checklist

Pets

Good Points

Bad Points

OK to Keep

Rabbits

Easy to keep

Enjoy being petted

Good to hold

Hard to house-train

Drop lots of hair

Easily upset(不高兴)by high temperature

Yes

Raccoons(小浣熊)

Can be very interesting

Can be friendly when young

Against the law to keep in many states

Can get unkind when old

No

Cats

Easy to feed & care for

Can live indoors or out

Fun to hold

Very friendly

May scratch furniture

little pets can be messy

May kill birds

May make you sneeze

Yes

Dogs

Come in many sizes

Can live indoors or out

Fun to love & play with

Very friendly

Can give safety

Can be smelly, messy, noisy

Need to be licensed & trained

May make you sneeze

May bite if angry

Need lots of attention

Yes

(    )1. _______ have the same bad point that will make you sneeze.

    A. Rabbits & raccoons                 B. Raccoons & cats

    C. Cats & dogs                           D. Dogs & rabbits

(    )2. According to the checklist, a rabbit would not live in ________ weather.

    A. cold           B. cool           C. warm         D. hot

(    )3. What is the main purpose (目的)of this checklist?

    A. To help pick the best pet for you.

    B. To tell how to take care of your pet.

    C. To list the best pets.

    D. To list the worst pets.

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