Question

When the seventeenth-century settlers brought the English language to America, they immediately and necessarily began to adapt (使适应) it to their new environment. These changes were early and criticized by some people on both sides of the Atlantic. However, after the Revolution, Americans began to be proud of their own form of English. Noah Webster was the major early supporter of American meanings and spellings over British ones and published the earliest American dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language. During the years since Webster, language differences have continued to develop, proving (证明) the truth of George Bernard Shaw’s often-repeated words that the two nations are “divided by a common language”.

Like the American language, the earliest American literature (文学) copied English models. However, after the Revolution and the War of 1812, writers began to create a clear American literature. However, in 1820, Sydney Smith asked the famous question “Who reads an American book?”

Answering to this and similar taunts (讽刺) with creative anger, American writers soon produced works that plenty of British people read. Works by Washing-ton Irving, Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain had been acclaimed greatly in Britain by the end of the nineteenth century.

Even as American writers got respect in Britain, British writers continued to have great influence in America. Charles Dickens went to America twice, in 1842 and 1867-68. Other major British writers who traveled and lived in the United States include D.H. Lawrence and Aldous Huxley. British best works continue to be widely read. The works of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen became popular films.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, many books and writers continue to cross the Atlantic in both directions — made possible by the proud heritage (继承) of the shared language.

1.The author of this passage seems to think ______.

A. British English is better than American English

B. American English is better than British English

C. the same language has divided the two nations

D. the same language has connected the two nations

2.From the question asked by Sydney Smith, we can infer ______.

A. the British looked down upon American books at first

B. the British found American books difficult to understand

C. the British thought highly of books written by Americans

D. the British had to translate American books into English ones

3.The underlined word “acclaimed” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.

A. sold B. discussed

C. welcomed D. refused

4.What made it possible for books and writers to cross the Atlantic in both directions?

A. The War of 1812.

B. The American Revolution.

C. The language differences.

D. The common language.

Answer 1

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.D

【解析】

试题解析：这是一篇说明文。文章讲的是自从十七世纪一些居民将英语带到美洲后，很快适应了美洲的环境，并且英语文化也对美洲的语言产生了很大的影响。

1. two nations are “divided by a common language”意为“这两个国家被同一种语言分开。”可看出是错的，故选D。

2. the American language, the earliest American literature (文学) copied English models（就像美国的语言，最早的美国文学都是照搬英国文学的模式）.由此可推测出答案为A.

3.

4. books and writers continue to cross the Atlantic in both directions — made possible by the proud heritage (继承) of the shared”意为“很多作品和作者仍不断从各个方面贯穿亚特兰大洲-----因分享的伟大继承变得可能”可以看出。

考点：考察说明文阅读。