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 peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though 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 peasants. 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 between upper-class 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 the 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.

36. 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

37. Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?

A. president, lawyer, beef              B. president, bread, water

C. bread, field, sheep                 D. folk, field, cow

38. 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.

39. 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 the Conqueror.

D. The French influences on the English language.

40. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. The Old English was originated from Germanic language.

B. William the Conqueror invaded England and conquered the whole country in 1066.

C. William the conqueror’s great ambition was to introduce French words into the English language.

D. According to the text, Shakespeare’ contribution to the development of the English language is less than that William the conqueror made.

单词拼写
【小题1】Blindness is a very serious ____________(残疾).
【小题2】Whenever she went, Brace would like to be ____________(陪伴) by her husband.
【小题3】She has a very ____________(狭隘的) mind, for which she often becomes the target to be talked about.
【小题4】The scientist ____________(放弃) his research for lack of money.
【小题5】They have ____________(分发) the lands among the peasants so far.
【小题6】Now ____________(点击) the “yes” button on the screen. 
【小题7】The leading actress couldn’t appear, and her ____________(替代者) clearly didn’t know the role very well.
【小题8】Most torches work on two ____________(电池).
【小题9】Only a small ____________(百分比) of the countries are thankful for our assistance.
【小题10】He raised some proposals to ____________(改革) the Labor Party.

C

I was riding along the road when I heard someone shouting behind me. It was a young shepherd (牧羊人). He was running across a field, and pointing at something.

I looked and saw two wolves running across the field. One was fully grown, the other was a cub. The cub had on his back a lamb (羔羊) which had just been killed, and he had the leg in his mouth. The old wolf was running behind.

As soon as I saw the wolves, I joined the shepherd and started in pursuit (追击), setting up a shout.

When they heard, some peasants started out also in pursuit, with their dogs.

As soon as the old wolf caught sight of the dogs and the men, he ran to the young one, snatched (攫取) the lamb from him, threw it over his back, and both wolves increased their pace and were soon lost from view.

Then the shepherd began to tell me how it happened. The big wolf has sprung (跳跃) out from the valley, seized the lamb, killed it and carried it off. The old wolf allowed the young wolf to carry the lamb, but kept running a short distance behind.

But as soon as there was danger, the old wolf stopped giving the lesson, and seized the lamb himself.

58. What is a cub?

A. It’s an old wolf.     B. It’s a young wolf.    C. It’s a strong wolf.    D. It’s a big wolf.

59. The old wolf seized the lamb for himself because __________.

A. the cub would not carry it any longer         B. the cub was too tired   

C. there was danger                         D. the cub would not learn

60. What is the passage about?

A. How a young wolf carried a lamb.

B. How the wolves escaped.

C. How some peasants tried to catch the wolf.

D. How an old wolf taught its cub..

第三节 完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白
处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams．---Eleanor Roosevelt
My home is a place of great beauty and agricultural richness, as well as of war and natural

— The “No.1 Document” is designed to help the rural population increase their incomes.

— I believe that peasants’ life _____ better and better.

A．will have got       B．will be getting      C．gets              D．has got