跟踪导练（一）

A

Towards the end of Middle English， a sudden change in pronunciation started， with vowels （元音） being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many people from around the world. This meant that lots of new vocabulary entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed， and the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary came out.

Early Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words. Late Modern English has many more words， mainly because of the following two reasons： First， the Industrial Revolution led to the need for new words. Second， the British Empire covered one quarter of the earths surface， and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.

From around 1600， the English colonization （殖民） of North America led to American English. Some English pronunciations and words “froze” when they reached America. In some ways， American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English. Some expressions that are called “American English” are in fact from British expressions. They were kept in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain. Spanish also had an influence on American English. For example， words like canyon， ranch， stampede and vigilante are from Spanish. They entered English by the people of Spain who settled in the American West. French words and West African words also influenced American English.

Today， American English has a greater influence， because of the USAs movies， television， popular music， trade and technology.

1. The main difference between Early and Late Modern English lies in ___ .

A. vocabulary B. pronunciation

C. spelling D. grammar

2. The underlined word “froze” in Paragraph 3 can best be replaced by “___”.

A. remained unchanged B. disappeared

C. improved D. kept active

3. Where is the word “canyon” from according to the passage？

A. American dialect. B. African dialect.

C. Spanish. D. French.

4. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about？

A. English colonies in North America.

B. The development of American English.

C. Other languages influence on American English.

D. The difference between American English and British English.

B

British people have a lot of customs and habits. Three “INGS” are the most famous. The three “INGS” refer to betting， drinking and tipping. The ending for each of them is ING.

As we know， the British people are great lovers of betting. They bet on many things， but they bet mainly on sports activities， such as horse-racing. It is a gambling （賭博） sport. This means that they will risk money on a race or on some other events of which the result is doubtful. Not only the amount of the betted money but also the number of the people who take part in it is very large.

Drinking is another habit of the British people. Most men have the habit of drinking beer， wine and so on. They also drink tea. Their drinking habits are so normal that they have it in pubs， inns and restaurants from 11：00 am to 3：00 pm and again from 5：00 pm to 10：30 pm. But sometimes the hours are different in different places. Every day they have two twenty-minute tea breaks; one is in the morning， the other in the afternoon， during which people stop their work and drink tea. It is reported that the British people use up a quarter of the world total of the tea goods.

Tipping is the last of the three. It seems you should give a certain amount of money to the person who has served you. The number of the money depends on the type and extent of the service you have received. In the hotel， a service charge of 10 to 15 percent will be added to your bill; and you might give something extra to the porter who carried your bags; and you might give some more money to your taxi driver besides your fee.

5. What does the three “INGS” refer to？

A. Playing， drinking and singing.

B. Betting， drinking and tipping.

C. Drinking， singing and tipping.

D. Betting， tipping and playing.

6. The underlined sentence suggests that British people ___ .

A. are very rich B. like taking risks

C. are fond of betting D. love sport activities

7. How much might you actually give for a 100-pound bill when served in a hotel in Britain？

A. From 100 to 115. B. From 110 to 115.

C. From 110 to 120. D. From 115 to 120.

C

Whether or not your mouth is moving right now， you are talking to yourself. As you read these words， your facial muscles are having quick， invisible movements， sounding out the words so you can actually hear them in your head. This kind of speech is called “subvocalization”， and unless youre a speed-reader who has trained yourself out of this habit， youre doing it every time you read or even imagine a word.

Now， MIT researchers want to use those subvocalizations to know whats in your mind and translate it into digital orders， using a wearable smart headset （耳機） called AlterEgo. The headset combines human and machine in some ways.

According to the MIT Media Lab， the device （设备） would allow users to send silent orders to the headset simply by thinking of a word. A neural （神经的） network would translate the muscle movements to speech and do the users orders—totally hands-and-voice-free. Lets say you want to ask AlterEgo what time it is. First， you think the word “time”. As you do， your facial muscles make micro-movements to sound out the word in your head. Electrodes （电极） on the headset record these movements and then send them to a computer. The neural network processes these signals the same way a speech-to-text program might， and responds by telling you the time.

In a small study， 10 volunteers read a list of numbers to themselves while wearing AlterEgo headsets. AlterEgo correctly got which numbers the participants were reading with an average accuracy of 92 percent. For comparison， Googles microphone-based speech-to-text translation service has an accuracy of about 95 percent.

“We basically cant live without our digital devices，” said Pattie Maes， an MIT professor. “But at the moment， the use of those devices is causing some problems in our life. My students and I have been experimenting with new types of experience that enable people to still benefit from all the wonderful knowledge and services that these devices provide， but do it in a way that lets them remain in the present.”

8. The underlined word “subvocalization” probably means “ ” .

A. reading slowly B. reading wildly

C. reading silently D. reading carefully

9. Whats the aim of AlterEgo？

A. To help people fight against bad feelings.

B. To read peoples thoughts and respond to them.

C. To help people communicate with others better.

D. To know peoples actions so as to help make decisions.

10. What does Paragraph 3 mainly talk about？

A. How AlterEgo works.

B. The production of AlterEgo.

C. The disadvantages of AlterEgo.

D. How to wear AlterEgo correctly.

11. Paragraph 4 suggests that AlterEgo .

A. has good working performance

B. has become a popular digital product

C. works better than Googles similar service

D. is unable to complete complex tasks at present

D

One way of predicting the future is to look back at the past. Today the status （地位） of English—as a means of communication by speakers of different languages—is similar to that of the Latin of pre-modern Europe. Classical Latin was kept alive as a standard written medium throughout Europe long after the fall of the Roman Empire. But the Vulgar Latin used in speech continued to change， forming new local languages， which in time gave rise to the modern Romance languages： French， Spanish， Portuguese， Romanian and Italian.

Similar developments may be found today in the use of English around the globe， especially in countries where it works as a second language. New languages are appearing， in which the features of English are mixed with those of other native tongues and their pronunciations. For example， Spanglish， a mixture of English and Spanish， is the native tongue of millions of speakers in the US. So we may have an image of the future English.

Looking back to the early 20th century， it was the Standard English used in England that was welcome. But today the largest concentration of native speakers is in the US， and the influence of American English can be heard throughout the world. US spellings such as disk and program are already preferred to disc and programme. There is a wider acceptance of American preferences， such as favorite， donut， dialog， center.

In the online world， attitudes to correctness have changed： different spellings are accepted and punctuation （标点） marks are used to express a range of attitudes， including apologizing， challenging， thanking， agreeing， and so on. Letters are used to show anger， misspellings show humour and build group identity， and smiley-faces or emoticons （表情符號） express a range of reactions. Some have questioned whether the increasing development and use of emoticons， which allow speakers to communicate without the need for language， mean that we will stop communicating in English at all？ We hope not.

12. What can we learn from Paragraph 1？

A. Latin is now widely used in the world.

B. English plays an important role in the world.

C. English gave rise to many European languages.

D. Latin became less valued after the fall of the Roman Empire.

13. What will English be like in the future？

A. A combination of a native language and English.

B. A mix of British English and American English.

C. An international language featuring different cultures.

D. A language combining standard English and online English.

14. What can we infer from Paragraph 3？

A. Standard English is encouraged globally.

B. US spellings lead to better communication.

C. The disadvantages of British English are obvious.

D. American English is gaining popularity in the world.

15. Which word can best describe the way online language is used？

A. Formally. B. Freely.

C. Confusingly. D. Standardly.

How to Improve Vocabulary Fast？

Your vocabulary refers to the words in a language you are familiar with. We should learn some ways to expand it.

Read every day.         1         Choose reading material that is slightly above your level and keep a dictionary with you to look up words you do not know.

2         If you do not meet with an unfamiliar word in your daily reading， use your dictionary to search for one.

Learn the correct definition and pronunciation for each new word. Pronunciation is as important as definition because in order to add a word to your active vocabulary， you must be able to use it in speech.

Elaborate （詳尽阐述） on the meaning of the word. If you have just learned the word “stubborn”， think about the neighbor who will not lend you his car.         3

Use your new word in speech and in writing. E-mail your sister about how your cat is stubborn about sleeping on your pillow.         4         But the more you use it， the more fluent you will become in its use. Soon it will be a regular part of your active vocabulary.

Tell everyone you are trying to increase your vocabulary. Encourage them to ask you what your latest word is.         5

The more you explain the meaning of a word to someone， the more likely you are to remember it.

A. Find a new word every day.

B. The vocabulary can be increased.

C. Your vocabulary contains the words you understand.

D. The more often you read， the faster your vocabulary

can grow.

E. Or let them ask for the definition of a new word you

have used.

F. The first time you use a new word in speech it may

seem strange.

G. Imagine him shaking his head， and think of him as

“stubborn in his refusal”.

1.                2.                3.                4.                5.

Two parachutists （傘兵） had been flown behind enemy lines early in the morning. They were  to gain as much information as possible on a new experimental factory.

The two men  their parachutes and dressed as laborers to avoid being easily . Soon they reached a road. At the roadside， they noticed a deep pit （矿井） where rainwater had been ， with some tools， and a broken-down truck nearby. The men were making their way     towards the truck when the sound of a truck in the distance made them dash for . At that moment， they had no  but to jump into the pit， as the countryside was so bare （荒芜的）. There was a great splash （飞溅声） ， and very soon all was . The water was quite shallow， and the men had to press themselves  the sides of the pit wondering if they had attracted the attention of the truck driver. They     anxiously as the truck came nearer and nearer， and hoped it would . But， much to their ， the truck seemed to stop almost directly above them. They heard voices and the truck door shut loudly overhead. From their discussion， they  that some men in the truck had come to collect the . Suddenly， the men were frightened by a piece of wood which was  into the pit and which struck the water just behind them. They could do nothing but their breath and wondered what would happen next. Then the sound of the engine started up again， setting them ， for they knew as the men were leaving， they had narrowly being caught. But very soon， their joy quickly turned to ， because when they looked up， they found that the pit was much  than they had thought. Its sides were wet and slippery and there was no way out.

1. A. warned B. instructed C. advised D. allowed

2. A. destroyed B. found C. took D. forgot

3. A. defeated B. spotted C. killed D. disturbed

4. A. dropped B. dried C. left D. collected

5. A. carefully B. impatiently C. awkwardly D. easily

6. A. water B. cover C. enemy D. help

7. A. choice B. discussion C. decision D. movement

8. A. dark B. quiet C. unusual D. clear

9. A. behind B. from C. against D. with

10. A. listened B. watched C. stood D. wondered

11. A. stop B. pass C. stay D. work

12. A. surprise B. regret

C. disappointment D. delight

13. A. understood B. hoped C. imagined D. pretended

14. A. wood B. sticks C. weapons D. tools

15. A. struck B. poured C. forced D. laid

16. A. catch B. hold C. save D. lose

17. A. at ease B. on fire C. in fear D. on guard

18. A. risked B. escaped C. survived D. remembered

19. A. expectation B. anger C. reality D. sadness

20. A. wider B. bigger C. deeper D. narrower

下列各句均有1個错误，请改正。

1. It was obviously to everyone that the child had been badly treated. ____

2. He didnt come to my birthday party for variety of reasons.

____

3. The two sisters differ widely from their hobbies. ____

4. It was a very confused situation and we didnt know how to deal with it. ____

5. He was given the suitcase his father and grandfather have taken along to school. ____

1﹒裁掉老员工的决定遭到了俱乐部中大多数人的批评。（criticise）

2﹒除说同一种语言以外，我们没有什么共同点。（have... in common）

3﹒化学老师告诉我们食用过多的糖会引起健康问题。（lead to）

4﹒他是否出席会议对我来说无关紧要。（make a difference）

5﹒如果你在理解这篇文章上有什么困难的话，请立刻告诉我。【have difficulty （in） doing sth】