Unit2 English Around the World

2005年 9月

Preparation for Reading 1. Which language has the largest number of speaker?

2. Which language is the most widely spoken and used?

3. How many languages do you speak?

4. What is your native language?

5. In what situations do you use English?

Reading

1. How many people use English as their mother tongue?

2. How many people learn English as a second language?

3. In which countries do we find most native speakers of English?

4. How many people use English as a foreign language?

5. Why is it becoming more and more important to have a good knowledge of English?

Language Points

1. all around the world= all over the world = throughout the world 遍及全球

3. majority 大多数 op ： minority the majority of + 不可数名词 ；谓语 v 用单数 + 可数名词复数；谓语 v 用复数eg. The majority of doctors believe smoking is harmful to health

2. more than 多于 op: less than 少于 more than one + 可数名词单数 ；“不止一个…”； 谓语动词用单数 。 eg. Yesterday more than one person was hurt in the accident.

4. in total= in all=altogether 总计；合计； eg. There’re 40 students in our class in total.

5. equal adj. 相等的；相同的； eg. Divide the food into 5 equal parts. be equal to sth/doing sth 能胜任…；能应付…； eg. He is equal to the work/doing the work.

6. a number of “ 一些”；后接可数名词复数，谓语 v 用复数。 the number of “… 的数量”；谓语 v 用单数。 eg. The number of the students is 200. eg. A number of students work hard in the school.

7. of one’s own=belonging to oneself 属于自己的； eg. Children need toys of their own.

8. however (1) 然而，可放于句首，句中，句末。用逗号 和其他的成分隔开。 eg. It is clear today; however, it may rain tomorrow. = It is clear today; it, however, may rain tomorrow. = It is clear today; it may rain tomorrow, however. (2) 无论如何…；不管怎样… ; eg. However cold it is, she leaves her windows open. eg. However strong you are, you won’t move that stone.

9. except for 除去 (1) 指在一个整体中除去某些因素，前后两个词的性质 不同，不能用 except 代替。 eg. His composition is very good except for some spelling mistakes. (2) 当后面接代词的时候，可以和 except 替换。

10.develop with: 发展成为 Seeds devep into plants.

13. communicate with 交流 eg. We usually communicate with each other by letter.

14. knowledge(U) 但如果前面有修饰语则可加冠词 , 这时意为“对……了解 / 熟悉 / 掌握”。 eg. He has a good knowledge of politics.=He is familiar with politics. eg. Many people agree that a knowledge of English is very important all over the world.

11.without doing: He said this seriously without smiling.

12.throgh the Internet: 通过因特网 He communicated with his friends in the USA throgh the Internet.

American English & British English

Answer the following questions by choosing the best answer.

1. America stopped being a part of England in _____. A. 1707 B. 1828 C. 1776 D. 1911

2. Which of the following statements is true? _____. A. After 1828 American English and British English stayed the

same. B. After 1828 American English changed but British English stayed the same. C. After 1828 British English changed but American English stayed the same. D. After 1828 both British English and American English

changed.

C

D

3. British English is different from American English because_____. A. British decided to change the spelling of many American words. B. American English changed but British English stayed the same. C. The Americans and British took different words from other languages. D. American is a bigger country.

4. Noah Wester was ______. A. an American president B. a Spanish farmer C. a British teacher D. an American writer

C

D

5. Which of the following statements is true? _____. A. In the future both American English and British English will stay the same. B. In the future American English will change but British English will not. C. In the future British English will change but American English will not. D. In the future both American English and British English will change.

D

American English And British English1.know about/tell the differences between A and B 了解 / 说出 A 和 B 之间的区别2.There is no quick answer to this question. “to” 表示 “…… 的” 这个问题没有直接了当的答案。3.while “ 而”，并列连词 e.g. I am a teacher while you are students.4.did: 代动词。 e.g.: Please stand as he does. He wears long hair as his brother did five years ago.5.end up with: 以…… 结束 He ended up his speech with a funny story. end up :Vi. 告终 , 结束 e.g. How does the story ~? Sooner or later, he will end up in prison.

6.The reason why …is/was that… “ ... 的原因是…”e.g. The reason why he was late was that he got up late.

7.more or less: 或多或少，大约 e.g. We can more or less gain enlightment （启示） from what he said. It’s more or less an hour’s walk from here.

8.have difficulty/trouble (in) doing sth. “ 做某事有困难” ,difficulty 前可用 great,much,some,little,no 等修饰； have trouble/difficulty with sth. 对……有困难 e.g. I sometimes have difficulty understanding what people are saying. Do you have trouble with our pronunciation?

Word Borrowed from

cent

Florida

howl

cookbook

Old French

Spanish

American Indian

German

British English American English

autumn

lift

petrol

flat

underground

university

rubbish

dustbin

holiday

fortnight

fall

elevator

gas

apartmentsubway

college

garbage

trashcanvacation

two weeks

Answers to Part 3 on Page 93:

1.---was the will of the majority…

2.---tourism has become one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industry.

3.---. The only way to communicate with the outside was to use their cellphone.

4. With the help of this international exchange programme, ---

5. ---, who is a Beijing native,---

6.--- there will be a day when computers replace the human brain?

7.--- all men and women are equal under the law.

8.---.It did not become independent until the year 1776.

9.--- , you will end up with a well-written sentence.

10.---feel free and make yourself at home.

The answers to Part 2 on Page 93:

4.“I am already ten years old,” I said.5.“Listen carefully to what I have to say,please,”he said.

6.He said that life isn’t always easy.

7.“Will you promise me to always try to be honest?”he asked me.

8.“Follow your heart whenever you have to make a difficult decision,” he said.9.“ What did you talk about with your grandfather?”she said.

3.3.“How old are you?”he asked.

2.“Move your chair a little bit closer to my bed,”he said.

10.“Please don’t say anything about our conversation,” he said.

Answers to Part 2 on Page 952.Gerald does not see his parents and sister very often because they live in a different country.

3.Gerald’s parents often send him letters because they do not know how to send an e-mail.

4.Gerald has asked his parents not to send parcels from home because he can get everything here in China.

Thank you! Bye-bye!

1.Gerald is happy in China although most of his family live in Singapore.

2.Geral and his parents communicate a lot although they live in different places.

3.Gerald often calls his parents although it is a little bit expensive.