• 外国语学院
(全新版）大学英语 BOOK Two
河南理工大学外国语学院
Unit Seven
Learning about
English
The Glorious Messiness of
English
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Objectives
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Main idea of the text: (it can be inferred
from the title of the text)
Structure of the text
History of the development of English
Use of rhetoric devices
Author’s attitude towards English
( approving, positive, love and proud)
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Warming-up questions

Do you known what are United Nations official
languages?
United Nations official languages include
English、 Chinese、French、Russian、
Spanish、Arabic.
English is on the crucial status among five
official languages, and a large number of
governments’ leaders can use English to
communicate and negotiate with each other.
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Do you really like English or not? Why do you
study English? What’s the better way to
improve your English?
Why do foreigners study Chinese? Which is
easier to learn English or Chinese?
What are the possible futures for both
English and Chinese?
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Cultural Background
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English is the most widely used language in
the history of our planet. One in every seven
human beings can speak it. More than half of
the word’s books and three quarters of
international mail are in English. Of all
languages, English has the largest
vocabulary– perhaps as many as two million
words– and one of the noblest bodies of
literature.
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
Nonetheless, let’s face it. English is a crazy
language. There is no egg in eggplant,
neither pine or apple in pineapple and no
ham in a hamburger(牛肉汉堡包). English
muffins（英国松饼） weren’t invented in
England or French fries（炸薯条） in France.
Sweetmeats（糖果） are candy, while
sweetbreads（牛、羊胸脯肉）, which aren’t
sweet, are meat.
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
Sometimes I wonder if all English speakers
should be sent to a madhouse. In what other
language do people drive on a parkway（驾
车专用道） and park in a driveway（车道）?
Ship（v.） by truck and send cargo by ship
( n. )? Have noses that run and feet that
smell (this refers to what people usually say
“have a running nose”, “have smelly feet”.)?
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
You have to marvel (surprise) at the glorious
messiness of a language in which your
house can burn up (catch fire and flare up)
as it burns down (be destroyed by fire), in
which you fill in a form by filling it out and in
which your alarm clock goes off (start an
action) by going on (continue doing sth.).
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
How can a slim chance and a fat chance (a
remote possibility, 微小的机会) be the same,
while a wise guy（a person who pretends to
be much wiser than he/ she really is, 自作聪
明的人） and a wise man（a really wise
person 哲人） are opposites? How can
overlook (fail to see or notice, pay no
attention to, 忽略) and oversee (control 监督)
are opposites, while quite a lot and quite a
few are alike? How can the weather be hot
as hell one day (extremely hot) and cold as
hell (extremely cold) the next?
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
English was invented by people, not
computers, and it reflects the creativity of the
human race, which, of course, isn’t a race at
all. That is why when stars are out (when
stars appear in the sky) they are visible, but
when the lights are out (when lights are
turned off) they are invisible. And why, when I
wind up my watch (tighten the spring of a
watch) I start it, but when I wind up this
speech (end a speech) I end it.
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As we discover from the previous passage,
an English word may have multiple meanings.
Likewise, several different words may be
pronounced in the same way. For example, I
knew a student who, upon hearing the title of
Helen Keller’s famous essay Three Days to
See, translated it into 《海边三日》.
Considered in this perspective, English is
really messy. However, according to Text A,
this is also a major merit(价值) of English.
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Text Division
In the text there is a review of history of
English , the part before and the part after
the review as well as the review itself form
three parts of the texts . When the review
begins , the present tense is switched to the
past tense in Para 4 ; and when the review
ends , the present tense is resumed (begin)
in Para 17 . So, the division of parts
coincides with tense changes .
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Part one (Para 1-3)
Para 1: A major feature of English ---massive
borrowing from other languages , richer
vocabulary than other major language.
Para 2: The author explain this by using
examples to show the difference between
French and English . The French doesn’t like
borrowing foreign words.
Para 3: while English accepts words from
anywhere.
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Part two (Para 4-16)
In this part the author lists the importance of its
historical events that have had a great impact
on the formation of today’s English . And in
this part the author organizes the phases of
English language development into a
coherent piece by transitional devices at
paragraph heads , pay special attention to
the underlined parts below :
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Para 4: At the very beginning of Part Two ,the
author put forward a question “ how did the
language … more widely spoken and written
than any other has ever been ?” Then
answers : reason 1, Old English learned by
children really matters to us.
Para 5: reason 2, Old English is often used to
arouse our emotions by great speakers.
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Para 6: reason 3, one of the loving-and
powerful-opportunities of English that a write
can mix , for effect , different words from
different backgrounds.
Para 7: As” Old English” is discussed , now the
author sets to trace to its source . Where
those languages before English came from.
Para 8: Many modern languages before
English came down from a common parent
language , lost to us.
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Para 9: Their source was an Indo-European
parent language inferred from identifying
similar words by linguists.
Para 4-9: Above is the introduction of the IndoEuropean parent language- --the parent
language of English.
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Para 10: New words come with the Germanic
tribes---the Angles , the Saxons , etc. came to
settle in Britain.
Para 11: they passed on to us their farming
vocabulary.
Para 12: The next big influence on English was
Christian religion with words from Greek and
Latin.
Para 13: Then … came the Vikings from
Scandinavia with words from old Norse.
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Para 14: Another flood of new vocabulary
occurred in 1066 , when the Normans
conquered England …, French influence
came , by the end of 15th century a modified ,
greatly enriched language –Middle English –
turned out.
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Para 15: Around 1476 , Thousands of Latin
words with the European Renaissance and
Printing press poured into English.
Para 16: As settlers landed in North America
and established the United States , English
found itself with two source ---American and
British ---Modern English.
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Part Three (Para 17-19)
Para 17: That tolerance for change …, great
respecters of the liberties of each individual;
Para 18: principles of freedom and rights of
man.
Para 19: These qualities the English speaking
peoples have explain the richness of their
language , the tongue of the common man.
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Question about content
Q: what are the meanings of the title ‘The
glorious messiness of English’ ?
----Glorious:
1. Having a vocabulary of over one million
words
2. A global Lg.
3. Standing for fashion of culture, popularity
and intellectual status, durability etc.
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----Messiness:
1. Tolerance for other Lg.,
2. Great ability for absorbing and making good
use of foreign Lg.
----Both contribute to English’s present
importance
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English development route
Celts Language
(the root including the necessary words for
simple daily life)
 Anglo-Saxon Lg.
(farming words and the words really matter to
the present user)
 Greek and Latin
(Christianity and the words on physics,
philosophy, nature etc.)
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Vikings or Norse Language
(sky and sea)
 French
(governmental and political system)
 Other Lg. such as: Chinese, Japanese etc.)

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Source
Indo-European parent language
(3500-200B.C)
Germanic
(Anglo- Saxon )
5th century A.D
Greek and Latin
Old Norse
French ,Latin
In 1066
Old English (before 1300 A.D)
Middle English (by the end of 15th c )
Modern English
American English
18th century
Other languages
the body of English
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Writing Skills
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An expert on English language is supposed
to know well about rhetorical（修辞）
devices in English . Robert MacNeil , the
author of Text A , does not disappoint us at
the same time.
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oxymoron（矛盾修饰法)
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An oxymoron puts two contradictory
terms together to puzzle the reader ,
luring him/her to pause and explore why .
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Example: The title of the text
“Glorious” is a commendatory（褒义的）
term , while “messiness” is derogatory（贬
义） . Why do they stand next to each other ?
Then , as the reader reads on ,he/she will
find out that the title is actually a thesis
statement : yes ,English is messy , but the
messiness reflects some commendable（可
赞美的） qualities of English , such as
tolerance , the love of freedom , and the
respect for others’ rights . At this point the
reader can’t but admire the author’s ingenuity
（独创性） .
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metaphor

a figure of speech in which an expression is
used to refer to something that it does not
literally denote in order to suggest a similarity
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Example: phrases
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The core of English (Para 4),
a common parent language (Para 8),
another flood of new vocabulary (Para
14),
the special preserve of grammarians
(Para 19).
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In Para 18 there is an instance of sustained
metaphor : the cultural soil , the first shoots
sprang up ,… grew stronger , build fences
around their language . In this case the
English language is compared to plants , and
the various cultures influencing it are
compared to soil , while users of English are
compared to gardeners .
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parallelism

A literary contrivance, by using the same
sentence or phrase structure, to achieve a
particular effect .
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Example: a quote
Winston Churchill : “We shall fight on the
beaches , we shall fight on the landing
grounds , we shall fight in the fields and
in the streets , we shall fight in the hills .
We shall never surrender .”
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personification
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the act of attributing human characteristics to
abstract ideas in order to reach a special
effect
Example:“Translations of Greek and Roman
classics were poured onto the printed page…”
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metonymy
• The substitution of the name of an
attribute or adjunct for that of the thing
meant
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The country now had three languages : French
for nobles , Latin for the churches and English
for common people .” Here the word “churches”
stands for religious institutions（宗教体系） and
those who are involved in religious practices .
Crown stands for King; laurel for great success or
fame in usually literature field.
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Difficult Sentences
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1. Which French kids are supposed to say
instead . (lines 9-10)
be supposed to : be expected to .被期望…；
应该…
2. They must have also enjoyed themselves
because … .(lines 57-58)
must have +过去分词 ,用于推测过去情况。
must +原形动词，用于推测现在或将来的情况。
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表示推测的must语气十分肯定，通常用于肯定陈
述句，在疑问句和否定句中通常用can 代替。例
如：
He must be in the library .(一定)
Can he be in the library ?(会)
He cannot be in the library .(不可能 )
They must have gone . 他们一定走了。
Can they have gone ?
They can’t have gone .
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另：可以表示推测，即可能性的情态动词，按其
肯定式表示的可能性程度，由低到高排列如下：
might ,may “也许”；
could ,can “可能” ；
should , ought “大概”，“应该”；
would ,will “很可能”；
must “一定,”“必定”
(from uncertainty to certainty)
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
3. Then into this relatively peaceful land came
the Vikings from Scandinavia .
This is an inverted order (倒装词序),是为了强调
状语而作的修辞倒装。
--- The Vikings from Scandinavia then came
into this relatively peaceful land .
e.g.：In the doorway stood my brother .
Out rushed the children .
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Language study
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1. massive: large in scale ,amount, or degree
ad. 大量的，大规模的
Examples: The ancient temple‘s massive stone
pillars had begun to crumble(崩溃).
2. snack: a small meal n.快餐，点心
buffit dinner 自助餐
Examples: I usually have a snack of a
hamburger and a glass of coke at lunchtime
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3. corrupt:
l) cause errors to appear in vt.讹用，使（语
言）变得不标准；腐蚀，贿赂
Examples: The Academy ruled that such
foreign expressions were not permitted, as
they corrupted the language.
These jargons（行话） merely corrupt your
good English.
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2) cause to act dishonestly in return for
personal gains
Examples: We believe films of violence
would corrupt young people.
To gain more profits, the businessman tried
every means to corrupt the officials in the
local government.
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
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4. ban: forbid (sth.) officially (used in the
pattern: ban sth.; ban sb. from sth./doing sth.)
vt.禁止，取缔
Examples: The local government will ban
smoking in all offices later this year.
Scientists from many countries called
on the international community to create an
international convention to ban human cloning
as soon as possible.
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n. ban (followed by on)
Examples; The government is
considering a total ban on cigarette
advertising.
The ban on underground nuclear
tests is a vital step toward disarmament
（裁军）.
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5. invent:
 1) make or design (sth. that has not existed
before); create (sth.)
 Examples: James Watt invented the steam
engine. vt.发明；虚构
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

2) give (a name, reason, etc. that doesn't
exist or is not true) Examples: Standing still
in the teacher‘s office, the boy tried to invent
a plausible（似合理的） excuse for his
absence from class
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
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Cf.: invent, discover
If somebody invents something, they are the
first person to think of it or make it.
Example: Walter Hunt and Elias Hone
invented the sewing machine.
If somebody discovers something, they find
out about something which exists but which not
previously known.
Examples: The planet Pluto（冥王星） was
discovered in 1930.
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6. fascinating: of great interest or attraction ad.
迷人的，有极大吸引力的
Examples: The story of his adventures in the
Arctic was fascinating to listen to.
I found the discussion about cloning
absolutely fascinating.
It is fascinating to imagine what might
have happened if the US had not declared war
against Japan in World War II.
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7. strictly speaking:
if one uses words, applies rules, etc. in their
exact sense严格地讲
Examples: He's not strictly speaking an
artist; be is more of a performer.
Strictly speaking she was not qualified
for the job. But we employed her because of
her honesty.
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
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8. tolerance: 1) the quality of allowing other
people to say and do as they like, even if you
agree or approve of it (followed by of/for) n.容
忍，宽容；忍耐
Examples: School teachers have to have a
great deal of tolerance in order to deal with
difficult children.
I think tolerance between students is
extremely necessary since they live and
together.
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
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2) the ability to bear sth. painful or
unpleasant (followed by of/for)
Examples: Human beings have limited
tolerance of noise.
The patient had no tolerance for
pain ,whenever he was injected be would cry.
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9. to a (very real, certain, etc.) extent: to the
degree specified在（极大，某种）程度上
Examples: I agree with him to some extent
but there are still some areas of sharp
disagreement between us.
To some extent the water pollution has
affected local residents.
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
10. The history of English is present in the
first words a child learns about identity…:
The history of English is revealed in the first
words a child learns about identity…英语的历
史体现在孩子最先学会用来表示身份的词汇之
中
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
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11. necessity: l) sth. you must have in order
to live properly or do sth.
Examples: Water is a basic necessity of
life. n.必需品；必要（性）
A lot of people would consider a TV as
more of a necessity than a luxury it
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2) circumstances that force one to do sth.;
the state of being necessary; the need for sth.
(followed by of/for)
Examples: There is absolutely no necessity
for you to be involved in the project.
They reached an agreement on the
necessity of educational reforms.
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
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12.arouse: provoke (a particular feeling or
attitude) vt.唤起，激起
Examples: These educational toys give
children a feeling of self-worth by arousing
their interest in challenging tasks.
The man's strange behavior aroused
the policeman's suspicions.
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
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13.surrender: give in (followed by to) v.投降
Examples: After several weeks of severe
attacks, Afghanistan‘s Taliban(塔利班) forces
surrendered to the Northern Alliance（北约）:
We'll never surrender to terrorism despite
the terrorist attacks.
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
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14. virtually: for the most part, almost ad.差不
多 Examples: It's virtually impossible to tell
the imitation from the real thing.
It has been raining virtually non-stop for
the past several days.
15. Invade: enter with armed forces vt.侵入，
Examples: In July 1937 the Japanese army
invaded China.
The Germans invaded Poland in
1939, leading to the start of World War 1I.
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16. mystery: sth. that people can't, or have
not been able to understand or explain n.神
秘的事物
Examples; The politician's sudden death
remains a mystery to us all.
No one has ever been able to explain the
mystery of the Bermuda Triangle（百慕大三
角洲）.
17. resemble: be like or similar to vt.与…相似
Examples: I'd say he resembles his mother
more than his father.
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18. systematic: done according to a system ad.
有系统的
Examples: Our professor not only imparts
knowledge to us, but also teaches us how to
read books in a systematic way.
19. descend: come down (from a source), go
down (followed by from) vi.起源于；下来
Examples: These ideas descend from those
of the ancient philosophers.
The Japanese are thought to be
descended from tribes from the north of China.
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20. establish: 1) cause to be. set up vt.建立，
确立
Examples: The school was established in
1905 by an Italian professor.
2) place or settle sb./oneself in a position, an
office, etc. (used in the pattern :establish
sb./oneself as)
Examples: They are rapidly establishing
themselves as the market leaders.
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
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21. drift: move or go somewhere in a slow
casual way vi.漂泊
Examples: As rural factories shed labor,
people drift towards the cities.
The football match was over, and
the crowds drifted away from the stadium
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22. climate: (an area or a region with) a
regular pattern of weather conditions n.气候
Examples: Brought up in the south of
China, she wouldn't enjoy living in such a
cold climate.
Due to the greenhouse effect,
changes in the earth‘s climate have taken.
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23. pass (sth.) on to (sh.): hand or give (sth.)
to (sb.)将…传给
Examples: When you have finished
reading the novel, please pass it on to Laura.
The King passed on much of his
fortune to the princess.
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24. addition: a person or thing added (followed
by to) n.增加的人Examples: The baby is a
welcome addition to the Smith family.
The young professor will be a most
valuable addition to our board.
25. conquer: take possession and control of (a
country, city, etc.) by force; defeat v.征服
Examples: She has conquered the hearts of
many men,
The Spanish once conquered most of South
America.
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26. royal: of a king or queen, or other members of
their family, and things relating to them ad. 国王的；
皇家的
Examples: The newborn baby was welcomed not
only by the Japanese royal family country at large.
27. alternative: one of two or more possibilities
(followed by to) n.供选择的东西
Examples: Check out the alternatives before
deciding whether to go to a nearby college.
What was the alternative to going home?
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28. modify: change slightly vt.修改，更改
Examples: The school authorities plan to
modify the school regulations.
The computer programmers tried to
modify the design of the software suitable for
commercial production.
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
29. enrich: 1) make rich or richer vt.使富裕，使丰富
• Examples: That once poor coastal village has
been enriched by the profits from tourism.
•
2) improve
• Examples: It is important to enrich the soil prior
to planting.
• 30. classic: a work of art recognized as having
lasting value n.经典作品
• Examples: Both Tom Jones and Wuthering
Heights are classics.
•
His manual on botany has become a
classic among scientists.
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• 31. source: a place from which sth. comes
or is obtained n.源，来源
• Examples: Tourism, which is a major
source of income for the city, has been
seriously affected by the terrorist attacks.
•
The source of the anthrax outbreak
in the USA remained a mystery.
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• 32. out of control:
no longer able to be
controlled失去控制，不受约束
• Examples; The fire was out of control by
the time the second fire engine arrived.
•
There was nothing they could
do about it. The situation was out of
control.
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33. fortunately: by good luck ad.幸运地，幸
亏 Examples: Fortunately, my friend
survived the car accident.
Fortunately a life guard noticed that the
woman was drowning and she was
rescued.
I had forgotten my key, but fortunately the
door wasn't locked.
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


34. put into practice:将…付诸实施
Examples: Having delayed several times,
we must put this plan into practice now.
They weren't allowed to put into
practice in their daily lives the teachings they
received
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
35. strike out: start being independent; start
doing what one wants to do in life创造，开创
Example: After working for his father for
about ten years, he decided to strike out on
his own.
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课文中文翻译
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课文A
有些语言拒绝引入新词。另一些语言，如英语，
则似乎欢迎新词的引入；罗怕 特.麦克尼尔回顾英语
的历史，得出结论说，英语对变化的包容性体现了
根深蒂固 的自由思想。
英语中绚丽多彩的杂乱无章现象
罗伯特.迈克尼尔
我们的英语的历史是典型的大量窃取其它语言的
历史。正因为如此，今日英语的词汇量据估计超过
一百万，而其它主要语言的词汇量都要小得多。
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例如，法语只有约75,ooo个单词，其中还包括
像snack bar(快餐店)和hit parade（流行唱片
目录)这样的英语词。但法国人不喜欢借用外
来词．因为他们认为这样会损害法语的纯洁性。
法国政府试图运出英语词汇，宣称
Walkman(随身听)一词有伤大雅，因此他们造
了个新词balladeur让法国儿童用——可他们就
是不用。
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
Walkman一词非常耐人寻味，因为这个词连英
语也不是。严格地说，该词是由日本制造商发
明的，他们把两个简单的英语单词拼在一起来
命名他们的产品。这事儿我们不介意，法国人
却耿耿于怀。由此一斑可见英语中缉丽多彩的
杂乱无章现象。这种乐意包容的精神，这种不
管源白何方来者不拒的精神，恰好解释了英语
为什么会这么丰富，解释了英语缘何在很大程
度上第一个成了真正的国际语言。
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欧洲沿海一个弹丸小岛的语言何以会成为地球
上的通用语言，比历史上任何一种其他语
言都更为广泛地被口头和书面使用?英语的历史
体现在孩子最先学会用来表示身份(I，^me，
you)、所属关系(mine，yours)、身体部位(eye，
nose, mouth)、大小高矮(tall, short)，以及生活
必需品(food, water)的词汇当中。这些词都来自
英语的核心部分古英语或盎格鲁一萨克--逊英语。
这些词通常简短明了，我们今天仍然用这些词
来表示对我们真正至羞重要的事 物。
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

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伟大的演说家常常用古英语来激发我们的情感。
例如，在二战期间，温斯顿.丘吉尔作了如下的演
讲
来鼓励国民的勇气以抵抗屯兵英吉利海峡准备渡
海作战的希特勒的军队：“我们要战斗在海滩上，
我们要战斗在着陆场上，我们要战斗在田野和街
巷，我们要战斗在群山中。我们决不投降。”
这段文字中几乎每个词都来自古英语，只有最
后一个词 surrender是个例外，来自诺曼法语.
丘吉尔原本可以说：“We shall never give in,”但
这正是英语迷人之处和活力所在，作家为了加强
效果可以糅合来自不同背景的不同词汇。而演说
中使用古英语词汇具有直接拨动心弦的效果。
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尤利乌斯．凯撒在公元前55年入侵不列颠时，
英语尚不存在。当时不列颠的居民凯尔特人使
用的那些语言流传下来主要成了威尔士语。这
些语言的起源至今仍是个不解之谜，但有一种
理论试图解开这个谜。
两个世纪前，在印度当法官的一位英国人注
意到，梵文中有一些词与希腊语、拉丁语中
的一些词极为相似。系统的研究显示，许多现
代语言起源于一个共同的母语，但由于没有文
字记载，该母语已经失传。
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
语言学家找出了相似的词，提出这些语言的源
头是他们称之为印欧母语的语言，这种语
言使用于公元前3500年至公元前2000年。这
些人使用同样的词表达“雪”、“蜜蜂”和
“狼”，但没有表示“海”的词。因此有些学
者认为，他们生活在寒冷的中北欧某个地区。
一些人向东迁徙形成了印度和巴基斯坦的各种
语言，有些人则向西漂泊，来到欧洲气候较为
温暖的地区。最早西移的一些人后来被称作凯
尔特人，亦即凯撒的军队在不列颠发现的民族。
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新的词汇随日尔曼部落——盎格鲁、萨克逊等
部落——而来，他们在5世纪的时候越过
北海定居在不列颠。他们共同形成了我们称之
为盎格鲁、萨克逊的社会。
盎格鲁一萨克逊人将他们的农耕词汇留传给我
们，包括sheep．OX, earth, wood, field和
work等。他们的日子一定过得很开心，因为他
们留传给我们laughter一词。
下一个对英语产生重大影响的是基督教。基
督教以400至500个希腊语、拉丁语词汇丰富
了盎格鲁——萨克逊词汇，如angel(天
使)．disciple(门徒)和martyr(殉难者)等。
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河南理工大学外国语学院
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
接着北欧海盗从斯堪的纳维亚来到了这块相对
和平的土地。他们也给英语带来了许多以
曲开头的词汇，如sky和skirt。但古斯堪的纳
维亚语和英语同时留传下来，因此你可以说
rear a child(英语)，也可以说raise a child—
(斯堪的纳维亚语)。其他留传下来的这类同义
词组有：wish和want，craft和skill，hide和
skin。每一个类似的词的增添都使英语更加丰
富，更加多样化。
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另一次新词的大量涌入发生在1066年。诺曼人
征服英国的时候。这时英国三种语言并
用：贵族使用法语，教会使用拉丁语，平民使
用英语。由于三种语言相互竞争，有时同一事
物就出现了不同的名称。例如，盎格鲁一萨克
逊语有kingly 一词，但诺曼人入侵后，royal 和
sovereign作为替代词进入了英语，不同寻常的
是，法语没有取代英语。三个多世纪后，英语
逐渐吞并了法语，到15世纪末，发展成为一种
经过改进，大大丰富了的拥有一万多个“借来
的法语词汇的语言——中古英语。
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大约在1476年，威廉.卡克斯顿在英国制造了一
台印刷机，由此掀起了一场信息传播技术的革
命。印刷术把欧洲文艺复兴运动中涌现的大量
新思想传入英国。希腊罗马经典著作的
译文纷纷印成书册，成千上万的拉丁词，如
capsule(密封小容器：航天舱)和habitual(惯常
的)，希腊词，如catastrophe（大灾难）和
thermometer(温度计)等也随之涌入。今天我们
仍借用拉丁、希腊语命名新的发明创造，如
video，television和cyberspace(虚拟空间)等。
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
随着移民在北美登陆并建立美国，英语出现了
两个源头——美式英语和英式英语。英国的学
者担心英语会失控，有人想成立一个有权威的
学会，决定哪些词汇合适，哪些词汇不合适。
幸运的是，他们的设想从未付诸实施。
这种对变化的包容态度也体现了根深蒂固的自
由精神。丹麦学者奥托.叶斯柏森在1905年写道：
“如果不是多少世纪以来英国人一向崇尚个人
自由，如果不是人人都能自由地为自己开拓新
的道路，英语就不会成为今天的英语。”
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
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我喜欢这一观点。想想吧，孕育英语的文化土
壤也同样为现今的世界培育了伟大的自由精神
及人权准则。最初的根芽在英国萌发，接着在
美国生长壮大。英语国家的人民挫败了种
种意欲建立语言保护的企图。
事实上，英语不是语法学家、语言卫道士、
教师、作家或知识精英的特殊领地。英语是而
且一向是，人民大众的语言。
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Exercises
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
Vocabulary
I. 1. 1) independent
2) Strictly speaking
3) drifted 4) resembles
5) virtually
6) invaded
7) conquered 8) fascinating
9) snack 10) will be put into practice
11) classics
..12) source
13) climate
14) surrendered
15) were ... aroused
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


2. 1) In the United States, private cars are
an absolute necessity rather than a luxury.
Everyone thinks that the new member is a
valuable addition to the football team.
I am afraid the fire will get out of control if the
firemen do not arrive within ten minutes.
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

As all flights to the United States have been
cancelled, you have no alternative but to go
via Vancouver to get to Seattle.
The government has declared all beef
imports will be banned for the next six
months for fear of the spread of mad cow
disease.
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3. 1) Through systematic research, scientists
have invented many drugs that are said to help
us
live longer, but the cause of aging remains, to
a very real extent, one of life's mysteries. 2)
The two parties have reached an agreement to
establish a joint venture in Beijing, but before a
formal contract is signed, some clauses in the
draft agreement need to be modified92
河南理工大学外国语学院

/modifying so that no misunderstanding will
arise as to their interpretation. 3) Our
ancestors have passed onto us the wisdom
that to ensure the long-lasting prosperity of a
country, we must show tolerance for the errors
made by those who strike out revolutionary
paths. These people, with their new ideas and
practice, will enrich the national experience.
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Synonyms





a) wish a) skin a) rear/raise a) royal
b) wish b) hide/skin b) raise
b) kingly/royal
c) want c) hide c) rear/raise c) sovereign
d) wish/want d) skin d) raise d) royal/kingly
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Usage
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

1.Indeed 2. though 3. Frankly
4. Moreover 5. To my knowledge
6. however 7. Nevertheless
8. Yet 9. instead
10. in other words
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Structure





We are literally crawling. There must be some traffic
accident ahead.
Thomas sounds very knowledgeable about
traditional Chinese medicine. He must have had
some special training.
The draft document is complete in virtually every
detail. It must have taken him months to prepare it.
Cathy must have missed the train. She should have
arrived here two hours ago.
5) What? It cost you one thousand dollars to fill a
hollow tooth? You must be exaggerating!
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



2. 1) Are we supposed to deposit our bags
before entering the supermarket?
The spaceship is supposed to land on Mars at
10:40 this morning.
As a car driver, you are supposed to know how
to change a tire.
The nurses in the hospital are supposed to
take good care of the patients.
We are supposed to speak only in English
when we discuss text organization.
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Comprehensive Exercises



Cloze(A)
1. fascinating3. invented5. ban7. out of
control9. Fortunately11. sources(B)1) early3)
found5) source7) in 9) how11)
given/delivered13) by15) without
2.tolerance4.addition6.corrupt8.establishing10.
Massive12.enrich2) those4)must6) further8)
began10)in12) than14)so16)common
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河南理工大学外国语学院
Translation

Though how the English language came into
existence remains a mystery, linguists/language
scientists now tend to believe that English and
most other European languages have descended
from a common source; the Indo-European parent
language. English was first spoken by the AngloSaxons who invaded England in the fifth century.
They passed onto us the basic vocabulary of
English. In its over 15 centuries of development,
English has borrowed from other languages
massively, and such borrowing has greatly
enriched its vocabulary.
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
As settlers landed in America and established
the United States as an independent nation, a
new variety was added to the English language:
American English. Though some people worry
that the language is running out of control, many
native speakers of English take pride in the
tolerance of their language.
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Text B




What is the main idea of this text?
Do you agree with the author’s viewpoint
in the text? Give us your reasons.
In your minds, what are the possible
future for world’s all kinds of languages?
How to protect those missing languages?
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Comprehension Check



1. c
3. c
5. b
2. c
4. d
6. d
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Translation




这在很多方面都是空前的：使用英语的人数的增长，
英语对不同社会的渗透深度，以及英语功能范围的广
度。
大约一千五百年前，英语还只是入侵英格兰的鲜为人
知的日耳曼部落使用的一种粗俗的语言，而现在它却
遍及全球。
随着它在科技领域主导地位的确立，英语先是在欧洲，
接着又在全球开始取得全面的主导。
虽然英语，德语和法语这些语言曾经凭着个自政府的
政治力量而成为国际语言，这种情况在经济和人口变
化对语言的影响更大的二十一世纪不大可能发生。
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Language Practice

1. give way to2. predict3. substantial4.
integrate5. in transition6. aspect7.
professionals8. genuine9. economic10.
to name a few11. authority12.
dominate13. crude14. trend15. shift16.
had contributed to17. unique18.
exceeding19. rid yourself of20. status
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河南理工大学外国语学院
Model paper

Estimates of English Speakers from 1950
to 2050

This graph shows the changes of the estimated
numbers of English speakers from 1950 to 2050.
English speakers are divided into three groups, i.e.,
LI speakers, L2 speakers and EFL speakers.
According to the graph, it is estimated that the
number of LI speakers was a little over 200


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河南理工大学外国语学院


million in 1950, a figure that will increase to around
450 million by 2050. L2 speakers will triple during the
same period, from less than 200 million to around
600 million. EFL speakers will double in number over
the period, starting from about 400 million in 1950
and reaching to over 900 million in 2050.
Although the numbers of English speakers in all
three groups tend to increase, their patterns of
increase are different. LI speakers increase steadily
over the entire period, but not as rapidly as L2
speakers.
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
This rapid growth is predicted to lead to L2 speakers
outnumbering LI speakers by the
year 2010. Trends for the number of EFL speakers
follow a somewhat different path. While the
figures remained stable during the 1950s they then
began to experience an increasingly sharp rise that
is expected to level off and remain stable from 2020.
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河南理工大学外国语学院
The end


Thank you for your attention!
May you like English!
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