题文
Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact(联系) with people from around the world. This means that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed and the dialect （方言）of London became the standard. In 1604, the first English dictionary was published.The numbers of words in Early Modern English and Late Modern English differ. Late Modern English has a lot more words because of two main factors(因素): firstly, the Industrial Revolution created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth’s surface, and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.
From around 1600, the English colonization(殖民地化)of North America resulted in the creation of American English. Some English pronunciation 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 the British call “ Americanisms” are in fact original （原先的）British expressions that were preserved (保存) in the colonies but were lost in Britain. Spanish also had an influence on American English, with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English. French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today, American English is the most influential(有影响力的). But there are many other kinds of English around the world, including Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English , Indian English and Caribbean English. They have differences.
小题1:What can we know from Paragraph 1?A．The dialect of London became the standard in the year 1604.B．Vowels were pronounced longer towards the end of Middle EnglishC．The first English dictionary was published in the early 17th century.D．Many new words entered English because many people moved to Britain.小题2:From Paragraph 2, we know that the Industrial Revolution __________.A．required spelling and grammar to be fixedB．required a greater number of English wordsC．caused many old English words to be uselessD．led to the English colonization of North America.小题3:The underlined word “froze” in Paragraph 3 shows that some English words in America___________.A．became longer B．greatly changedC．a little changedD．stayed as they were小题4:What will the paragraph following this passage most probably discuss?A．The development of Modern EnglishB．How the English vocabulary became largerC．Differences among the different kinds of EnglishD．Differences between Middle English and Modern English 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:C
解析
本文着重讲述了在几个不同的国家的英语上存在着很大的差异，并分析了具体的原因。
小题1:细节题。根据第一段最后一句In 1604, the first English dictionary was published.说明是在17世纪的时候才又了第一部字典。故C正确。
小题2:细节题。根据第二段, the Industrial Revolution created a need for new words说明工业革命需要很多的新单词，所以才会导致了如此多的新的单词的出现。故B正确。
小题3:推理题。根据第三段2，3,4行Some English pronunciation 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 the British call “ Americanisms” are in fact original （原先的）British expressions that were preserved (保存) in the colonies but were lost in Britain.说明当英语来到这些殖民地的时候就不再变化了，反而是在英国本土的英语发生了变化，故该词指的是保持原样。故D说法正确。
小题4:推理题。文章这几段都是在解释几种不同的英语之间差异的原因，那么最有可能接下来讲述的是一些具体的不同之处。故C正确。
点评：本文着重讲述了在几个不同的国家的英语上存在着很大的差异，并分析了具体的原因。以推理题的考查为主，做题关键是找出原文的根据，认真核查题支和原文的异同，常犯错误有：绝对化语言，范围扩大或缩小，以偏概全，张冠李戴等。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Towards the end of M.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
