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 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: 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
小题1:.C 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:B 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:D 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:C 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 .....”主要考查你对 [历史文化类阅读 ]考点的理解。历史文化类阅读
什么是历史文化类阅读：
本类题型常用的方式是夹叙夹议。叙述的目的是为了议，所以要把握其议才是主要方面。阅读这类文章，先弄清其引入的话题，再弄清里面人物对其不同的看法，然后理解作者本身对话题的观点看法或思考。
历史文化类阅读技巧：
【题型说明】历史文化类阅读理解文章属高考常选材料之一。这类文章常涉及历史、文化、法制、宗教等方面的文学艺术、发明创造、文化遗产保护、宗教与文化、风俗与习惯、道德与法制、中外文学名著节选、等等。这类材料的命题点往往落在主旨大意题、事实细节题上。
【答题方法】在做这类阅读理解题时，我们应注意以下几个方面：
1、采用先题后文：先读题目，再带着问题读文章。这类阅读理解文章相对来说事实细节题稍多一点，如果带着问题读文章，有利于我们抓细节。
2、先做细节题。因为做完了局部性的事实细节题后，自然会加深我们对文章的理解，这样更有利于做主旨大意题。
3、重点敲定主旨题。主旨大意题提问的形式主要有两大类：一类是Main idea型；一类是Topic或Title型。
在解答这类试题时应注意以下几点：
a．读首句抓大意。
文化教育类阅读理解文章多采用说明文、议论文体裁，而这类文章大都采用文章段落的中心，即主题句在文章开头。因此，要寻找这类文章的主旨大意就需要研究文章的首句。
b．读尾句抓大意。
有时这类文章的主题句安排在文章的结尾，作为对全篇的总结。
c．读首段抓大意。
有些文章或段落的开头和结尾部分都有主题句。这种结构是为了突出主题思想而使用两次点题的写作方法。这两个主题句在句子结构和用词上有所不同，而且在内容上前句和后句也不重复。
d．从段落中抓大意。
有些文章或段落的主题句在文章中，这种文章或段落往往以一句话或几句话引出要表达的主题，在主题句出现后，再举例子陈述细节或继续论证。
e．归纳要点抓大意。
有些文章或段落无明显的主题句，只是暗示性地体现主题。这就要求同学们在阅读过程中根据文中所叙述的事实或线索来概括总结主旨大意。
