【正文】 y. Am eri can Engli sh has so many di al ects because peopl e have e from al l over the worl d. Geography al so pl ays a part i n m aki ng di al ects. Som e peopl e who li ve i n the mountains of the eastern USA speak wi th an ol der kind of Engli sh di al ect. When Am ericans m oved from one pl ace to another, they tok their di al ects wi th them . So peopl e from the mountai ns i n the southeastern USA speak wi th alm ost the sam e dialects as people i n the northwestern USA. The USA is a l arge country i n whi ch m any di fferent di al ects are spoken. Although m any Am ericans move a lot, they stil recogni ze and understand each other’s dial ects. THE O XFORD EN GLISH DICTION ARY You m ay thi nk that Engli sh di ctionaries have been used for many, many centuries. The spel ing of Engli sh has always been a problem but it was m ore of a probl em i n the days before a di ctionary. Then people coul d spel word i n different ways whi ch you mi ght fi nd i t interesting. But it m ade reading Engli sh m uch m ore diffi cul t. So dicti onari es were i nvented to encourage everybody to spel the sam e. In fact, an Engl ish dicti onary l i ke the ki nd you use today wasn’t made until the time of the l ate Qing Dynasty. There men did most of the important early work on dictionaries: Samuel Johnson, N oah Webster, and Jam es Murray. These m en spent nearl y al of thei r l ives trying to col ect words for their di ctionaries. For them, it wasn’t only a job。 it was a wonderful journey of discovery. The l argest dictionary in the world is the O xford Engl ish Di ctionary, or OED for short. The i dea for thi s di cti onary cam e from an im portant m eeting i n Britai n i n 1857. Twentytwo years later, O xford Uni versi ty asked James Muray to be the edi tor of its new di cti onary. Murray had never been to col ege. At the age of fourteen, he l eft hi s vil lage school i n Scotl and and taught him self whil e working i n a bank. Later he becam e a great teacher. After O xford gave hi m the job, Murray had a pl ace bui l t i n the garden behi nd hi s house to do hi s work. Part of i t was one m eter underground. In wi nter i t fel t l i ke a barn, he had to wear a heavy coat and put hi s feet 10 July 1942 When we arived at Prinsengracht, we went qui ckl y upstai rs and the hi di ng pl ace. We cl osed the dor behi nd us and we were alone. Margot had e faster on her bicycl e and already waiting for us. Al l the rooms were ful of boxes. They lay on the floor and the beds. The li ttl e rom was fi l ed wi th bedcl othes. We had to start cl earing up at once, i f we wi shed to sl eep i n fortabl e beds that ni ght. Mummy and Margot were not abl e to help. They were tired and lay down on their beds. But Daddy and I, the two “hel per” of the family, started at once. The whol e day we unpacked the boxes, fil led the cupboards and ti died, unti l we were extrem el y ti red. We di d sl ep i n cl ean beds that night. We hadn’t had any warm fod to eat al day, but we didn’t care. Mummy and Margot were to tired and worri ed to eat, and Dady and I were too busy. FRIENDSH IP IN H AWAII Every cul ture has i ts own ways to show fri endshi p. O n the isl ands of H awai, friendship is part of the “aloha spirit”. In the language of the H awaians who first setl ed the islands l ong ago, aloha had a very special meaning. That is “to be with happiness”. Hawai ians beli eve that once somebody l oves the l and, they are ready to love their peopl e or m uni ty. Thi s i s the second most im port si gn of friendship. It i s cal ed lokahi in Hawai ian l anguage, which means “oneness with al people”. To enjoy the l and you shoul d not be selfish. The l and is for everyone who l ives on i t. Today m any di fferent peopl e cal Hawai i thei r hom e. Indeed, Hawai i s a place where peopl e make one bi g m uni ty from m any smal er munities. Each person gives kokua (help) to other peopl e so that al fel stronger. It’s believed that the islands can be a paradi se when the peopl e li ve i n peace. People are tol d that their acti ons should be as gentle as the wi nd that bl ows from the sea. When probl ems happen, peopl e are asked to sol ve them wi th understandi ng. So when peopl e of H awai i tal k about ohana (famil y), they are real ly tal king about al l those who li ve on the islands. Living i n peace, H awai ans have devel oped a thi rd si gn of fri endshi p. Thi s personal fri endshi p is shown by giving l ei s to one another. The li e, a stri ng of flowers, i s put over a friend’s neck. Then the friend is given a kis on chek. Visitors to the islands are al so given lies. When they hear al oha, visitors begin to fel at home. Al oha also means “goodbye”, so visitors wil hear it again when they leave. It can al so mean “our hearts singing together”. Perhaps this is how most visitors wil remember their new friendship. Unit 2 THE RO AD TO MO DERN ENGLISH At the end of the 16th century, about fi ve to seven mil li on peopl e spoke Engli sh. N early al of them li ved i n Engl and. Later i n the next century, people from England m ade voyages to conquer other parts of the worl d and because of that, Engl ish begin to be spoken i n m any other countri es. Today, m ore people speak Engl ish as their first, second or a forei gn l anguage than ever before. N ative Engl ish speakers can understand each other even if they don39。t speak the same kind of Engli sh. Look at thi s ki nd of exam pl e: Bri ti sh Betty: Woul d you l ike to se m y fl at? Ameri can Am y: Yes. I’d li ke to e up to your apartm ent. So why has Engl ish changed over tim e? Actual y al languages change and devel op when cul tures m et and m uni cate with each other. At fi rst the Engl ish spoken i n Engl and betwen about AD 450 and 150 was very di ferent the Engl ish spoken today. It was based m ore on Germ an than the Engl ish we speak at present. Then gradual y between ab