【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 ol e day we unpacked the boxes, fi l ed the cupboards and tidi ed, until we were extrem ely ti red. We di d sl eep i n cl ean beds that night. We hadn’t had any warm food to eat al l day, but we didn’t care. Mummy and Margot were too tired and worri ed to eat, and Daddy and I were too busy. FRIENDSH IP IN H AWAII Every cul ture has its own ways to show friendship. On the isl ands of H awaii, friendship is part of the “al oha spirit”. In the l anguage of the H awai ians who fi rst settl ed the i sl ands l ong ago, al oha had a very special meaning. That is “to be with happiness”. H awai i ans bel i eve that once som ebody l oves the l and, they are ready to l ove thei r peopl e or m uni ty. Thi s i s the second m ost im port sign of fri endshi p. It is cal ed l okahi i n H awai i an l anguage, whi ch means “oneness with al l peopl e”. To enjoy the land you shoul d not be sel fish. The l and is for everyone who l ives on it. Today many di fferent people cal l H awai thei r hom e. Indeed, H awai i s a pl ace where peopl e m ake one bi g m unity from many smal l er munities. Each person gives kokua (hel p) to other peopl e so that al l fel l stronger. It’s believed that the isl ands can be a paradise when the peopl e l ive i n peace. Peopl e are tol d that thei r acti ons shoul d be as gentl e as the wind that bl ows from the sea. When probl ems hapen, peopl e are asked to sol ve them wi th understanding. So when peopl e of H awai i tal k about ohana (fam il y), they are real y talki ng about al l those who li ve on the isl ands. Li ving 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 givi ng l ei s to one another. The li e, a stri ng of fl owers, is put over a friend’s neck. Then the friend is given a kiss on cheek. Visitors to the isl ands are al so given lies. When they hear al oha, visitors begin to feel at home. Al oha al so means “goodbye”, so visitors wil l hear it again when they l eave. It can al so mean “our hearts singing together”. Perhaps this is how most visitors wil remember their new friendship. Uni t 2 TH E RO AD TO MO DERN EN GLISH At the end of the 16th century, about fi ve to seven m il li on peopl e spoke Engli sh. N earl y al l of them l ived i n Engl and. Later i n the next century, peopl e from Engl and made voyages to conquer other parts of the worl d and because of that, Engl i sh begi n to be spoken i n m any other countri es. Today, m ore peopl e speak Engli sh as their fi rst, second or a forei gn l anguage than ever before. N ati ve Engli sh speakers can understand each other even i f they don39。t speak the sam e ki nd of Engli sh. Look at this ki nd of exam pl e: Bri ti sh Betty: Woul d you li ke to se m y fl at? Am eri can Am y: Yes. I’d l i ke to e up to your apartment. So why has Engl ish changed over tim e? Actual l y al l l anguages change and devel op when cul tures m eet and m uni cate wi th each other. At fi rst the Engl ish spoken i n England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very di fferent the Engli sh spoken today. It was based m ore on Germ an than the Engl i sh we speak at present. Then gradual ly between about AD800 to 150, Engli sh becam e l ess l i ke germ en because those who rul ed Engl and spoke fi rst Dani sh and later French. These new settl ers enri ched the Engli sh l anguage and especial y its vocabul ary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was abl e to make use of a wider vocabul ary than ever before. In 1620 som e Bri ti sh settl ers moved to Am eri can. Later i n the 18th century som e Bri ti sh peopl e were taken to Australi a too. Engl ish began to be spoken in both countries. Fi nal y by the 19th century the l anguage was settl ed. At that tim e two bi g changes i n Engl i sh spel li ng happened: fi rst Sam uel Johnson wrote hi s di cti onary and l ater N oah Webster wrote The Am eri can Di cti onary of the Engl i sh Language. The l ater gave a separate i dentity to Am erican Engli sh spel ing. Engl i sh now i s also spoken as a forei gn or second language in South Asia. For exampl e, Indi a has a very l arge num ber of fl uent Engli sh speakers because Bri tai n ruled Indi a from 1765 to 1947. duri ng that ti m e Engl i sh becam e the l anguage for governm ent and educati on. Engli sh i s also spoken i n Si ngapore and Mal aysi a and countri es i n Afri ca such as South Afri ca. Today the num ber of peopl e l earni ng Engli sh i n China i s i ncreasing rapi dl y. In fact, Chi na m ay have the l argest num ber of Engl i sh learners. Wil Chi nese Engli sh devel op i ts own i denti ty? O nl y ti me wil tel l. STAN DARD EN GLISH AN D DIALECTS What i s standard Engl ish? Is i t spoken i n Britai n, the US, Canada, Australi a, India and N ew Zeal and? Beli eve i t or not, there i s no such thing as standard Engli sh. Many peopl e bel ieve the Engli sh spoken on TV and the radi o is standard Engli sh. Thi s i s because i n the earl y days of radi o, those who reported the news were expected to speak excel l ent Engl ish. However, on TV and the radi o you wi l hear di fferences i n the way peopl e speak. When peopl e use words and expressi ons diferent from the “standard l anguage”, it is cal l ed a dial ect. American English has many dial ects, especial ly the Midwestern, southern, Afri can Am eri can and Spanish di alects. Even i n som e parts of the USA, two peopl e from nei ghbouring towns speak a l i tl e di ferentl y. Am erican Engli sh has so m any 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 l i ve in the m ountai ns of the eastern USA speak with an ol der ki nd of Engli sh di al ect. When Am eri cans m oved from one pl ace to another, they took thei r di al ects wi th them. So peopl e from the mountai ns i n the southeastern USA speak with al most the same di al ects as peopl e in the no