【導讀】10July1942WhenwearivedatPrinsengracht,wewentquicklyupstairsandthehidingplace.Weclosedthedoorbehindusandwewerealone.Margothadefasteronherbicycleandalreadywaitingforus.Alltheroomswerefulofboxes.Theylayonthefloorandthebeds.Thelittleroomwasfilledwithbedclothes.Wehadtostartclearingupatonce,ifwewishedtosleepinfortablebedsthatnight.MummyandMargotwerenotabletohelp.Theyweretiredandlaydownontheirbeds.ButDad

　　

【正文】 ken. Al though m any Am eri cans m ove a l ot, they stil l recognize and understand each other’s dial ects. TH E O XFO RD EN GLISH DICTION ARY You may thi nk that Engl i sh dicti onaries have been used for m any, m any centuri es. The spel li ng of Engli sh has al ways been a problem but i t was m ore of a probl em in the days before a di cti onary. Then peopl e coul d spel l word i n di fferent ways whi ch you mi ght fi nd i t i nteresti ng. But it m ade readi ng Engli sh m uch m ore di ffi cul t. So di cti onari es were i nvented to encourage everybody to spel the sam e. In fact, an Engl i sh dictionary like the kind you use today wasn’t made until the time of the l ate Qing Dynasty. There men did most of the important earl y work on di cti onari es: Sam uel Johnson, N oah Webster, and Jam es Murray. These m en spent nearl y al of thei r l ives tryi ng to col ect words for their dictionaries. For them, it wasn’t onl y a job。 it was a wonderful journey of discovery. The l argest dicti onary i n the worl d i s the O xford Engl ish Di ctionary, or O ED for short. The i dea for this di cti onary cam e from an im portant meeting i n Bri tai n i n 1857. Twentytwo years l ater, O xford Uni versi ty asked Jam es Muray to be the editor of i ts new di cti onary. Murray had never been to col ege. At the age of fourteen, he left hi s vil age school i n Scotl and and taught hi msel f whil e worki ng 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 Jul y 1942 When we ari ved at Pri nsengracht, we went qui ckl y upstai rs and the hi di ng pl ace. We cl osed the door behi nd us and we were al one. Margot had e faster on her bi cycl e and al ready wai ti ng for us. Al l the room s were ful of boxes. They l ay on the fl oor and the beds. The l ittl e room was fil l ed wi th bedcl othes. We had to start cl eari ng up at once, if we wi shed to sl eep i n fortabl e beds that night. Mummy and Margot were not abl e to hel p. They were tired and l ay down on their beds. But Daddy and I, the two “hel per” of the famil y, started at once. The whole day we unpacked the boxes, fi l ed the cupboards and ti di ed, until we were extrem el y tired. We did sl eep in clean beds that night. We hadn’t had any warm food to eat al day, but we didn’t care. Mummy and Margot were to ti red and worri ed to eat, and Daddy 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 “al oha spirit”. In the l anguage of the H awaians who first settl ed the isl ands l ong ago, al oha had a very special meaning. That is “to be with happiness”. H awai ians beli eve that once som ebody l oves the l and, they are ready to love thei r peopl e or m uni ty. Thi s i s the second most im port si gn of fri endshi p. It i s cal ed l okahi in H awaiian l anguage, which means “oneness with al peopl e”. To enjoy the l and you shoul d not be sel fish. The l and i s for everyone who l i ves on it. Today m any di fferent peopl e cal l Hawai thei r hom e. Indeed, H awai i is a place where peopl e make one bi g m uni ty from m any sm al l er m uniti es. Each person gi ves kokua (help) to other people so that al l fel l stronger. It’s beli eved 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 wi nd that bl ows from the sea. When probl em s happen, peopl e are asked to sol ve them wi th understandi ng. So when peopl e of H awai talk about ohana (fam il y), they are real y talki ng about al l those who li ve on the i slands. Li vi ng i n peace, H awai i ans have devel oped a third si gn of fri endship. Thi s personal fri endshi p i s shown by gi vi ng l eis 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 also given lies. When they hear al oha, visitors begin to feel at home. Al oha al so means “goodbye”, so visitors wil hear it again when they l eave. It can also mean “our hearts singing together”. Perhaps this is how most visitors wil l 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 people spoke Engli sh. N earl y al l of them l ived i n Engl and. Later in the next century, peopl e from Engl and m ade voyages to conquer other parts of the worl d and because of that, Engli 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 language than ever before. N ati ve Engli sh speakers can understand each other even if they don39。t speak the same ki nd of Engl ish. Look at this ki nd of exam pl e: Bri ti sh Betty: Woul d you li ke to see m y fl at? Am eri can Am y: Yes. I’d li ke to e up to your apartm ent. So why has Engl i sh changed over tim e? Actual y al l anguages change and develop when cul tures m eet and m uni cate with each other. At fi rst the Engl i sh spoken i n Engl and between about AD 450 and 1150 was very di fferent the Engl ish spoken today. It was based more on Germ an than the Engli sh we speak at present. Then gradual y between about AD800 to 1150, Engl i sh becam e l es l i ke germ en because those who rul ed Engl and spoke fi rst Danish and later French. These new settl ers enri ched the Engli sh l anguage and especial y i ts vocabul ary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was abl e to make use of a wider vocabul ary than ever before. In 1620 some British settl ers moved to American. Later i n the 18th century som e Bri tish peopl e were taken to Austral i a too. Engli sh