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1、0必修一 Unit oneAnnes Best FriendDo you want a friend whom you could tell everything to, like your deepest feelings and thoughts? Or are you afraid that your friend would laugh at you, or would not understand what you are going through? Anne Frank wanted the first kind, so she made her diary her best f
2、riend.Anne lived in Amsterdam in the Netherlands during World War . Her family was Jewish so they had to hide oe they would be caught by the German Nazis.S he and her family hid away for nearly twenty-five months before they were discovered. During that time the only true friend was her diary. She s
3、aid, ”I dont want to set down a series of facts in a diary as most people do, but I want this diary itself to be my friend, and I shall call my friend Kitty.” Now read how she felt after being in the hiding place since July 1942.Thursday 15th June, 1944 Dear Kitty, I wonder if its because I havent b
4、een able to be outdoors for so long that Ive grown so crazy about everything to do with nature. I can well remember that there was a time when a deep blue sky, the song of the birds, moonlight and flowers could never have kept me spellbound. Thats changed since I was here.For example, one evening wh
5、en it was so warm, I stayed awake on purpose until half past eleven in order to have a good look at the moon by my self. But as the moon gave far too much light, I didnt dare open a window. Another time five months ago, I happened to be upstairs at dusk when the window was open. I didnt go downstair
6、s until the window bad to be shut. The dark, rainy evening, the wind, the thundering clouds held me entirely in their power; it was the first time in a year and a half that Id seen the night face to face Sadly I am only able to look at nature through dirty curtains hanging before very dusty windows.
7、 Its no pleasure looking through these any longer because nature is one thing that really must be experienced. 1Yours,AnneUnit twoThe Road to Modern EnglishAt the end of the 16th century, about five to seven million people spoke English. Nearly all of them lived in England. Later in the next century
8、, people from England made voyages to conquer other parts of the world, and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countries. Today, more people speak English as their first, second or a foreign language than ever before. Native English speakers can understand each other even if t
9、hey dont speak the same kind of English. Look at this example: British Betty: Would you like to see my flat? American Amy: Yes. Id like to come up to your apartment.So why has English changed over time? Actually all languages change and develop when cultures meet and communicate with each other. At
10、fist the English spoken in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today. It was based more on German than the English we speak at present. Then gradually between about AD 500 and 1150, English became less like German because those who ruled England spoke fir
11、st Danish and later French. These new settlers enriched the English language and especially its vocabulary. So by the 1600s Shakespeare was able to make use of a wider vocabulary than ever before. In 1620 some British settlers moved to America. Later in the 18th century some British people were take
12、n to Australia to. English began to be spoken in both countries.Finally by the 19th century the language was settled. At that time two big changes in English spelling happened: first Samuel Johnson wrote his dictionary and later Noah Webster wrote The American Dictionary of the English language. The
13、 latter gave a separate identity to American English spelling.English now is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia. For example, India has a very large number of fluent English speakers because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947. During that 2time English became the language f
14、or government and education. English is also spoken in Singapore and Malaysia and countries in Africa such as South Africa. Today the number of people learning English in China is increasing rapidly. In fact, China may have the largest number of English learners. Will Chinese English develop its own
15、 identity? Only time will tell.STANDARD ENGLISH AND DIALECTSWhat is standard English? Is it spoken in Britain, the US, Canada, Australia, India and New Zealand? Believe it or not, there is no such thing as standard English. Many people believe the English spoken on TV and the radio is standard Engli
16、sh. This is because in the early days of radio, those who reported the news were expected to speak excellent English. However,on TV and the radio you will hear differences in the way people speak.When people use words and expressions different from the “standard language”,it is called a dialect. American English has many dialects, especially the midwestern, southern, African American and Spanish dialects. Even in some parts of the USA, two people from neighbouring
