English and English Community 1 There is no denying that English is a useful language. The people who speak English today make up the largest speech community in the world with the exception of speakers of Chinese. Originally they were small tribes of people from northern Europe who settled in England. Their languages became more and more similar to each other. Finally, the language had enough uniformity to be used by all speakers in England. The people were united into a speech community through their shared language. 2 A speech community is similar to other kinds of communities. The people who make up the community share a common language. Often they live side by side, as they do in a neighborhood, a village, or a city. More often they form a whole country. National boundaries, however, are not always the same as the boundaries of a speech community. A speech community is any group of people who speak the same language no matter where they happen to live. 3 We may say that anyone who speaks English belongs to the English speech community. For convenience, we may classify the speakers into two groups: one in which the speakers use English as their native language, the other in which the speakers learn English as a second language for the purpose of education, commerce, and so on. 4 English serves as an alternative language in several areas of public activity for the many nations of the world which employ it as an international second language. English has been adopted as the language of air traffic, commerce, as well as international diplomacy. Moreover, English is the language of the majority of published materials in the world so that education has come to rely heavily on an understanding of English. 5 Learning a second language extends one’s vision and expands the mind. The history and literature of a second language record the real and fictional lives of people and their culture; a knowledge of them adds to our ability to understand and to feel as they feel. Learning English as a second language provides another means of communication through which the window of the entire English speech community becomes a part of our heritage.A The Wide Use of English B Historical Account of English and Its Community C The Advantages of Learning a Second Language D The Composition of the English Community E The Threat That English Poses to Other Languages F The Definition of a Speech Community

I wasn’t qualified for the job really but I got it anyhow. besides anyway well anymore

He achieved success through hard work. reached reaped attained took

These old buildings are gorgeous. ridiculous lovely magnificent peculiar

The powers of the European Commission to regulate competition in the Community are increasing. fight abolish remove control

Smoking Since 1939, numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether smoking is a health hazard. The trend of the evidence has been consistent and indicates that there is a serious health risk. Research teams have conducted studies that show beyond all reasonable doubt that tobacco smoking is associated with a shortened life expectancy. Cigarette smoking is believed by most research workers in this field to be an important factor in the development of cancer of the lungs and cancer of the throat and is believed to be related to cancer of some other organs of the body. Male cigarette smokers have a higher death rate from heart disease than non-smoking males. Female smokers are thought to be less affected because they do not breathe in the smoke so deeply. Apart from statistics, it might be helpful to look at what smoking tobacco does to the human body. Smoke is a mixture of gases, vaporized chemicals, minute particles of ash and other solids. There is also nicotine, which is powerful poison, and black tar. As smoke is breathed in, all those components form deposits on the membranes of the lungs. One point of concentration is where the air tube and bronchus divides. Most lung cancer begins at this point. Filters and low tar tobacco are claimed to make smoking to some extent safer, but they can only slightly reduce, not eliminate the hazards.It is easy to determine whether smoking is hazardous. Right Wrong Not mentioned

TV Shows and Long Bus Trips Long bus rides are like television shows. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end - with commercials thrown in every three or four minutes. The commercials are unavoidable. They happen whether you want them or not. Every couple of minutes a billboard glides by outside the bus window. “Buy Super Clean Toothpaste.“ “Drink Good’n Wet Root Beer.“ “Fill up with Pacific Gas.“ Only if you sleep, which is equal to turning the television set off, are you spared the unending cry of “You Need It! Buy It Now! “ The beginning of the ride is comfortable and somewhat exciting, even if you’ve traveled that way before. Usually some things have changed - new houses, new buildings, sometimes even a new road. The bus driver has a style of driving and it’s fun to try to figure it out the first hour or so. If the driver is particularly reckless or dating, the ride can be as thrilling as a suspense story. Will the driver pass the truck in time? Will the driver move into the tight or the left-hand lane? After a while, of course, the excitement dies down. Sleeping for a while helps pass the middle hours of the ride. Food always makes bus tides more interesting. But you’ve got to be careful of what kind of food you eat. Too much salty food can make you very thirsty between stops. The end of the ride is somewhat like the beginning. You know it will soon be over and there’s a kind of expectation and excitement in that. The seat, of course, has become harder as the hours have passed. By now you’ve sat with your legs crossed, with your hands in your lap, with your hands on the ann rests - even with your hands crossed behind your head. The end comes just at the tight time. There are just no more ways to sit.According to the passage, what do the passengers usually see when they are on a long bus trip? Buses on the road. Films on television. Advertisements on billboards. Gas stations.

They have been living under the most appalling conditions for two years. dreadful bad unpleasant poor

The standards set four years ago in Seoul will be far below the athletes’ capabilities now. capacities strengths possibilities abilities

The army should have operated in conjunction with the fleet to raid the enemy’s coast. together in succession in alliance in connection

His claims seem credible to many people. workable convincing practical reliable

Their interpretation was faulty. wrong ambiguous unclear unbelievable

Contact your doctor if the cough persists. insists perseveres continues resists

The story was touching. inspiring boring moving frightening

English and English Community 1 There is no denying that English is a useful language. The people who speak English today make up the largest speech community in the world with the exception of speakers of Chinese. Originally they were small tribes of people from northern Europe who settled in England. Their languages became more and more similar to each other. Finally, the language had enough uniformity to be used by all speakers in England. The people were united into a speech community through their shared language. 2 A speech community is similar to other kinds of communities. The people who make up the community share a common language. Often they live side by side, as they do in a neighborhood, a village, or a city. More often they form a whole country. National boundaries, however, are not always the same as the boundaries of a speech community. A speech community is any group of people who speak the same language no matter where they happen to live. 3 We may say that anyone who speaks English belongs to the English speech community. For convenience, we may classify the speakers into two groups: one in which the speakers use English as their native language, the other in which the speakers learn English as a second language for the purpose of education, commerce, and so on. 4 English serves as an alternative language in several areas of public activity for the many nations of the world which employ it as an international second language. English has been adopted as the language of air traffic, commerce, as well as international diplomacy. Moreover, English is the language of the majority of published materials in the world so that education has come to rely heavily on an understanding of English. 5 Learning a second language extends one’s vision and expands the mind. The history and literature of a second language record the real and fictional lives of people and their culture; a knowledge of them adds to our ability to understand and to feel as they feel. Learning English as a second language provides another means of communication through which the window of the entire English speech community becomes a part of our heritage.A The Wide Use of English B Historical Account of English and Its Community C The Advantages of Learning a Second Language D The Composition of the English Community E The Threat That English Poses to Other Languages F The Definition of a Speech Community

Feast on Turkey and Good Wishes at Thanksgiving Four weeks ago US children dressed as monsters and asked for sweets. That was Halloween。 In a few weeks American houses will be red and green and filled with presents, for Christmas. As if all this isn’t enough, on Thursday this week, America will enjoy another festival - Thanksgiving. Children will have two days off school, shops will close and houses will be filled with families enjoying mountains of food. Every year, in Gainesville, Florida, an entire class celebrate Thanksgiving together. The class dresses up and puts on plays for their families. After the plays the families share a feast of traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey and pumpkin pie. Dean Foster, an Il-year-old boy will take part in this celebration. He said: “I love Thanksgiving because it means time off school, lots of nice food and a happy family.“ His brother Ben, nine, said: “The best thing about Thanksgiving, is that when it is finished, it is time to start Christmas.“ But behind the food and the large amount of money spent there is another message. On Thursday evening, Dean and Ben’s family will make a basket and put it on the table as they eat their evening meal. Each of them will write a list of things that they are thankful for and place the paper in the basket. The family will read the pieces of paper and take time to thank God and each other for providing them with comfortable and happy lives. Thanksgiving is a traditional festival that started in 1621, when the first pilgrims arrived in America to start a new life. After a hard year, they had a big autumn harvest. They held a feast and invited the native American Indians along to thank God for giving them enough food. Many countries celebrate Thanksgiving. They often fall after the fields have been harvested and the crops collected for winter.On Halloween, children in the United States often dress up as ghosts. players. pilgrims. visitors.

Ants as a Barometer of Ecological Change At picnics, ants are pests. But they have their uses. In industries such as mining, farming and forestry, they can help gauge the health of the environment by just crawling around and being antsy. It has been recognized for decades that ants--which are highly sensitive to ecological change--can provide a near-perfect barometer of the state of an ecosystem. Only certain species, for instance, will continue to thrive at a forest site that has been cleared of trees. (46)And still others will move in and take up residence. By looking at which species populate a deforested area, scientists can determine how “stressed“ the land is.(47)Ants are used simply because they are so common and comprise so many species. Where mine sites are being restored, for example, some ant species will recolonize the stripped land more quickly than others.(48)Australian mining company Capricorn Coal Management has been successfully using ant surveys for years to determine the rate of recovery of land that it is replanting near its German Creek mine in Queensland, Ant surveys also have been used with mine-site recovery projects in Africa and Brazil, where warm climates encourage dense and diverse ant populations. “We found it worked extremely well there,“ says Jonathan Majer, a professor of environmental biology. Yet the surveys are perfectly suited to climates throughout Asia, he says, because ants are so common throughout the region. As Majer puts it: “That’s the great thing about ants.“ Ant surveys are so highly-regarded as ecological indicators that governments worldwide accept their results when assessing the environmental impact of mining and tree harvesting. (49) Why not? Because many companies can’t afford the expense or the laboratory time needed to sift results for a comprehensive survey. The cost stems, also, from the scarcity of ant specialists. (50) A This allowed scientists to gauge the pace and progress of the ecological recovery. B Yet in other businesses, such as fanning and property development, ant surveys aren’t used widely. C Employing those people are expensive. D They do this by sorting the ants, counting their numbers and comparing the results with those of earlier surveys. E The evolution of ant species may have a strong impact on our ecosystem. F Others will die out for lack of food.

Jack is a diligent worker. ambitious lazy hardworking clever

Society is now much more diverse than ever before. colorful attractive flexible varied

They scattered after dinner. separated fled departed spread

From my standpoint, you know, this thing is just ridiculous. position point of view knowledge opinion

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A that of a speech community B can a speech community be formed C in order to learn English better D for the sake of simplicity E has played an important role in the field of education F is widely used in several areas of public activity

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