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Unit1,Book1Anne'sbestfriendDoyouwantafriendwhomyoucouldtelleverythingto,likeyourdeepestfeelingsandthoughts?Orareyouafraidthatyourfriendwouldlaughatyou,orwouldnotunderstandwhatyouaregoingthrough?AnneFrankwantedthefirstkind,soshemadeherdiaryherbestfriend.AnnielivedinAmsterdamintheNetherlandsduringWorldWarII.HerfamilywasJewishsotheyhadtohideortheywouldbecaughtbytheGermanNazis.Sheandherfamilyhidawayfornearlytwenty-fivemonthsbeforetheywerediscovered.Duringthattimetheonlytruefriendwasherdiary.Shesaid,Idon'twanttosetdownaseriesoffactsinadiaryasmostpeopledo,butIwantthisdiaryitselftobemybestfriend,andIshallcallmyfriendKitty.NowreadhowshefeltafterbeinginthehidingplacesinceJuly1942.Dearkitty,Iwonderifit'sbecauseIhaven'tbeenabletobeoutdoorsforsolongthatI'vegrowncrazyabouteverythingtodowithnature.Icanwellrememberthattherewasatimewhenadeepbluesky,thesongofthebirds,moonlightandflowerscouldneverhavekeptmespellbound.That'schangedsinceIwashere.Forexample,oneeveningwhenitwassowarm,Istayedawakeonpurposeuntilhalfpasteleveninordertohaveagoodlookatthemoonbymyself.Butasthemoongavefartoomuchlight,Ididn'tdareopenawindow.Anothertimefivemonthsago,Ihappenedtobeupstairsatduskwhenthewindowwasopen.Ididn'tgodownstairsuntilthewindowhadtobeshut.Thedark,rainyevening,thewind,thethunderingcloudsheldmeentirelyintheirpower;itwasthefirsttimeinayearandahalfthatI'dseenthenightfacetoface......Sadly...Iamonlyabletolookatnaturethroughdirtycurtainshangingbeforeverydustywindows.It'snopleasurelookingthroughtheseanylongerbecausenatureisonethingthatreallymustbeexperienced.Yours,AnneUnit2TheroadtomodernEnglishAttheendofthe16thcentury,aboutfivetosevenmillionpeoplespeakEnglish.NearlyallofthemlivedinEngland.Laterinthenextcentury,peoplefromEnglandmadevoyagestoconquerotherpartsoftheworldandbecauseofthat,Englishbegantobespokeninmanyothercountries.Today,morepeoplespeakEnglishastheirfirst,second,oraforeignlanguagethaneverbefore.NativeEnglishspeakerscanunderstandeachothereveniftheydon'tspeakthesamekindofEnglish.Lookatthisexample:BritishBetty:Wouldyouliketoseemyflat?AmericanAmy:Yes.I'dliketocomeuptoyourapartment.SowhyhasEnglishchangedovertime?Actuallyalllanguageschangeanddevelopwhenculturesmeetandcommunicatewitheachother.AtfirsttheEnglishspokeninEnglandbetweenaboutAD450and1150wasverydifferentfromtheEnglishwespoketoday.ItwasbasedmoreonGermanthantheEnglishwespeakatpresent.ThengraduallybetweenaboutAD800and1150,EnglishbecamelesslikeGermanbecausethosewhorulesEnglandspokefirstDanishandlaterFrench.ThesenewsettlersenrichedtheEnglishlanguageandespeciallyitsvocabulary.Sobythe1600'sShakespearewasabletomakeuseofawidervocabularythaneverbefore.In1620someBritishsettlersmovedtoAmerica.Laterinthe18thcenturysomeBritishpeopleweretakentoAustraliatoo.Englishbegantobespokeninbothcountries.Finallybythe19thcenturythelanguagewassettled.AtthattimetwobigchangesinEnglishspellinghappened:firstSamuelJohnsonwrotehisdictionaryandlaterNoahWebsterwrotetheAmericanDictionaryoftheEnglishlanguage.ThelattergaveaseparateidentitytoAmericanEnglishspelling.EnglishnowisspokenasaforeignorsecondlanguageinSouthAsia.Forexample,IndiahasaverylargenumberoffluentEnglishspeakersbecauseBritainruledIndiafrom1765to1947.DuringthattimeEnglishbecamethelanguageforgovernmentandeducation.EnglishisalsospokeninSingaporeandMalaysiaandcountriesinAfricasuchasSouthAfrica.TodaythenumberofpeoplelearningEnglishinChinaisincreasingrapidly.Infact,ChinamayhavethelargestnumberofEnglishlearners.WillChineseEnglishdevelopitsownidentity?Onlytimewilltell.StandardEnglishanddialects....Whenpeopleusewordsandexpressionsdifferentfromthestandardlanguage,itiscalledadialect......AmericanEnglishhassomanydialectsbecausepeoplehavecomefromallovertheworld.Geographyalsoplaysapartinmakingdialects.SomepeoplewholiveinmountainsoftheeasternUSAspeakwithanolderkindofEnglishdialect......AlthoughmanyAmericansmovealot,theystillrecognizeandunderstandeachother'sdialects.Unit3JourneydowntheMekongMynameisWangKun.Eversincemiddleschool,mysisterWangWeiandIhavedreamedabouttakingagreatbiketrip.Twoyearsagosheboughtanexpensivemountainbikethenshepersuadedmetobuyone.Lastyear,shevisitedourcousins,DaoWeiandYuHangattheircollegeinKunming.TheyareDaiandgrewupinwesternYunnanProvincenearLancangRiver,theChinesepartoftheriverthatiscalledtheMekongRiverinothercountries.WangWeisoongottheminterestedincyclingtoo.Aftergraduatingfromcollege,wefinallygotthechancetotakeabiketrip.Iaskedmysister,Wherearewegoing?ItwasmysisterwhofirsthadtheideatocyclealongtheentireMekongRiverfromwhereitbeginstowhereitends.Nowsheisplanningourscheduleforthetrip.Iamfondofmysisterbutshehasoneseriousshortcoming.Shecanbereallystubborn.Althoughshedidn'tknowthebestwayofgettingtoplaces,sheinsistedthatsheorganizethetripproperly.NowIknowthattheproperwayisalwaysherway.Ikeptaskingher,Whenareweleavingandwhenarewecomingback?Iaskedherwhethershehadlookedatamapyet.Ofcourseshehadn't;mysisterdoesn'tcareaboutdetails.SoItoldherthatthesourceoftheMekongisinQinghaiProvince.Shegavemeadeterminedlook-thekindthatsaidshewouldnotchangehermind.WhenItoldh