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高三英语阅读5IfyouaskpeopletonametheonepersonwhohadthegreatesteffectontheEnglishlanguage,youwillgetanswerslike“Shakespeare”,“SamuelJohnson”and“Webster”,butnoneofthesemenhadanyeffectatallcomparedtoamanwhodidn'tevenspeakEnglish—WilliamtheConqueror.Before1066,inthelandwenowcallGreatBritainlivedpeoplesbelongingtotwomajorlanguagegroups.InthewestcentralregionlivedtheWelsh,whospokeaCelticlanguage,andinthenorthlivedtheScots,whoselanguage,thoughnotthesameasWelsh,wasalsoCeltic.IntherestofthecountrylivedtheSaxons,actuallyamixtureofAnglos,Saxons,andotherGermanicandNordicpeoples,whospokewhatwenowcallAngloSaxon(orOldEnglish),aGermaniclanguage.Ifthisstateofaffairshadlasted,EnglishtodaywouldbeclosetoGerman.Butthisstateofaffairsdidnotlast.In1066theNormansledbyWilliamdefeatedtheSaxonsandbegantheirruleoverEngland.Foraboutacentury,FrenchbecametheofficiallanguageofEnglandwhileOldEnglishbecamethelanguageofpeasants.Asaresult,EnglishwordsofpoliticsandthelawcomefromFrenchratherthanGerman.Insomecases,modernEnglishevenshowsadistinction(区别)betweenupperclassFrenchandlowerclassAngloSaxoninitswords.Weevenhavedifferentwordsforsomefoods,meatinparticular,dependingonwhetheritisstilloutinthefieldsorathomereadytobecooked,whichshowsthefactthattheSaxonpeasantsweredoingthefarming,whiletheupperclassNormansweredoingmostoftheeating.WhenAmericansvisitEuropeforthefirsttime,theyusuallyfindGermanymore“foreign”thanFrancebecausetheGermantheyseeonsignsandadvertisementsseemsmuchmoredifferentfromEnglishthanFrenchdoes.FewrealizethattheEnglishlanguageisactuallyGermanicinitsbeginningandthattheFrenchinfluencesarealltheresultofoneman'sambition.1.ThetwomajorlanguagesspokeninwhatisnowcalledGreatBritainbefore1066were_________.A.WelshandScottishB.NordicandGermanicC.CelticandOldEnglishD.AngloSaxonandGermanic2.Whichofthefollowinggroupsofwordsare,byinference,rootedinFrench?A.president,lawyer,beefB.president,bread,waterC.bread,field,sheepD.folk,field,cow3.WhydoesFranceappearlessforeignthanGermanytoAmericansontheirfirstvisittoEurope?A.MostadvertisementsinFranceappearinEnglish.B.TheyknowlittleofthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage.C.ManyFrenchwordsaresimilartoEnglishones.D.TheyknowFrenchbetterthanGerman.4.Whatisthesubjectdiscussedinthetext?A.ThehistoryofGreatBritain.B.ThesimilaritybetweenEnglishandFrench.C.TheruleofEnglandbyWilliamtheConqueror.D.TheFrenchinfluencesontheEnglishlanguage.【解析】1.这是一道细节题。从第二段可知，在1066年前，在英国主要说两种语言——Celtic和OldEnglish。答案为C。2.这是一道细节题。从第三段可知，当时在英国，凡是政治、法律和供Normans上层阶级吃的食物的名称都来源于法国。答案为A。3.这是一道细节推断题。从第四段可知法语单词和英语单词比较相似，所以法国人和美国人就会有某种相似感。答案为C。4.这是一道主旨题。纵观全文第一段总论说出任何人同WilliamtheConqueror在语言上对英语的影响，都无法匹敌；二、三段则说明法国殖民统治后，从语言上对英语的影响；最后一段进一步说明法语和英语的相似感。通篇短文主要讲了法语对英语的影响。答案为D。