2014考研英语：阅读理解模拟题及答案解析（十）

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　　Why is English so difficult? It is often thought that the number of words in the English language is a major reason, but this is not the real answer. Certainly, there are over half million words in the Oxford English Dictionary, but only about 10,000 are in general everyday use. A much stronger reason is the rich variety of sources from which English comes—sources that are due to the different people who have conquered or settled in parts of the British Isles over the past 1,500 years—and knowing more about the way English has evolved over this period makes its difficulties easier to understand.

　　What do we mean by an “English” word? Many words are English in the sense that they can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxons—Germanic tribes which settled in England from around the fifth century AD. They gave us many common words like book, house, cat and dog. Earlier still were the Celtic people whose speech survives in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, in Welsh, and in the local languages of two extremities of the British Isles, Manx and Cornish. There is practically no Celtic influence in English. This is because the Celts were forced back into the fringes of the British Isles by the Anglo-Saxon invaders, and there was little cultural interaction.

　　The next important influence on the main vocabulary of English came in the ninth and tenth centuries when much of the east side of England was in the hands of Danish invaders, and England as a whole had a Danish king Canute for a time. The Danes had much more contact with the Anglo-Saxons than did the Celts, and their short period of occupation has left its mark in the number of Scandinavian words taken into our language. Many of these are still in use, such as take and law, names of parts of the body such as leg and skull. Many more Scandinavian words are preserved in some dialects of the east side of England, in place-names and in street-names.

　　The last time that England was successfully invaded was in 1066 when William of Normandy defeated the English king Harold at the Battle of Hastings. The arrival of the Normans brought a further decisive influence on the language—French. French, together with Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, is known as a Romance language, and has its roots in Latin. For several centuries, French was the language of the aristocracy in England and a large number of French words came into the language. Many of these words are to do with government, like justice, council and tax, and many are abstract terms like liberty, charity and conflict.

　　Most of the words taken into the language over the years were adopted either because there was a basic need for them and they were useful or because they were preferable in some way to the words already in use. Often the old word disappeared altogether. In many cases, however, the new word and the old continued in use side by side on a roughly equal footing. This had produced pairs of words which are both in use today, like shut and close or buy and purchase, in which the second word of each pair is French in origin.

　　In the first years after the Norman Conquest many new words were used only by the ruling class and professionals associated with them, such as scribes and clerks. The language of the common people remained largely unaffected. It was the spread of literacy and the development of printing that brought the French words into more general use. Often these were technical words, or words with an official ring, such as commence and purchase. The result was a mixture of types of words. For many meanings we now have a choice of formal and informal words, the formal ones often being used only in very specific situations. (650 words)

　　46. Why is English difficult according to the text?

　　[A] English comes from a great variety of sources.

　　[B] There are over half a million words in English vocabulary.

　　[C] The number of the words in the English language is the main reason.

　　[D] Many English words can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxons tribes.

　　47. Which of the following words is French in origin?

　　[A] House. [B] Skull. [C] Law. [D] Tax.

　　48. Which of the following statement is not true according to the text?

　　[A] French has its roots in Latin.

　　[B] There is no Celtic influence in English.

　　[C] The Celts had much contact with the Anglo-Saxon.

　　[D] Many Scandinavian words were taken into English.

　　49. Why are many foreign words adopted into the English language?

　　[A] England was invaded again and again in history.

　　[B] The English language has a very large vocabulary.

　　[C] The language of the common people remained unchanged.

　　[D] They were preferable to the words already in use.

　　50. What had brought French words into more general use?

　　[A] These words were often technical words.

　　[B] Many common people were able to read and write.

　　[C] The formal words are not only used in specific situations.

　　[D] The arrival of the Normans exerted the influence on English

　　Text 10

　　46. A，文章第一段讲述了英语难的原因。本段第四句话阐述了英语难的重要原因，就是：the rich variety of sources from which English comes。所以A为正确答案;选项D仅仅是英语来源的一部分。

　　47. D，从文章第四段的最后一句话可以得知house、skull、law 和tax.这四个词里，只有Tax源自于法语。

　　48. C，这是一个综合性题目。所涉及的信息分布在第二、三和四段中。从第二段里的最后两句话：There is practically no Celtic influence in English. This is because the Celts were forced back into the fringes of the British Isles by the Anglo-Saxon invaders, and there was little cultural interaction，可以判断出C是所要求的答案。

　　49. D，从文章倒数第二段里的第一句话：Most of the words taken into the language over the years were adopted either because there was a basic need for them and they were useful or because they were preferable in some way to the words already in use，可以直接得知许多外来词语被接受到英语里的原因。

　　50. B，文章最后一段第三句话：It was the spread of literacy and the development of printing that brought the French words into more general use告知了法语中的一些词语得到推广应用的原因。很多普通老百姓能够识文断字了，印刷术得以推广，所以选择B。

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