英语听力—环球英语 465：The English Language

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Marina Santee
Voice 2
And I’m Adam Navis. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is about 1500 years old. It started in one country but is now spread around the world. Hundreds of millions of people use it every day. In fact, we are using it right now. What is it? The English language.
Voice 2
Today’s Spotlight is on the history of the English Language. How did it begin? How has it changed? What will it be like in the future?
Voice 1
The English language started life in, no surprise here, England. This was in about the fifth century. The language was a mix of different languages spoken by a number of local tribes³. These tribes had all invaded⁴ Britain from northern Europe. One of these tribes was the Angles⁵. The Angles spoke² a language called Englisc. This is where the name England and English come from.
Voice 2
The kind of English spoken at this time is called Old English. However Old English is very different to the English people speak today. It sounds like this:
Voice 3
ρa w?s Hroegare heresped gyfen, wiges weoremynd, t?t him his winemagas georne hyrdon, oee t?t seo geogoe geweox, magodriht micel.
Voice 1
This is a poem called Beowulf. It was written about one thousand years ago in Old English. A teacher from Glasgow University is reading it here. As you can hear, Old English is almost impossible for modern English speakers to understand.
Voice 1
In the year 1066, England was invaded again. This time the invaders⁶ were from northern France. When they settled⁷ in England, their French language mixed with English. This developed the English language even more. Old English changed to become what is called Middle English. But even this English was very different to the English people use today.
Voice 4
To be or not to be, that is the question ...
Voice 2
This is a famous line written by William Shakespeare⁸. This writer had a big influence on the English language. He invented almost two thousand English words. Many of his words and lines are still used in English today.
Voice 1
Shakespeare lived about four hundred years ago. By this time, English was more similar to the language it is today. However it was written in different ways. People would spell words with different letters and different orders of letters. Even Shakespeare spelled his own name in different ways.
Voice 2
But the printing of books helped to change this. Before people could print books, there was no right way to spell. But printing meant thousands of books could be produced that were exactly the same. Many of these books were printed in the same city – London. So London’s way of spelling became common. As printed books became more popular around the country, an official way of spelling was developed.
Voice 1
One of the first English language books to be printed was an English translation of the Christian⁹ Bible¹⁰. This also influenced the English language. People speaking today still sometimes use sentences from this translation of the Bible.
Voice 2
Over the following centuries the English language continued to develop. More and more words were added¹¹ to the language. It is difficult to know exactly how many English words there are today. One of the most popular English word books is The Oxford¹² English Dictionary. It describes over six hundred thousand [600,000] words. However, native English speakers will probably only know between 25,000 and 50,000 of these words.
Voice 1
Part of the reason for the growth¹³ of English is that it has spread around the world. Many thousands of English words have been added from other languages. For example – the word “ketchup¹⁴’. This word comes from Malaysia. Ketchup is a red liquid used to make food taste better. It is made from tomatoes – a small red fruit that is eaten as a vegetable. The word tomato comes from the Spanish language.
Voice 2
The way the word “tomato’ is spoken is also interesting.
Voice 5
I come from the USA, so I say “tom–ay–toe’.
Voice 4
But I live in the UK. Here, we say “tom–ah–toe’
Voice 2
This is one of the small things that is different between how the British and Americans speak English. There are also a few words that they use differently.
Voice 4
I live in a small property¹⁵ that is part of a larger building. Here in Britain we call this a ‘flat’.
Voice 5
But in the USA we call it an “apartment’.
Voice 1
Some people in Britain now say “apartment’ too. This is because the American way of speaking English is influencing the way the British speak it. American English is becoming more popular all over the world. Film, television and the Internet have all helped the spread of American English.
Voice 2
Another influence on the English language is culture. The language has been changed in a number of small ways by different people’s cultures. Words that are common in one area can be unusual in another area.
Voice 1
In India, for example, English speakers use the word “godown’. This is a very large building used to store goods. It is an English word, but it is not used in Britain, America or most other parts of the world.
Voice 2
Estimates¹⁶ say that about 380 million people have English as their native language. But about two times as many use English as a second, or foreign language. So, English is not just the language of traditionally¹⁷ English speaking countries. People around the world are now helping¹⁸ to define¹⁹ the English language and shape its future.
Voice 1
But what future will that be? No one knows how English will grow and change. Many experts believe that more and more people will choose to speak English. This will help people around the world understand each other. English is already the official language of many international organisations and businesses.
Voice 2
However, many people do not want English to become more popular. They are worried that children could stop learning²⁰ their local language and learn English instead. They say that language is very important for people’s culture. If local languages were to die out, then this could damage many cultures around the world. So, in the future it could be important for people to learn both English and their native language.
Voice 1
English has grown from a few tribes on an island in Europe, to the world’s first global²¹ language. The future of the English language will not depend on the nations who first owned the language. Instead the millions of people learning the language today could be the people who shape its future.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 invaded   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的过去式和过去分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• Troops invaded on August 9th that year. 军队是在那年的8月9日入侵的。
• The diseased tissue can be easily invaded by these microorganisms. 有病的组织容易被微生物侵袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 angles   

n.角( angle的名词复数 )；[比喻]（考虑、问题的）角度；观点；轮廓鲜明的突出体

参考例句：

• She angles her reports to suit the people she is speaking to. 她带着一定的倾向性作报告以迎合她的听众。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Angles of less than 90 degrees are called acute angles. 小于90度的角叫锐角。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

7 settled   

a.固定的；稳定的

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled without acrimony. 没有唇枪舌剑，这场纠纷就解决了。
• a settled way of life 安定的生活方式

8 Shakespeare   

n.莎士比亚(16世纪英国剧作家、诗人)

参考例句：

• Shakespeare is a giant among writers.莎士比亚是作家中的巨擘.
• He read Shakespeare to help his English.他阅读莎士比亚的作品以提高自己的英语水平。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

11 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

12 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

13 growth   

n.生长，栽培

参考例句：

• All living things depend on the sun for their growth.万物靠太阳生长。
• Youth is the time of physical growth.青年时期是长身体的时期。

14 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

15 property   

n.财产，所有物，所有权，性质，特性，（小）道具

参考例句：

• He has made over his property to a hospital.他已将财产转交给了一家医院。
• Oil has the property of floating on water.油有浮在水上的特性。

16 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 traditionally   

adv.传说地；传统地

参考例句：

• Traditionally,people clean the house before the Spring Festival.传统上，人们在春节前打扫房子。
• Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year.根据传统，医学奖是诺贝尔奖每年颁发的第一个奖项。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

20 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

21 global   

adj.全球的；球形的；世界的

参考例句：

• A global environmental meeting is going to be held here.一个全球环境会议将在这里举行。
• The report takes a global view of the company's problems.这份报告对公司的问题作了综合性的论述。