Unit 7
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You have studied English for many years. Yet have you ever noticed there are lots of funny things about English words themselves? The short talk you're going to listen to is all about it. After listening, complete the following statements according to what you have heard.
The following words in the recording may be new to you:
eggplant n. 茄子
pineapple n. 菠萝
hamburger n. 汉堡牛肉饼，汉堡包
1. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many
and one of the noblest bodies of literature.
4. English was invented by people, not computers, and
hello test、、
Keys
1. one million words
2. invented in England; France
3. opposites, similar / alike
4. reflects the creativity of the human race
Script
English is the most widely used language in the history of our planet. One in every seven human beings can speak it. More than half of the world's books and three quarters of international mail are in English. Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary — perhaps as many as one million words — and one of the noblest bodies of literature.
Nonetheless, let's face it. English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, neither pine or apple in pineapple and no ham in a hamburger. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candy, while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
Sometimes I wonder if all English speakers should be sent to a madhouse. In what other language do people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise guy and a wise man are opposites? How can overlook and oversee are opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell the next?
You have to marvel at the glorious messiness of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which your alarm clock goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of
the human race, which, of course, isn't a race at all. That is why when stars are out they a revisible, but when the lights are out they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch I start it, but when I wind up this speech I end it
R T Some languages resist the introduction of new words. Others, like English, seem to welcome them.Robert MacNeil looks at the history of English and comes to the conclusion that its tolerance for change represents deeply rooted ideas of freedom.
有些语言拒绝引入新词。另一些语言，如英语，则似乎欢迎新词的引入。罗伯特·麦克尼尔回顾英语的历史，得出结论说，英语对变化的包容性体现了根深蒂固的自由思想。
The Glorious Messiness of English
Robert MacNeil
R T 1. The story of our English language is typically one of massive stealing from other languages. That is why English today has an estimated vocabulary of over one million words, while other major languages have far fewer.
英语中绚丽多彩的杂乱无章现象
罗伯特·麦克尼尔
我们的英语的历史是典型的大量窃取其他语言的历史。正因为如此，今日英语的词汇量据估计超过一百万，而其他主要语言的词汇量都要小得多。
T 2. French, for example, has only about 75,000 words, and that includes English expressions like snack bar and hit parade. The French, however, do not like borrowing foreign words because they think it corrupts their language. The government tries to ban words from English and declares that Walkman is not desirable; so they invent a word, balladeur, which French kids are supposed to say instead — but they don't.
例如，法语只有约75,000个单词，其中还包括像snack bar (快餐店)和hit parade (流行唱片目录)这样的英语词汇。但法国人不喜欢借用外来词，因为他们认为这样会损害法语的纯洁性。法国政府试图逐出英语词汇，宣称Walkman (随身听)一词有伤大雅，因此他们造了个新词balladeur让法国儿童用——可他们就是不用。
R T 3. Walkman is fascinating because it isn't even English. Strictly speaking, it was invented by the Japanese manufacturers who put two simple English words together to name their product. That doesn't bother us, but it does bother the French. Such is the glorious messiness of English. That happy tolerance, that
willingness to accept words from anywhere, explains the richness of English and why it has become, to a very real extent, the first truly global language.
Walkman一词非常耐人寻味，因为这个词连英语也不是。严格地说，该词是由日本制造商发明的，他们把两个简单的英语单词拼在一起来命名他们的产品。这事儿我们不介意，法国人却耿耿于怀。由此可见英语中绚丽多彩的杂乱无章现象。这种乐意包容的精神，这种不管源自何方都来者不拒的精神，恰好解释了英语为什么会这么丰富，解释了英语缘何在很大程度上成了第一种真正的国际语言。
R T 4. How did the language of a small island off the coast of Europe become the language of the planet — more widely spoken and written than any other has ever been? The history of English is present in the first words a child learns
about identity (I, me, you); possession (mine, yours); the body (eye, nose, mouth); size (tall, short); and necessities (food, water). These words all come from Old English or Anglo-Saxon English, the core of our language. Usually short and direct, these are words we still use today for the things that really matter to us.
欧洲沿海一个弹丸小岛的语言何以会成为地球上的通用语言，比历史上任何一种其他语言都更为广泛地被口头和书面使用？英语的历史体现在孩子最先学会用来表示身份（I, me, you）、所属关系（mine, yours）、身体部位（eye, nose, mouth）、尺寸量度（tall, short），以及生活必需品（food, water）的词汇当中。这些词都来自英语的核心部分——古英语或盎格鲁-撒克逊英语。这些词通常简短明了，我们今天仍然用这些词来表示对我们真正至关重要的事物。
5. Great speakers often use Old English to arouse our emotions. For example, during World War II, Winston Churchill made this speech, stirring the courage of his people against Hitler's armies positioned to cross the English Channel: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender."
伟大的演说家常常用古英语来激发我们的情感。例如，在二战期间，温斯顿·丘吉尔作了如下的演讲来激励国民的勇气以抵抗对岸准备渡英吉利海峡来袭的希特勒的军队：“我们要战斗在海滩上，我们要战斗在着陆场上，我们要战斗在田野和街巷，我们要战斗在群山中。我们决不投降。”
6. Virtually every one of those words came from Old English, except the last —surrender, which came from Norman French. Churchill could have said, "We shall never give in," but it is one of the lovely — and powerful — opportunities of English that a writer can mix, for effect, different words from different backgrounds. Yet there is something direct to the heart that speaks to us from the earliest words in our language.
这段文字中几乎每个词都来自古英语，只有最后一个词——surrender 是个例外，来自诺曼法语。丘吉尔原本可以说：“We shall never give in”但这正是英语迷人之处和活力所在，作家为了加强效果可以糅合来自不同背景的不同词汇。而演说中使用古英语词汇具有直接拨动心弦的效果。
R T 7. When Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C., English did not exist. The Celts, who inhabited the land, spoke languages that survive today mainly as Welsh. Where those languages came from is still a mystery, but there is a theory.
尤利乌斯·凯撒在公元前55年入侵不列颠时，英语尚不存在。当时不列颠的居民凯尔特人使用的那些语言流传下来主要成了威尔士语。这些语言的起源至今仍是个不解之谜，但有一种理论试图解开这个谜。
R T 8. Two centuries ago an English judge in India noticed that several words in Sanskrit closely resembled some words in Greek and Latin. A systematic study revealed that many modern languages descended from a common parent language, lost to us because nothing was written down.
两个世纪前，在印度当法官的一位英国人注意到，梵文中有一些词与希腊语、拉丁语中的一些词极为相似。系统的研究显示，许多现代语言起源于一个共同的母语，但由于没有文字记载，该母语已经失传。
R T 9. Identifying similar words, linguists have come up with what they call an Indo-European parent language, spoken until 3500 to 2000 B.C. These people had common words for snow, bee and wolf but no word for sea. So some scholars assume they lived somewhere in north-central Europe, where it was cold. Traveling east, some established the languages of India and Pakistan, and others drifted west toward the gentler climates of Europe. Some who made the earliest move westward became known as the Celts, whom Caesar's armies found in Britain.
语言学家找出了相似的词，提出这些语言的源头是他们称之为印欧母语的语言，这种语言使用于公元前3500年至公元前2000年。这些人使用同样的词表达“雪”、“蜜蜂”和“狼”，但没有表示“海”的词。因此有些学者认为，他们生活在寒冷的中北欧某个地区。一些人向东迁徙形成了印度和巴基斯坦的各种语言，有些人则向西漂泊，来到欧洲气候较为温暖的地区。最早西移的一些人后来被称作凯尔特人，亦即凯撒的军队在不列颠发现的民族。
R T 10. New words came with the Germanic tribes — the Angles, the Saxons, etc. — that slipped across the North Sea to settle in Britain in the 5th century. Together they formed what we call Anglo-Saxon society.
新的词汇随日尔曼部落——盎格鲁、撒克逊等部落——而来，他们在5世纪的时候越过北海定居在不列颠。他们共同形成了我们称之为盎格鲁—撒克逊的社会。
R T 11. The Anglo-Saxons passed on to us their farming vocabulary, including sheep, ox, earth, wood, field and work. They must have also enjoyed themselves because they gave us the word laughter.
盎格鲁-撒克逊人将他们的农耕词汇留传给我们，包括sheep，ox，earth，wood，field 和work等。他们的日子一定过得很开心，因为他们留传给我们laughter一词。
12. The next big influence on English was Christianity. It enriched the
Anglo-Saxon vocabulary with some 400 to 500 words from Greek and Latin, including angel, disciple and martyr.
下一个对英语产生重大影响的是基督教。基督教以400至500个希腊语、拉丁语词汇丰富了盎格鲁—撒克逊词汇，如angel (天使)，disciple (门徒)和martyr (殉难者)等。
13. Then into this relatively peaceful land came the Vikings from Scandinavia.
They also brought to English many words that begin with sk, like sky and skirt. But Old Norse and English both survived, and so you can rear a child (English) or raise a child (Norse). Other such pairs survive: wish and want, craft and skill, hide and skin. Each such addition gave English more richness, more variety.
接着北欧海盗从斯堪的纳维亚来到了这块相对和平的土地。他们也给英语带来了许多以sk 开头的词汇，如sky 和skirt。但古斯堪的纳维亚语和英语同时留传下来，因此你可以说rear a child (英语)，也可以说raise a child (斯堪的纳维亚语)。其他留传下来的这类同义词组有：wish 和want，craft 和skill，hide 和skin。每一个类似的词的增添都使
英语更加丰富，更加多样化。
14. Another flood of new vocabulary occurred in 1066, when the Normans conquered England. The country now had three languages: French for the nobles, Latin for the churches and English for the common people. With three
languages competing, there were sometimes different terms for the same thing. For example, Anglo-Saxons had the word kingly, but after the Normans, royal and sovereign entered the language as alternatives. The extraordinary thing was that French did not replace English. Over three centuries English gradually swallowed French, and by the end of the 15th century what had developed was a modified, greatly enriched language — Middle English — with about 10,000 "borrowed" French words.
另一次新词的大量涌入发生在1066年，诺曼人征服英国的时候。这时英国三种语言并用：贵族使用法语，教会使用拉丁语，平民使用英语。由于三种语言相互竞争，有时同一事物就出现了不同的名称。例如，盎格鲁-撒克逊语有kingly一词，但诺曼人入侵后，royal 和sovereign作为替代词进入了英语。不同寻常的是，法语没有取代英语。三个多世纪后，英语逐渐吞并了法语，到15世纪末，发展成为一种经过改进的大大丰富了的拥有一万多个“借来”的法语词汇的语言——中古英语。
15. Around 1476 William Caxton set up a printing press in England and started
a communications revolution. Printing brought into English the wealth of new thinking that sprang from the European Renaissance. Translations of Greek and Roman classics were poured onto the printed page, and with them thousands of Latin words like capsule and habitual, and Greek words like catastrophe and thermometer. Today we still borrow from Latin and Greek to name new inventions, like video, television and cyberspace.
大约在1476年，威廉·卡克斯顿在英国制造了一台印刷机，由此掀起了一场信息传播技术的革命。印刷术把欧洲文艺复兴运动中涌现的大量新思想传入英国。希腊罗马经典著作的译文纷纷印成书册，成千上万的拉丁词，如capsule (密封小容器)和habitual (惯常的)，希腊词，如catastrophe (大灾难)和thermometer (温度计)等也随之涌入。今天我们仍借用拉丁、希腊语命名新的发明创造，如video, television 和cyberspace (虚拟空间)等。
16. As settlers landed in North America and established the United States, English found itself with two sources— American and British. Scholars in Britain worried that the language was out of control, and some wanted to set up an academy to decide which words were proper and which were not. Fortunately their idea has never been put into practice.
随着移民在北美登陆并建立美国，英语出现了两个源头——美式英语和英式英语。英国的学者担心英语会失控，有人想成立一个有权威的学会，决定哪些词汇合适，哪些词汇不合适。幸运的是，他们的设想从未付诸实施。
17. That tolerance for change also represents deeply rooted ideas of freedom. Danish scholar Otto Jespersen (1860—1943): wrote in 1905, "The English language would not have been what it is if the English had not been for centuries great respecters of the liberties of each individual and if everybody had not been free to strike out new paths for himself."
这种对变化的包容态度也体现了根深蒂固的自由精神。丹麦学者奥托·叶斯柏森在1905年写道：“如果不是多少世纪以来英国人一向崇尚个人自由，如果不是人人都能自由地为自己开拓新的道路，英语就不会成为今天的英语。"
18. I like that idea. Consider that the same cultural soil producing the English
language also nourished the great principles of freedom and rights of man in the modern world. The first shoots sprang up in England, and they grew stronger in America. The English-speaking peoples have defeated all efforts to build fences around their language.
我喜欢这一观点。想想吧，孕育英语的文化土壤也同样为现今的世界培育了伟大的自由精神及人权准则。最初的根芽在英国萌发，接着在美国生长壮大。英语国家的人民挫败了种种意欲建立樊篱保护语言的企图。
R T 19. Indeed, the English language is not the special preserve of grammarians, language police, teachers, writers or the intellectual elite. English is, and always has been, the tongue of the common man.
事实上，英语不是语法学家、语言卫道士、教师、作家或知识精英的特殊领地。英语是，而且一向是，人民大众的语言。
Study the new words and expressions of Text again.
（黑正体表示“一般要求”（四级）的词汇；黑正体后加★表示“较高要求”（六级）的词汇；黑正体后加▲表示“更高要求”的词汇；黑色正体后加☆表示“超纲词汇”；黑色正体后加△表示“专有名词”。）
1. messiness ☆
n.杂乱状况
Such is the glorious messiness of the English language.
Working underneath the car is always a messy job.messy a. ☆
2. massive
https://www.doczj.com/doc/c017588943.html,rge in scale, amount, or degree 大量的，大规模的
The ancient temple's massive stone pillars had begun to crumble.
The scale of the problem is so massive that it will require all our resources to deal with it.
3. snack★
n.a small meal 快餐，点心
I usually have a snack of a hamburger and a glass of Coke at lunchtime.
The children in the kindergarten have a midmorning snack of milk and biscuits.
4. snack bar☆
快餐柜，小吃店
My uncle opened a snack bar in the town near my university last year.
5. parade
n.游行；阅兵队列
The Olympic Games began with a parade of all the competing nations.
6. hit parade☆
a weekly listing of the current best-selling pop records 流行唱片目录
Jackson rushed out another record which was climbing the hit parade very
steadily.
7. corrupt★
vt. cause errors to appear in; cause to act dishonestly in return for personal gains 讹用，使（语言）变得不标准；腐蚀，贿赂
The Academy ruled that such foreign expressions were not permitted, as they
corrupted the
language.
Has Japanese been corrupted by the introduction of foreign words?
This jargon merely corrupts your good English.
We believe films of violence will corrupt young people.
To our great surprise, the former mayor turned out to have been corrupted by the desire for
money and power.
To gain more profits, the businessman tried every means to corrupt the officials in the local
government.
8. ban
vt. forbid (sth.) officially 禁止，取缔
The local government will ban smoking in all offices later this year.
Scientists from many countries called on the international community to create an
international convention to ban human cloning as soon as possible.
Tom was banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding again. Lady Chatterley's Lover was banned when it was first published.
The government is considering a total ban on cigarette advertising.
The ban on underground nuclear tests is a vital step toward disarmament. 9. Walkman☆
n.a small cassette player 随身听
I like having a walk after dinner with my walkman.
10. fascinating
a.of great interest or attraction 迷人的，有极大吸引力的
The story of his adventures in the Arctic was fascinating to listen to.
I found the discussion about cloning absolutely fascinating.
It is fascinating to imagine what might have happened if the U.S. had not declared war
against Japan in World War II.
11. strictly speaking
严格地讲
He's not strictly speaking an artist; he is more of a performer.
Strictly speaking she was not qualified for the job. But we employed her because of her
honesty.
12. invent
vt.create (a thing or idea that never existed before) 发明
James Watt invented the steam engine.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
invention
13. manufacturer
n.制造商
The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities
abroad.
14. tolerance
n.willingness to accept or allow behavior, beliefs, etc. which one does not like or agree with 容忍，宽容；忍耐
School teachers have to have a great deal of tolerance in order to deal with
difficult children.
I think tolerance between students is extremely necessary since they live and study together.
Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.
The patient had no tolerance for pain. Whenever he was given an injection he would cry.
15. to a (very real, certain, etc.) extent
to the degree specified 在（极大，某种）程度上
I agree with him to some extent but there are still some areas of sharp
disagreement between
us.
To a certain extent the failure of the restaurant was due to bad management.
16. necessity
n.必需品；必要（性）
Water is a basic necessity of life.
A lot of people would consider a TV as more of a necessity than a luxury item.
17. Anglo-Saxon☆
n. 盎格鲁-撒克逊人
18. core
n. the most important part of anything; the hard central part of certain fruits 核心；果核
An apple core is the part of an apple left after the flesh has been eaten.
19. arouse
vt.provoke (a particular feeling or attitude) 唤起，激起
These educational toys give children a feeling of self-worth by arousing their
interest in challenging tasks.
The man's strange behavior aroused the policeman's suspicions.
20. channel
n.海峡；渠道；频道
Thanks to Eurostar and the Channel Tunnel, the journey between London and
Paris is a
convenient and comfortable one.
Stop channel surfing and get focused on one program!
The problem of criminal responsibility of foreigners who enjoy diplomatic privileges is to be
resolved through diplomatic channels.
21. surrender
v.give in 投降
After several weeks of severe attacks, Afghanistan's Taliban forces
surrendered to the Northern Alliance.
We'll never surrender to terrorism despite the terrorist attacks.
22. for effect
in order to impress people or make people notice 为了增强效果，为了引起注意Everything he says and does is calculated for effect.
She paused for effect, then carried on speaking.
23. invade
vt.enter with armed forces 侵入，侵略
In July 1937 the Japanese army invaded China.
The Germans invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the start of World War II. 24. B.C.
(short for) before Christ 公元前
This stadium dates from 600 B.C.
25. Celt☆
n.凯尔特人
26. inhabit★
vt. live in (a place) 居住于
Long before the early settlers came to America, the land was inhabited by
tribes and nations of
people known to us today as Indians.
With more and more people inhabiting the virtual world today, doctors are using that space to
encourage people to quit smoking.
27. Welsh☆
a.,n.威尔士语（的），威尔士人（的）
He had been the golden boy of Welsh rugby.
28. mystery
n. sth. which cannot be explained 神秘的事物
The politician's sudden death remains a mystery to us all.
No one has ever been able to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. 29. theory
n.a scientifically acceptable explanation; general principles as opposed to practical skills 学说，说法；理论
Your suggestion sounds good in theory.
30. Sanskrit☆
n.梵语
I learned Sanskrit when I was 18 years old.
31. resemble
vt.be like or similar to 与…相似
I'd say he resembles his mother more than his father.
In his childhood, Stevie Wonder loved music and would pound spoons or forks on any
surface that resembled a drum.resemblance
32. Latin☆
n.拉丁语
The Latin scholar gave us a wonderful speech on Latin culture.
33. systematic
a.done according to a system 有系统的
Our professor not only imparts knowledge to us, but also teaches us how to
read books in a
systematic way.
The staff made a systematic check to make sure that no name had been omitted from the
register.
34. descend
https://www.doczj.com/doc/c017588943.html,e down (from a source); go down 起源于；下降，下来
These ideas descend from those of the ancient philosophers.
The Japanese are thought to be descended from tribes from the north of China.
35. linguist☆
n.a person who studies languages 语言学家
I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.
36. come up with
think of (a plan, reply, etc.); produce 想出（计划，回答等）；提出
I'll have to give this some thought before coming up with an answer.
Darwin came up with an explanation for the vast diversity of living things: natural selection.
37. Indo-European☆
a.印欧语系的
Chinese doesn't belong to Indo-European language.
38. wolf
n. 狼
A wolf is a very cruel animal.
39. scholar
n. 学者
All scholars must have the quality of being honest.
40. establish
vt.cause to be set up 建立，确立
The school was established in 1905 by an Italian professor.
They are rapidly establishing themselves as the market leaders.
She established her fame as an actress.
41. drift
vi. move or go somewhere in a slow casual way 漂泊
Jimmy spent the year drifting around Europe.
The football match was over, and the crowds drifted away from the stadium.
42. climate
n. (an area or a region with) a regular pattern of weather conditions 气候（区）Brought up in the south of China, she wouldn't enjoy living in such a cold
climate.
Due to the greenhouse effect, changes in the earth's climate have taken place.
43. westward☆
a., ad. (going) towards the west 向西（的）
We live on the westward slope of the hill.
44. Germanic☆
a.日耳曼（人）的，日耳曼语的，德国（人）的
The Franks were originally a loose confederation of Germanic tribes.
45. tribe★
n.部落
America was once the home of many Indian tribes.
46. pass (sth.) on to (sb.)
hand or give (sth.) to (sb.) 将…传给…
She said she'd pass the message on to the other students.
47. influence
n.,vt. 影响
Should religion be an influence in politics?
His influence on modern art is immeasurable.
Can you list the top ten books that have influenced your life?
48. Christianity☆
n. 基督教
I'm not a Christian, so I'm not interested in this.Christian
49. enrich
vt.make rich or richer; improve 使富裕，使丰富
That once poor coastal village has been enriched by the profits from tourism.
It is important to enrich the soil prior to planting.
Travel enriches people's lives.
50. disciple☆
n.信徒，门徒
Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.
51. martyr☆
n.殉难者，烈士
If he dies, he will become a martyr.
52. Norse☆
n.（古）斯堪的纳维亚语
Norse is the official language of Norway.
53. addition
n.a person or thing added 增加的人（或物）
The baby is a welcome addition to the Smith family.
The young professor will be a most valuable addition to our board.
54. Norman☆
n., a.诺曼人（的），诺曼语（的），诺曼文化的
His family traces back to the Norman Conquest.
55. conquer
v. take possession and control of (a country, city, etc.) by force; defeat 征服She has conquered the hearts of many men.
The Spanish once conquered most of South America.
56. kingly☆
a. 国王（般）的
Not all kings behave in a kingly way.
57. royal
a.国王或女王的；皇家的
The newborn baby was welcomed not only by the Japanese royal family but by
the country at
large.
The royal wedding drew large crowds from across the country.
58. sovereign★
a. (of power) without limit, highest; (of a nation) fully independent 拥有最高统治权的，至高无上的；拥有主权的
The UN was designed as an association of sovereign states.
59. alternative
n. one of two or more possibilities 供选择的东西
Check out the alternatives before deciding whether to go to a nearby college.
What was the alternative to going home?
60. modify
vt.change slightly 修改，更改
The school authorities plan to modify the school regulations.
The computer programmers tried to modify the design of the software to make it suitable for
commercial production.
61. Renaissance★
n.（欧洲14-16世纪的）文艺复兴
The Renaissance refers to the period of time in Europe between the 14th and
17th centuries when the art, literature, and ideas of ancient Greece were discovered, examined, and developed again.
62. Roman☆
a.古罗马的，拉丁语的
Do as the Romans do.
63. capsule★
n. 密封小容器；胶囊；航天舱
The astronauts work and live in the space capsule.
64. habitual☆
a.done as a habit; regular; usual 惯常的
His habitual expression was one of mild puzzlement.
I don't want my daughter to marry a habitual drinker.
65. catastrophe★
n.a sudden great disaster 大灾难
The flood was a major catastrophe for this villager.
66. thermometer
n.温度计
The nurse put the thermometer in his mouth.
67. cyberspace▲
the notional environment in which communication over computer networks occurs 网络空间，虚拟空间
She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.
68. settler☆
n. 移民，殖民者
Most settlers in early America were from Europe.
69. source
n.源，来源
Tourism, which is a major source of income for the city, has been seriously
affected by the
terrorist attacks.
The source of the anthrax (炭疽) outbreak in the USA remained a mystery.
70. out of control
失去控制，不受约束
The fire was out of control by the time the second fire engine arrived.
There was nothing they could do about it. The situation was out of control. 71. academy
n. 学会，学院，研究院
I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.
72. put into practice
将…付诸实施
Having delayed several times, we must put this plan into practice now.
They weren't allowed to put into practice in their daily lives the teachings they received.
73. Danish☆
a. 丹麦（人）的，丹麦语的
Danish is the language of the Danish people.
74. respecter☆
n.对…表示尊敬的人
Both he and his wife are the respecters of Dr. King.
75. liberty
n.freedom 自由
The constitution guards the liberty of people.
76. strike out
create, produce 创造，开创
After working for his father for about ten years, he decided to strike out on his
own.
With a baby on the way, Mary and her husband struck out for the suburbs. 77. nourish
vt.give (sb.or a living thing) what is need so that they can grow and stay healthy 滋养，培育
They needed good food to nourish their bodies.
78. shoot
n. a new growth from a plant 嫩芽，新枝
Shoots just appeared on those young plant branches in the early spring.
79. spring up
appear or be produced suddenly and quickly 涌现
New buildings sprang up like mushrooms after a spring rain.
The sun shone warm, the air was balmy, and the grass sprang up.
80. preserve
n. 独占的地区或范围；禁猎地
vt. keep from harm, damage, etc., protect; save 保护，保存
The ancient Egyptians knew ways to preserve dead bodies from decay.
81. grammarian☆
n. 语法学家
His father is a famous grammarian in that university.
82. elite ★
n. the group regarded as the best（总称）出类拔萃的人，精英
We college students belong to the group of social elite.
Proper Names
Robert MacNeil△
罗伯特·麦克尼尔
Winston Churchill△
温斯顿·丘吉尔（1874-1965，英国政治家、首相）
Hitler△
希特勒（1889-1945，纳粹德国元首）
Julius Caesar△
尤利乌斯·凯撒（100-44 BC，古罗马将军、政治家）
Pakistan△
巴基斯坦
North Sea△
北海（大西洋的边缘海，位于大不列颠岛和欧洲大陆之间）
Viking△
（8-10世纪时劫掠欧洲西北海岸的）北欧海盗
Scandinavia△
斯堪的纳维亚
William Caxton△
威廉·卡克斯顿（英国印刷商、翻译家）
Otto Jespersen△
奥托·叶斯柏森（1860-1943，丹麦著名语言学家、英语语法学家）
One of you asks the first six questions and the other answers. Starting from Question 7, change roles. When you have finished, the teacher may want to put some of the questions to you to check your progress.
1. Why does English today have a much larger vocabulary than any other living language? How large is it?
2. What is the attitude of the French toward borrowing from other languages? What do they do to preserve the purity of their language?
3. What makes up the core of the English language?
4. Who brought it to the British Isles? And when?
5. What are the characteristics of the words that form the core of English?
6. What do great speakers of English do when they want to arouse people's emotions?
Now switch roles.
7. How was the Indo-European parent language discovered?
8. Which modern languages are the descendants of the Indo-European parent language?
9. What happened to English when the Normans conquered England?
10. How did the European Renaissance influence the English language?
11. Explain the sentence "The first shoots sprang up in England, and they grew stronger in America."
12. Is there any need to worry about the purity of the English language in the opinion of the author? Why or why not?
Keys
1. It has borrowed and is still borrowing massively from other languages. Today it has an estimated vocabulary of over one million words.
2. They don't like borrowing foreign words. They try to ban words from English.
3. Old English or Anglo-Saxon English.
4. The Germanic tribes brought it to the British Isles in the 5th century.
5. They are usually short and direct.
6. They use words derived from Old English.