Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels (元音) being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact (接触) with many people from around the world. This meant that lots of new vocabulary entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary came out.
Early Modern English and Late Modern English are mostly different in the number of words. Late Modern English has many more words, mainly because of the following two reasons: First, the Industrial Revolution (工业革命) led to the need for new words. Second, the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth’s surface, and the English language took in foreign words from many countries.
From around 1600, the English colonization (殖民地化) of North America led to American English. Some English pronunciations and words “froze” when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English. Some expressions that are called “American English” are in fact from British expressions. They were kept in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain. Spanish also had an influence (影响) on American English. For example, words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante are from Spanish. They entered English by the people of Spain who settled in the American West. French words and West African words also influenced American English.
Today, American English has a greater influence, because of the USA’s movies, television, popular music, trade and technology.
31. The main difference between Early and Late Modern English lies in _____.
A. vocabulary B. pronunciation C. spelling D. grammar
32. What helped to increase the vocabulary of Late Modern English?
a. the invention of printing
b. the Industrial Revolution
c. the colonization
d. the contact with other countries
A. a, b, c B. a, c, d C. a, b, d D. b, c, d
33. From the passage, we can learn the word “canyon” is from _____.
A. American dialect B. African dialect C. Spanish D. French
34. The third paragraph mainly talks about _____.
A. English colonies in North America
B. the development of American English
C. other languages’ influence on American English
D. the difference between American English and British English
35. The underlined word “froze” can best be replaced by _____.
A. remained unchanged B. disappeared C. improved D. kept active
ADCBA
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
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