"Colour" and "color"，"favourite" and "favorite"... Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a "u"? Is it because they are lazy?

Of course not. In fact，the difference in spelling was created by Noah Webster (1758-1843). He is a teacher who reformed English to make American identity stronger. Linguists (語言學(xué)家) celebrated his 250th birthday on October 16. After the Revolutionary War (1775~ 1783)，Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary，rather than rely on British versions (版本). He dropped the British "u" in some words. And he changed "centre" into "center" for children to learn English by spelling words more like they sounded.

Webster wasn't shy about expressing his opinions. In defining (定義) preposterous (unreasonable)，he wrote: "A republican government in the hands of females is preposterous."

Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary in 1828 with his American-style spellings. He also added local words. His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new nation achieve unity and cultural independence at a time when most were focused on political freedom.

"He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity，"said Joshua Kendall，who is working on a biography (傳記) about Webster. "He at last bonded (聯(lián)合)us through our language."

66. Which of the following would probably be the best title for the passage?

A. The shaper of American English.

B. American identity.

C. Webster's dictionary.

D. Spelling differences between American and British English.

67. According to the passage，when he worked on his dictionary, Noah Webster did all of the following EXCEPT         .

A. voicing his opinion                                    B. changing "centre" into "center"

C. adding local words                                    D. dropping "u" in all the British words

68. Which of the following word can best describe Noah Webster’s work?

A. Interesting.            B. Meaningful.        C. Unfinished.       D. Boring.

69. Why did Noah Webster create these differences in his dictionary?

A. Because he wanted to make English simple and easy.

B. Because he wanted to show that the USA is stronger than the UK.

C. Because he wanted to achieve political freedom.

D. Because he wanted American English to have its own characteristics.

70. When did Noah Webster probably begin his project of the dictionary?

A. In 1758.                  B. In 1783.                 C. In 1800.                D. In 1828.

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科目：高中英語 來源：湖北省武漢市部分重點(diǎn)中學(xué)2010-2011學(xué)年高三年級(jí)八月模擬考試 題型：閱讀理解

 

       Those who plan to film a hostage （人質(zhì)） scene might want to make it obvious to everyone around them that it' s a simulation．That may be the lesson that an independent film crew learned in Larimer County, Colo．a(chǎn)fter sheriff s deputies （治安警察） surrounded them during a shoot for a low -budget feature movie．Members of the crew were at a campground near Lake Carter, shooting a scene where the lead actor takes a girl hostage and beats up on a man who tries to intervene （干涉）．"It happened very suddenly after that．We heard, 'freeze' " said Director Eileen Agosta．They were in the middle of the scene when a team of Larimer County sheriff s deputies ran over, shouting orders to get on the ground, pointing guns at the crew, actor Chris Borden said．Members of the crew were cuffed （戴上手銬） and held on the ground until the situation was sorted out．Borden said he believes the only reason the deputies didn't shoot him was because they saw a cameraman．Maj．Justin Smith of the Larimer County Sheriff s Department said deputies received a call from someone at the lake and sheriff s deputies raced to the park, blocking roads．"I think it shows great self - control, great training and great judgment " said Cpl, Scott Shellhaas, a sheriff s spokesman．"They didn't rush into the situation and make a potentially bad situation worse．"Borden said the incident would have been funny except for the fact that he was issued a citation （傳票） for disorderly conduct．Agosta was also cited for being an accessory to disorderly conduct．"It was complete ignorance on my part," said Agosta．"I honestly thought you could tell what we were doing… I wouldn' t have chosen a state park at 3 : 30 （p．m．） on Saturday if I was going to hurt somebody．" Authorities said the scene they saw was realistic enough - - - a woman handcuffed to a car, a man handgun - striking another man, people injured and bloodied and someone with a small video camera filming the event．"It is certainly not beyond belief these days that individuals do videotape crimes as they commit them," said Smith．"Having a video camera there did not necessarily mean there was not a threat．"

1.The underlined word probably means something that is ______．

       A．not real                                       B．really interesting

      C．simply terrible                                  D．seemingly true

2.The sheriff s deputies surrounded the film crew, because _____．

       A．they found a girl hostage was terribly beaten

       B．they were informed of a terrible scene at the lake

       C．shooting a film was illegal at a state park in the county

       D．they saw a cameraman shoot the hostage scene

3.According to the spokesman, the sheriff s deputies _____．

       A．needed to be well trained later

       B．made the situation from bad to worse

       C．dealt with the situation successfully

       D．made the situation from good to better

4.What the authorities and Smith said suggested that _____．

       A．people should have told what really happened when they saw the scene

       B．they couldn' t believe that individuals should do videotape crimes publicly

       C．it was very surprising that the film crew shot such a bloody scene at the park

       D．it' s not the sheriff s deputies but the film crew that was to blame for the incident

 

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