必修五MODULE 1 Words, words, words词，词，词
British and American English are different in many ways. The first and most obvious way is in the vocabulary. There are hundreds of different words which are not used on the other side of the Atlantic, or which are used with a different meaning. Some of these words are well known---Americans drive automobiles down freeways and fill up with gas; the British drive cars along motorways and fill up with petrol. As a tourist, you will need to use the underground in London or the subway in New York, or maybe you will prefer to get around the town by taxi(British) or cab (American).Chips or French files  
But other words and expressions are not so well known. Americans use a flashlight, while for the British, it's a torch. The British queue up; Americans stand in line. Sometimes the same word has a slightly different meaning, which can be confusing. Chips, for example, are pieces of hot fried potato in Britain; in the States chips are very thin and are sold in packets. The British call these crisps. The chips the British know and love are French fries on the other side of the Atlantic.
 
 
 
英式英语和美式英语在很多方面都是不同的。第一且最明显的方面是在词汇方面。有数以百计个在大西洋的另一边不被使用，或者以一种不同的意思被使用着的不同的词。这些单词的一些为人熟知--- 美国人在freeways（高速公路）上驾驶automobiles，给车加满gas（汽油；气体）;英国人在motorways（高速公路）上驾驶cars，给车加满petrol（汽油）。作为游客，你将需要用underground在伦敦，或subway（地铁）在纽约，或者也许你将更愿意游览这城市乘坐taxi(英国的)或者cab (美国的)。
Chips 还是French fries?
但是其他词语和表达方式却不这么为人熟知。美国人用flashlight（手电），而对于英国人，它是torch。英国人queue up（排队）；美国人stand in line（排队）。有时候，相同的一个单词有细微不同的含义，这可能使人困惑。比如chips这个词在英国是片片被热炸的薯条，在美国chips是非常薄的且在袋里被出售。英国人称这些（为）crips。英国人知道而且喜欢的薯条在大西洋的另一边被称为French fries 。
 
 
Have or have got?  
There are a few differences in grammar, too. The British say Have you got...?I while Americans prefer Do you have .-.?  An American might say My friend just arrived, but a British person would say My friend has just arrived. Prepositions, too, can be different: compare on the team, on the weekend (American) with in the team, at the weekend (British). The British use prepositions where Americans sometimes omit them (.I'll see you Monday, Write me soon!).
Colour or color?
The other two areas in which the two varieties differ are spelling and pronunciation. American spelling seems simpler:enter, color and program instead of centre, colour and programme. Many factors have influenced American pronunciation since the first settlers arrived four hundred years ago. The accent, which is most similar to British English, can be heard on the East Coast of the US. When the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw made the famous remark that the British and the Americans are two nations divided by a common language, he was obviously thinking about the differences. But are they really so important? After all, there is probably as much variation of pronunciation within the two countries as between them. A Londoner has more difficulty understanding a Scotsman from Glasgow than understanding a New Yorker.
       Have 还是have got?
在语法方面，也有一些不同。英国人说Have you got·?而美国人更喜欢Do you have ...？一个美国人可能会说My friend just arrived，但一个英国人会说My friend has just arrived 。介词也可能不同:比较on the team, on the weekend (美国的) 和in the team, at the weekend (英国的)。英国人在美国人有时候省略介词的地方用介词(I"ll see you Monday; Write me soon!) 。
           
          
        Colour还是color?
这两种(语言)变体有差别的另外两个领域/方面是拼写和发音。美式的拼写似乎更简单： center, color和program 而不是centre, colour和programme。很多因素已影响了美语的发音自从400年前第一批移民到来。与英式的英语非常相似的口音在美国东海岸能被听到。当爱尔兰作家萧伯纳讲那句名言“英国人和美国人是被一种共同的语言分开的两个民族”的时候，他显然正在思考不同处。但是它们真的如此重要吗?毕竟，很可能有一样多发音的变化在两个国家境内与两国之间。一个伦敦人有更多的困难理解来自格拉斯哥的一个苏格兰人比理解一个纽约人。

Turn on the TV
Some experts believe that the two varieties are moving closer together. For more than a century communications across the Atlantic have developed steadily. Since the 1980s, with satellite TV and the Internet, it has been possible to listen to British and American English at the flick of a switch. This non-stop communication, the experts think, has made it easier for British people and Americans to understand each other. But it has also led to lots of American words and structures passing into British English, so that some people now believe that British English will disappear.
However, if you turn on CNN, the American TV network, you find newsreaders and weather forecasters all speaking with different accents - American, British, Australian, and even Spanish. One of the best-known faces, Monita Rajpal, was born in Hong Kong. China, and grew up, speaking Chinese and Punjabi, as well as English.
This international dimension suggests that in the future, there are going to be many "Englishes", not just two main varieties.  But the message is "Don't worry." Users of English will all be able to understand each other---wherever they are.

 
打开电视机
一些专家相信这两种语言变体正在靠的更近。一个多世纪以来，穿过大西洋的交流已稳步发展。自从20世纪80年代以来，有卫星电视和因特网，一按开关便听英式英语和美式英语已经是可能的。专家们认为，这种不间断的交流已使得英国人和美国人相互理解起来更加容易。但是这也致使许多美式英语单词和结构传人英式英语，以至于现在一些人相信英式英语将要消失。

 
 
然而，如果你打开美国电视网络节目CNN，你发现新闻播报员和天气预报员说话用不同的口音---美国的，英国的，澳大利亚的，甚至西班牙的。最熟悉的脸孔之一，慕妮塔·让治派，出生于中国香港，说汉语、Punjabi土语和英语长大。

这种国际性的规模表明，在未来将有很多种英语，不仅仅是两种主要的变体。但信息是“大家不用担心”!英语的使用者们将能够相互理解---无论他们在哪里。
 
 
 
必修五MODULE 2  The Human Traffic Signal人体交通标志
1_________________
At 3,500 metres, La Paz, in Bolivia, is the highest capital in the world. Life is hard at high altitude, and the mountains make communications difficult. Many roads are in bad condition and accidents are frequent. One road in particular, which goes north from La Paz, is considered the most dangerous road in the world.  On one side the mountains rise steeply; on the other side there is a sheer drop which in places is hundreds of metres deep. Although there is not a lot of traffic, on average, one vehicle comes off the road every two weeks.  The drop is so great that anyone inside the vehicle is lucky to survive.  In theory, the road can only be used by traffic going uphill from 8 in the morning and by traffic coming downhill from 3 in the afternoon.But in practice, few drivers respect the rules. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 在海拔3,500 米，玻利维亚首府拉巴斯，是世界上最高的首都。 在高海拔生活很艰苦，高山使得交流困难。许多马路处于差的状况而且事故是频繁的。尤其是从拉巴斯通向北边的一条路被认为是世上最危险的路。在一边，山脉陡峭地耸立（高耸险峻），另一边有陡峭的下降处（悬崖），在有些地方悬崖足有几百米深。尽管没有很多交通，平均每两周（就有）一辆车冲出公路（掉下悬崖）。悬崖落差如此之大，在车里的任何一个能活着都是幸运的。理论上，这条路只能被从早晨8点上山的交通和从下午3点下山的交通使用。  但实际上，几乎没有司机遵守这些规则。

(责任编辑：邓勇)

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