原文加答案

P: With the move toward a global economy, English has become the most widely used language in the world. It is the language of business, aviation, science and international affairs and people find that they must learn English to compete in those fields.

I: And do people find English an easy language to learn?

P: Well, every language has something about it that other people find difficult to learn. English is such a hodgepodge of different languages – it’s essentially Germanic but a lot of its vocabulary comes from French, and technical words stem from Latin and Greek. This feature makes English fairly adaptable – which is a good thing for a world language – but it causes irregularity in spelling and pronunciation.

I: English spelling baffles me, too.

P: English also has the largest vocabulary. Often there are words for the same thing, one is Anglo-Saxon and one from the French – like ―buy‖ which is Anglo-Saxon and ―purchase‖ which is from the French. The French word often has more prestige.

I: Anglo-Saxon?

P: That’s the word for Old English. The Norman Conquest in 1066 brought the French language to Britain and helped English evolve into the English it is today.

I: Is there anything else particularly difficult about English?

P: Well, the idioms in informal English pose a problem for some students.

I: Informal English?

P: As with any language, there are different varieties: slang, colloquial. Formal, written, as well as the different dialects – British, American and Canadian English.

I: And how is Canadian English different from American and British?

P: Canadian English is closer to American in pronunciation and idiom. Some of our words and our spellings do reflect British usage, however. We wouldn’t use the British term ―lorry‖ for truck, but we have kept the ―o-u-r‖ spellings in words such as ―honour‖ and ―colour‖.

I: This has been very interesting. I’m afraid we’re out of time. It has been a pleasure talking to you.

Part III University Life A1 I. Age / Foreign student population II. 15 hrs (+2 or 3 for lab) / Discussion group: 15-20 / much smaller / informal, friendly / 2-3 hrs: 1 hr

Today I’d like to give you some idea about how life at an American university or college might be different from the way it is in your country. To be sure, the student body on a U. S. campus is a pretty diverse group of people. First of all, you will find students of all ages. Although most students start college at around the age of 18, you will see students in their 30s and 40s and even occasionally in their 60s and 70s. Students on a U.S. campus come from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many students work at least part-time, some of them work full-time. Many students live in dormitories on campus, some have their own apartments usually with other students, and others live at home. Some colleges and universities have a very diverse student population with many racial and ethnic minorities. Some schools have a fairly large foreign student population. So you can see that one meets all kinds of people on a U.S. college or university campus. Now that you have some general idea of differences in the student population, I’d like to talk a few minutes about what I think an average student is and then discuss with you what a typical class might be like.

Let’s begin my talking about an average student entering his or her freshman year. Of course, such a person never really exists, but still it’s convenient to talk about an ―average‖ student for our