Standard English is the variety of English which is usually used in print and which is normally taught in schools and to non-native speakers learning the language. It is also the variety which is normally (1) by educated people and used in news broadcasts and other (2) situations. The difference between standard and nonstandard, it should be noted, has (3) in principle to do with differences between formal and colloquial (4) ; standard English has colloquial as well as formal variants.
(5) , the standard variety of English is based on the London (6) of English that developed after the Norman Conquest resulted in the removal of the Court from Winchester to London. This dialect became the one (7) by the educated, and it was developed and promoted (8) a model, or norm, for wider and wider segments of society. It was also the (9) that was carried overseas, but not one unaffected by such export. Today, (10) English is arranged to the extent that tile grammar and vocabulary of English are (11) the same everywhere in the world where English is used; (12) among local standards is really quite minor, (13) the Singapore, South Africa, and Irish varieties are really very (14) different from one another so far as grammar and vocabulary are (15) .Indeed, Standard English is so powerful that it exerts a tremendous (16) on all local varieties, to the extent that many of long-established dialects of England have (17) much of their vigor and there is considerable pressure on them to be (18) . This latter situation is not unique (19) English: it is also true in other countries where processes of standardization are (20) .But it sometimes creates problems for speakers who try to strike some kind of compromise between local norms and national, even supranational ones.
12（）
A.variation
B.standardization
C.unification
D.transformation
参考答案：A
解析：
此题属于语意搭配题。variation表示“变化”，如生物学中的变种，音乐上的变调，例如：(1)The same story was told，with slight variations，of many legendary heroes．(2)The variations of temperature in that district are very great．同源名词variety表示“[不可数名词]多样性；[可数名词]同类的不同品种”，例如：There are numerous varieties of tree peonies(牡丹)．又如：the tremendous variety of the themes。根据上下文，前文谈到世界各地所用的语法及词汇基本相同，各地之间的差异就应该很小，此处差异即[A]variation。选项[B]standardization(标准化)，与下文的minor搭配不当；选项[C]unification表
示“联合，统一”，不合题意，例如：The traffic laws of the different states need unification．选项[D] transformation表示“转变”，原指形式的改变，引申为性质、特点的改变，例如：the social and political transformation of a country，用在语言学里，指句子结构的转换，与题意不符。