阅读理解。
Standard English is that 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 spoken by
educated people and used in news broadcasts and other similar situations. The difference between standard
and non-standard, it should be noted, has nothing in principle (原理) to do with differences between formal
and informal language: Standard English has informal as well as formal variants.
Historically the standard variety of English is based on the London Dialect of English that developed after
the Norman Conquest resulted in the removal of the Court from Winchester to London. This dialect became
the one preferred by the educated, and it was developed and promoted as a model, or norm, for wider and
wider parts of society. It was also the norm that was carried overseas. But not one unaffected by such export.
Today, standard English is codified (编写) to the degree that the grammar and vocabulary of English are much
the same everywhere in the world where English is used: difference among the local standards is really quite
minor, so that the Singapore, South Africa, and Irish varieties are really very little different from one another
so far as grammar and vocabulary are concerned. Indeed, standard English is so powerful that it puts a
tremendous pressure on all local varieties, to the degree that many of the long-established dialects of England
have lost much of their vigor (活力) and there is much pressure on them to converge (靠拢) towards the
standard. This latter situation is not unique to English:it is also in other countries where processes of
standardization are under way. But it sometimes creates problems for speakers who try to strike some kind
of compromise between local norms and national, even super-national ones.
1. The main topic of the text is _____.
A. the difference between standard English and non-standard English
B. the influence between standard English and non-standard English
C. the origin and development of standard English used nowadays
D. the difference between standard English and the London dialects
2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according the text?
A. Standard English can be both formal and informal.
B. Standard English doesn't differ from non-standard English in principle.
C. Informal English is the same as non-standard English.
D. Standard English is better than Non-standard English.
3. Standard English is used in the following situations EXCEPT _____.
A. in schools
B. by educated and native speakers only
C. in news broadcasts
D. in print
4. The stronger influence of standard English is causing _____.
A. different local standards to arise
B. difference among dialects to grow
C. many dialects to lose uniqueness
D. many new varieties to disappear
5. In terms of grammar and vocabulary, standard English _____.
A. differs greatly from dialects in the U.K
B. differs little from any variety of English in the world
C. differs greatly from dialects outside the U.K
D. differs a little from any variety of English
