Before Reading

Ⅰ. Listening and Answering the Questions  

ⅰ. Listen and Answer  

        (Directions:) Listen to the recording two or three times and then think

                                over the following questions.

1. What is the passage about?

      (=English is a great language, but it is also a crazy language.)

2. Can you give one or two examples to illustrate the messiness of the English language?

     (=Yes. For example, the meaning of “your house burns up” is the same as   

       that of “your house burns down”, or “you fill in a form” is the same as   

       “you fill out a form” .)

3. Are you sure of all the idiomatic usages mentioned in the recorded

     passage?

     (= Some of the more confusing usages are explained here:

1) ship by truck / send cargo by ship: ship can be either a verb or a

       noun

       The first “ship” means “send”, the second one “a large boat”.

2)  noses that run / feet that smells:

                      This refers to what people usually say “have a running nose”

                      (流鼻涕), “have smelly feet” (臭脚).

3)  a slim/fat chance: a remote possibility

4)  a wise guy: a person who pretends to be much wiser than

                       he/she really is; a derogatory term

     a wise man: a really wise person; a commendatory term

5)  overlook: fail to see or notice, pay no attention to

     oversee: control (work, workmen)

6)  hot /cold as hell: extremely hot/cold

7)  burn up: catch fire and flare up

     burn down: be destroyed by fire

8)  fill in a form/fill out a form: synonymous

9)  go off: start an action, usually accompanied by a great noise

     go on: continue doing something

         10)  when stars are out: when stars appear in the sky

     when lights are out: when lights are turned off

        11)  wind up a watch: tighten the spring of a watch

     wind up a speech: end a speech

Ⅱ. History of English   

ⅰ. The root of English 

      English began as a west Germanic language which was brought to England by the Saxons around 400 A.D. Old English was the spoken and written language of England between 400 and 1100 A.D. Many words used today come from Old English, including man, woman, king, mother, etc. But Old English was very different from modern English and only a few words can be easily recognized. In the 9th and 10th centuries, when Vikings invaded England, Old Norse words, e.g. sky, take and get and many place names, entered the language.

From the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 12th century English was replaced as the official language by Norman French, though English was still used by the lower classes. English from about 1300 to 1500 is known as Middle English. It was influenced by French and also Latin in vocabulary and pronunciation. French brought many words connected with government, e.g. sovereign, royal, court, legal and government itself. Latin was the language of religion and learning and gave to English words such as minister, angel, master, school and grammar. Literature began again to be written in English during this period. One of the most famous Middle English works is Chaucer’s

The Canterbury Tales.

ⅱ. The development of Modern English 

Modern English developed from the Middle English dialect of the East Midlands and was influenced by the English used in London, where    a  printing press was set up by William Caxton in 1476. English changed a great deal from this time until the end of the 18th century. During the Renaissance, many words were introduced from Greek and Latin to express new ideas, especially in science, medicine and philosophy. They included physics, species, architecture, encyclopedia and hypothesis. In the 16th century several versions of the Bible helped bring written English to ordinary people. The Elizabethan period is also famous for its drama, and Shakespeare’s plays were seen by many people.

      The development of printing helped establish standards of spelling and grammar, but there remained a lot of variation. Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) was the first authoritative treatment of English. It defined about 40,000 words and gave examples of their use.

    By the 18th century American English was established and developing independently from British English. After colonists arrived in the US new words began to be added from Native American languages, and from French and Spanish. In 1783, soon after Johnson’s dictionary was published, Noah Webster’s The Elementary Spelling Book was published in the US. At first it used Johnson’s spellings, but later editions contained many of what have come to be known as American spellings, e.g. harbor and favorite.

ⅲ. 20th Century English  

              During the 19th and early 20th centuries many dictionaries and books about language were published. New words are still being added to  English from other languages, including Chinese (feng shui) and Japanese (karaoke). Existing  

 words gain new senses, and new expressions spread quickly through television and the Internet.

 English is now an international language and is used as a means of communication between people from many countries. As a result the influences on the English language are wider than ever and it is possible that World English will move away from using a British or American standard and establish its own international identity.

 Ⅲ. Winston Churchill  

 ⅰ. A Brief introduction to Winston Churchill

             As a politician, Winston Churchill is remembered as one of Britain’s greatest statesmen. He was the son of the Conservative politician Lord Randolph Churchill and his American wife Jennie. As a young man he served as a soldier

 in India and Egypt, and as a journalist in South Africa, before entering politics. Churchill became Prime Minister and Minister of Defence in 1940. His radio speeches during World War II gave the British people a strong determination to win the war, especially at times of great crisis. Examples of Churchill’s phrases still often quoted today are “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”, and “This was their finest hour”. The Conservative Party led by Churchill lost the election of 1945, but he became Prime Minister again from 1951 to1955 when he retired, aged 80. When he died in Jan 1965 he was given a state funeral.

ⅱ. Chronology of Winston Churchill

     -- November 30, 1874

          Born Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock,

          near Oxford.

    --  October 1, 1911

         Appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in Liberal government.

    --  April 30, 1915

         Failure of the Dardanelles Expedition, in World War I, led to his resignation

        as First Lord of the Admiralty.

    --  November 6, 1924

        Baldwin named him Chancellor of the Exchequer.

   --  May 10, 1940

        Appointed to head wartime coalition government.

-- July 1945

       Lost general election.

   --  April 24, 1953

       Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

   -- December 10, 1953

       Awarded Nobel prize for literature in recognition of “historical works and

       biographies as well as his brilliant speeches.”

   -- January 24, 1965

       Died in London; buried, following a state funeral, in the churchyard at Bladon,

       near Blenheim.

ⅲ. A Video Clip about Winston Churchill   

(Directions:) Watch this video clip and answer the following questions.

1. What do you learn from the clip?

2. What do you think of Winston Churchill?

Ⅳ. Julius Caesar  

      Julius Caesar was the best-known of all the ancient Roman leaders, and the first one to land in Britain with an army.

     He did this twice, in 55 and 54 BC, although Britain did not become part of the Roman Empire until nearly a hundred years later.

Ⅴ. Viking  

        Viking was a member of a people from Scandinavia who attacked parts of northern and western Europe, including Britain and Ireland, in the 8th to 11th centuries. In Britain they were also known as Norsemen. They settled on the

Scottish islands and in areas of eastern England, and the Danish king Canute ruled England from 1016. The Vikings were feared as violent and cruel, but they were also noted for their skill in building ships and as sailors. They had an important influence on English culture and the English language.

Ⅵ. Norman   

       Norman refers to any of the people from Normandy in northern France who settled in England after their leader William defeated the English king at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Normans took control of the country, a process known as the Norman Conquest. They used many of the existing Anglo-Saxon methods of government of the state and the church, but added important aspects of their own and made government much more effective. The language of government became first Latin, and then Norman French, and this caused many new words to be added to the existing English language.

Ⅶ. William Caxton  

      William Caxton was the man who set up the first printing firm in Britain. He printed his first book in 1474. By printing books in English, Caxton had a strong influence on the spelling and development of the language. Many of the books he published were French stories which he translated himself.

Ⅷ. Otto Jespersen   

        Otto Jespersen  was a Danish philologist, grammarian, and educationist. He promoted the use of the “direct method”  in language teaching with the publication of his theoretical work How to Teach a Foreign Language (1904). Other books include his seven-volume Modern English Grammar (1909~1949).

Ⅸ. Renaissance  

        The Renaissance emerged in northern Italy in the 1300s when, not content with the abstract and highly subjective thinking of the Middle Ages, scholars turned for inspiration to the ancient Greeks and Romans with their love of earthly life. Italian architects rediscovered ancient construction techniques and incorporated Greek and Roman columns, arches, and domes into their public buildings. Instead of the flat, stiff figures of the Middle Ages, Renaissance artists portrayed rounded, flesh-and-blood people, people filled with emotions. To depict the world they lived in realistically, Renaissance artists developed linear perspective, which creates on a flat surface the illusion of depth. Renaissance scholars explored their world through mathematics, science, and engineering. Probably the most famous people of the Renaissance times are Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. By the 1500s the Renaissance had spread to Spain and the countries of northern Europe, where people sought to blend the intense interest in human affairs with spiritual ideals.

Global Reading

Ⅰ. Part Division of the Text  

Ⅱ. Further Understanding   

For Part 1

    Pair Discussion  

    (Directions: ) Look at the picture below. Answer these questions with a partner.

1. What are differences between English and French in borrowing foreign words?

(= 1) English has a vocabulary of about one million words while French has  

        only about 75,000 words.

             2) English has borrowed a lot of words from other language while French

                 hasn’t. And the French government even  tries to ban words from  

                 English.)

2. What can we infer from the invention of a French word “balladeer”?

(= 1) In borrowing foreign words, English people are open-minded while French people are conservative.

    2) We know the reason why English has become the first truly global language.)

3. How did the word “Walkman” come into being?

(= The Japanese put two simple English words together to name their product.)

  For Part 2

    English – the Sea of Language

(略)

For Part 3

    Questions and Answers

1. Who is Otto Jespersen?

(= He is a Danish scholar.)

2. According to Otto Jespersen, what is the cause for English to become what it is?

(= It’s the result of the great respecters of the liberties of each individual.)

        3. What is English language i the author’s opinion?

        (= English is the tongue of common man.)