Listening and WritingModule 1 British and American English Work in pairs. Think about problems exchange students have. Number them in order of importance. a understanding the language b getting on with people c food d different school subjects and timetable e local customs f climateCheck your ideas with another pair. P5 1 Complete the passage with the words in the box.H ello, and welcome to todays edition of In the air. As you know, every week on this programme we discuss an aspect of ask exist happen give live speak talk think the way we (1) _ now, and todays topic is the language we (2) _ -English. So thats something which affects us all. The question is, whats going to(3) _ to the way we speak English in the future? Are we all going to speak like Americans? Or will British English continue to (4) _? live speakhappen exist Later on were going to (5) _ you to phone in and (6) _ your views on the subject, but first were going to (7) _ to two young people, one American, and one British, who have spent time on an educational exchange in the others country. We (8) _ they will have some interesting ideas on the subject. askgive talkthink Listen to the interviews and answer the questions.1. Who found the local accent difficult to understand?2. Who didnt find the local accent difficult to understand?3. Who gets on well with the other students?4. Who played in a school sports team?5. Who discovered a lively music scene?6. Who enjoyed the-end-of-year dance?7. Who thinks everyone will speak American English one day?8. Who thinks its only natural that there are lots of varieties of English?Samantha Callum P6 3Samantha SamanthaSamanthaSamanthaCallum CallumCallumCallum Listen again and answer the questions.1. Which part of the country is Samantha staying in? The north of England (Leeds in Yorkshire). 2. H ow long did it take her to understand what people were saying? Two months. 3. What did she notice about the pronunciation of words like dance and bath? Theyre the same as in American English.4. What is the last question the interviewer asked Samantha? Do you think youll go home speaking with a north of England accent? 5. H ow long did Callum spend in the US? Ten months.6. What didnt he like about the place he stayed in? The climate (hot and humid). 7. What did he say about the way people spoke? It was easy to understand; they spoke rather slowly. 8. What did girls like about Callum? H is English accent (it was cute). INT: Id like to speak to our American guest first. H i, Samantha, welcome to the _, and welcome to England!SAM: Thanks!INT: _ are you from?SAM: Im from Albany, in New York State. INT: _ did you arrive in the UK?SAM: Two months ago, in September, at the _ of the school term.Listen again and fill in the blanks.showbeginningWhereWhen INT: H ow did you get to hear about the exchange? SAM: I saw an _ in my school magazine _ in the States.INT: Where are you _ school now?SAM: In Leeds, in Yorkshire. INT: And how are you _ _?SAM: Im getting on just fine, now that I understand the local _.INT: So, it was difficult at first?advertisementback attendinggetting onaccent SAM: Yes, because I didnt _ what people were saying for _ _ _ days. I think that was the biggest problem I had when I _.INT: But then you _ _ _ it?SAM: Yes - and now it seems quite _. In fact, in some ways the accent here, in the north of England, _ me of American English. geta couple ofarrived got used tonormal reminds INT: H ow do you mean? SAM: Well, like they say bath _ _ bath, or Do you want to dance instead of dance, like they do in other parts of Britain. INT: Whats been the most _ thing about the exchange _ _? SAM: _ the people, especially the other students in my class. Theyre really friendly. instead ofpositiveso farDefinitely INT: Is there _ _ you like about living in Britain?SAM: Lots of things, like the music scene in Leeds, _ _. I like Leeds because theres more going on here than back home in the States. The school has a _ music laboratory, which is really interesting. anything elsecreative for instance INT: Ive got a question to ask you, Samantha, about the _ of English. Do you think in the future everyone will speak American English?SAM: No, why should they? Since English is spoken all over the world, I guess its only _ that there are lots of _. INT: So do you think youll go home _ with a north of England accent? SAM: Oh no, I didnt mean that!futurenaturalvarietiesspeaking INT: Well now Id like to _ _ our other guest, another exchange student, thats _ Callum Nightingale. Callum, you recently returned from the US. H ow long were you there? CAL: Ten months _. INT: And where were you? CAL: I was in a _ agricultural region, in a _ small town in Mississippi. turn toaltogetherfertilefairlyeighteen-year-old INT: Thats quite a long way _, isnt it? CAL: Yes, it is. INT: What was the most difficult problem you had? CAL: I _ it was the _; it was hot and humid for a lot of the time. INT: H ow did you _ _ _ American English? CAL: Well, I didnt really have any problems with the accent. It was easy to understand, they speak _ _. southreckon climateget on withrather slowly INT: But did they understand you? CAL: Thats a good _. I think they did. As I was the only British person in the school they _ _ _ of me. The girls all said my accent was _. INT: What was the best moment of your stay? CAL: I think it was the _, thats the school dance at the end of the year. pointmade a fusscuteprom INT: I want to ask you a couple of questions about American English. Did you find that a lot of words are _?CAL: Yes, especially _ _ - they have grades, we have years, then the names of subjects are _ _ different, like “civics”, which basically means _ and _. And some sports are different - football means American football, not _ - I actually played in the soccer team. a bit law governmentsoccerdifferentat school Then the American word for maths is _, without the “s” - that seems like a very small detail. But the first time I heard it, it sounded _ . but you get used to it. When I came home my mum said I had _ _ an American accent, but its _ _ now I think. INT: Callum, do you think that in the future everybody will speak an American _ of English? math strangepicked upworn offvariety CAL: Maybe yes. I think the British will speak American English because they _ it every day now, on _, in _ and so on. INT: And are you _ about that? CAL: I dont know. I _ I dont mind, really. Everything changes _ _ _.hear happysupposesooner or later TVfilms G UIDED WRITINGBritish and American English【話題分析】 語言是人們交流交際的工具，它必將為人們的交流與理解服務(wù)。有關(guān)媒體語言的選擇和使用，也關(guān)系到媒體傳播與交流的功效。該類文章寫作常設(shè)計成應(yīng)用文體的形式，寫作內(nèi)容可結(jié)合自己的學(xué)習(xí)體會和認(rèn)識適當(dāng)發(fā)揮。但文章語言要標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，用詞要準(zhǔn)確，行文要連貫，方能達到好的交流效果。 【歸納記憶】以下關(guān)于漢語語言的句子可供參考：1. There are many different accents in Chinese, which I think resulted in the trouble, especially for foreigners, in understanding it.2. Compared with English, Chinese are pronounced in more ways with a variety of accents in different parts of China.3. Many Chinese characters are spelled in a special way, combining the meaning with their pronunciation. 4. In order to understand Chinese and communicate well with the natives, youd better practice listening and speaking a lot, which helps to learn it well in return.5. You should also pay attention to the traditional customs, which will help you learn the language while getting along well with the natives. 【寫作任務(wù)】 假設(shè)你是李華。你的加拿大筆友Peter一個月前來北京某大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)漢語。他發(fā)現(xiàn)漢語與英語有很大的不同：漢字的發(fā)音和拼寫復(fù)雜難學(xué)，句子結(jié)構(gòu)也是如此。請你寫封回信，對此作出簡單解釋，提供學(xué)習(xí)建議，并鼓勵他學(xué)好漢語。 注意： 1. 可適當(dāng)增加細節(jié), 以使行文連貫； 2. 要求詞數(shù): 100左右。 【寫作分析與指導(dǎo)】第一步：審題 該題目屬于以語言學(xué)習(xí)為話題的應(yīng)用文寫作。要求為筆友解釋漢語語言的特點(剖析筆友遇到的困難, 解除對方的犯難情緒)；提供漢語語言學(xué)習(xí)的建議(根據(jù)個人經(jīng)驗，適當(dāng)發(fā)揮); 并鼓勵對方學(xué)好漢語。 書信的格式已為中學(xué)生所熟悉, 因此選用恰當(dāng)?shù)脑~句成為寫作的關(guān)鍵。寫作過程中要盡量選用較為豐富的詞語, 運用較為復(fù)雜的句式, 借以提高表達的質(zhì)量。提供的建議要中肯, 注重實效, 真正起到幫助學(xué)習(xí)的作用。 全文以第一人稱為主, 提供建議可用第二人稱。動詞時態(tài)以現(xiàn)在時態(tài)為主。 第二步：列提綱1.書信的開頭，引出話題，介紹情況：了 解到對方來北京學(xué)習(xí)漢語；剖析漢語和英語的不同：漢字的發(fā)音、拼寫、句子結(jié)構(gòu)等復(fù)雜難學(xué)；2. 書信的主體，提供建議：學(xué)習(xí)語言離不 開練習(xí)（讀寫）；交流交際過程中，了 解不同口音和文化，反過來又利于學(xué) 習(xí)，等等；3. 書信的結(jié)尾，總結(jié)、鼓勵、祝愿，增強 其信心。 第三步：優(yōu)化句子1. 正如你所發(fā)現(xiàn)的一樣，漢語和英語大不 相同。 【優(yōu)化1】You said that you had found many differences between Chinese and English. 【優(yōu)化2】Just as you have found, Chinese differs greatly from English. 2. 漢字的發(fā)音和拼寫復(fù)雜難學(xué)，句子結(jié)構(gòu) 也是如此。【優(yōu)化1】The pronunciation, the spelling of the Chinese words and the sentence structures are too complicated for people to learn.【優(yōu)化2】The pronunciation and the spelling of the Chinese words are very complicated, and so are the sentence structures, making them a little bit difficult for people to learn. 3. 你應(yīng)該多找機會和本地人交流,借以熟 悉他們的口音和文化,這有助于漢語的學(xué)習(xí)。 【優(yōu)化1】You should talk more with the native people to get familiar with different accents and the culture, which helps you to learn Chinese. 【優(yōu)化2】You should find more opportunities to communicate with the native people so that you can get familiar with different accents and the culture, helping to learn Chinese. 【優(yōu)化3】You should find more opportunities to communicate with the native people to get familiar with different accents as well as the culture, which will help you to learn Chinese by using it. 【范例展示】Dear Peter, Im glad to know that you have been studying Chinese in a university in Beijing for about a month. Just as you have found, Chinese differs greatly from English. The pronunciation and the spelling of theChinese words are very complicated, and so are the sentence structures. That is why many foreigners have great difficulty in learning Chinese. H owever, practicing will make a difference. If you can read and write Chinese as much as you can, you will master it in time. In addition, you should find more opportunities to communicate with the native people to get familiar with different accents as well as the culture, which will help you to learn Chinese by using it. Im sure you can learn Chinese well if you dont give it up. I can offer some help if necessary. Best wishes. Yours, Li H ua 1. Do the listening exercises in Learning English.2. 為更好地服務(wù)外商，某地方電視臺要增加英語新聞節(jié)目，現(xiàn)向社會各界征求意見，并討論使用美國英語還是英國英語播報的問題。請以學(xué)生李華的名義，給負(fù)責(zé)人張先生寫一封書信，內(nèi)容包括： 1. 提供英語節(jié)目的必要性； 2. 使用美國英語或英國英語的建議及原因； 3. 其它方面的建議等。 注意：1. 可適當(dāng)增加細節(jié), 以使行文連貫； 2. 要求詞數(shù): 120-150。