English and English Community
1 There is no denying that1 English is a useful language.The people who speak English today make up the largest speech community in the world with the exception of speakers of Chinese.Originally they were small tribes of people from northern Europe who settled in England.Their languages became more and more similar to each other.Finally，the language had enough uniformity2 to be used by all speakers in England.The people were united into a speech community through their shared language.
2 A speech community is similar to other kinds of communities.The people who make up the conimunity share a common language.Often they live side by side，as they do in aneighborhood，a village，or a city.More often they form a whole country.National boundaries，however，are not always the same as the boundaries of a speech community.A speech community is any group of people who speak the same language no matter where they happen to live.
3 We may say that anyone who speaks English belongs to the English speech community.For convenience3，we may classify the speakers into two groups： one in which the speakers use English as their native language，the other in which the speakers learn English as a second language for the purpose of education，commerce，and so on.
4 English serves as an alternative language in several areas of public activity for the many nations of the world which employ it as an international second language.4 English has been adoptedas the language of air traffic，commerce，as well as international diplomacy.Moreover，English is the language of the majority of published materials in the world so that education has come to rely heavily on an understanding of English.
5 Learning a second language extends one's vision and expands the mind.The history and literature of a second language record the real and fictional lives of people and their culture；5 a knowledge of them adds to our ability to understand and to feel as they feel.Learning English as a second language provides another means of communication through which the window of the entire English speech community becomes a part of our heritage.
注釋：
1.There is no denying that…：毫無疑問……
2.uniformity：一致性。uniformity是uniform的名詞形式。全句譯為：最終，這種語言具有足夠的統(tǒng)一性，致使所有在英格蘭居住的人都能使用。
3.for convenience：意為“為了……方便起見”
4.English serves as an alternative language in several areas of public activity for the many nations of the world which employ it as an international second language.對世界上許多在國際交往中把英語作為第二語言的國家來說，英語是在公共活動的幾個領(lǐng)域中可供選用的語言之一。
5.The history and literature of a second language record the real and fictional lives of people and their culture.第二語言記載的歷史和文學(xué)記述了一個民族真實和虛構(gòu)的生活和文化。句中history和real lives相對應(yīng)，literature和fictional lives相對應(yīng)。
練習(xí)：
1.Paragraph 2_________
2.Paragraph 3_________
3.Paragraph 4_________
4.Paragraph 5_________
A The Wide Use of English
B Historical Account of English and Its Community
C The Advantages of Learning a Second Language
D The Composition of the English Community
E The Threat That English Poses to Other Languages
F The Definition of a Speech Community
5.Only through the shared language_________.
6 The idea of the national boundaries is often different from_________.
7.Speakers are classified into two groups_________.
8.An understanding of English_________.
A that of a speech community
B can a speech community be formed
C in order to learn English better
D for the sake of simplicity
E has played an important role in the field of education
F is widely used in several areas of public activity
答案與題解：
1.F 此段解釋何為語言群體，最后一句話是關(guān)鍵，可以看做是語言群體的定義。
2.D 此段是講英語語言群體包括的兩類人，所以用composition“構(gòu)成”一詞。
3.A 此段講述英語在全世界許多領(lǐng)域被廣泛應(yīng)用，如航空、商務(wù)、外交、教育等。
4.C 此段主要談的是學(xué)習(xí)第二語言的益處，最后一句話更具體到學(xué)習(xí)英語的益處。
5.B 答案來自第一段最后一句，說明人們是通過他們所擁有的共同語言組成一個語言群體。以only開頭的句子謂語部分要求使用倒裝句。
6.A 第二段第四句話表明國界與語言群體的界限并不總是一致的。that用來替代the+有關(guān)前述名詞，以避免重復(fù)。
7.D 第三段第二句表明，為了方便起見我們將說話者分為兩類。for the sake of指“出于……的考慮”。
8.E 第四段最后一句話表明教育越來越依賴對英語的理解。也就是說對英語的理解能力在教育中起著重要的作用。
1 There is no denying that1 English is a useful language.The people who speak English today make up the largest speech community in the world with the exception of speakers of Chinese.Originally they were small tribes of people from northern Europe who settled in England.Their languages became more and more similar to each other.Finally，the language had enough uniformity2 to be used by all speakers in England.The people were united into a speech community through their shared language.
2 A speech community is similar to other kinds of communities.The people who make up the conimunity share a common language.Often they live side by side，as they do in aneighborhood，a village，or a city.More often they form a whole country.National boundaries，however，are not always the same as the boundaries of a speech community.A speech community is any group of people who speak the same language no matter where they happen to live.
3 We may say that anyone who speaks English belongs to the English speech community.For convenience3，we may classify the speakers into two groups： one in which the speakers use English as their native language，the other in which the speakers learn English as a second language for the purpose of education，commerce，and so on.
4 English serves as an alternative language in several areas of public activity for the many nations of the world which employ it as an international second language.4 English has been adoptedas the language of air traffic，commerce，as well as international diplomacy.Moreover，English is the language of the majority of published materials in the world so that education has come to rely heavily on an understanding of English.
5 Learning a second language extends one's vision and expands the mind.The history and literature of a second language record the real and fictional lives of people and their culture；5 a knowledge of them adds to our ability to understand and to feel as they feel.Learning English as a second language provides another means of communication through which the window of the entire English speech community becomes a part of our heritage.
注釋：
1.There is no denying that…：毫無疑問……
2.uniformity：一致性。uniformity是uniform的名詞形式。全句譯為：最終，這種語言具有足夠的統(tǒng)一性，致使所有在英格蘭居住的人都能使用。
3.for convenience：意為“為了……方便起見”
4.English serves as an alternative language in several areas of public activity for the many nations of the world which employ it as an international second language.對世界上許多在國際交往中把英語作為第二語言的國家來說，英語是在公共活動的幾個領(lǐng)域中可供選用的語言之一。
5.The history and literature of a second language record the real and fictional lives of people and their culture.第二語言記載的歷史和文學(xué)記述了一個民族真實和虛構(gòu)的生活和文化。句中history和real lives相對應(yīng)，literature和fictional lives相對應(yīng)。
練習(xí)：
1.Paragraph 2_________
2.Paragraph 3_________
3.Paragraph 4_________
4.Paragraph 5_________
A The Wide Use of English
B Historical Account of English and Its Community
C The Advantages of Learning a Second Language
D The Composition of the English Community
E The Threat That English Poses to Other Languages
F The Definition of a Speech Community
5.Only through the shared language_________.
6 The idea of the national boundaries is often different from_________.
7.Speakers are classified into two groups_________.
8.An understanding of English_________.
A that of a speech community
B can a speech community be formed
C in order to learn English better
D for the sake of simplicity
E has played an important role in the field of education
F is widely used in several areas of public activity
答案與題解：
1.F 此段解釋何為語言群體，最后一句話是關(guān)鍵，可以看做是語言群體的定義。
2.D 此段是講英語語言群體包括的兩類人，所以用composition“構(gòu)成”一詞。
3.A 此段講述英語在全世界許多領(lǐng)域被廣泛應(yīng)用，如航空、商務(wù)、外交、教育等。
4.C 此段主要談的是學(xué)習(xí)第二語言的益處，最后一句話更具體到學(xué)習(xí)英語的益處。
5.B 答案來自第一段最后一句，說明人們是通過他們所擁有的共同語言組成一個語言群體。以only開頭的句子謂語部分要求使用倒裝句。
6.A 第二段第四句話表明國界與語言群體的界限并不總是一致的。that用來替代the+有關(guān)前述名詞，以避免重復(fù)。
7.D 第三段第二句表明，為了方便起見我們將說話者分為兩類。for the sake of指“出于……的考慮”。
8.E 第四段最后一句話表明教育越來越依賴對英語的理解。也就是說對英語的理解能力在教育中起著重要的作用。