About 5000 years ago, people in an area north of the Black Sea in southeastern Europe spoke a language called Proto-Indo-European, which is believed to be the ancestor of most European languages. These include the languages that became ancient Greek, ancient German and the ancient Latin.
Latin disappeared as a spoken language. Yet it left behind three great languages that became modern Spanish, French and Italian. Ancient German became Dutch, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish and one of the languages that developed into English.
The English language is a result of the invasions of the island of Britain over many hundreds of years. The first invasions were by a people called Angles about 1500 years ago. The Angles were a German tribe （部落）who crossed the English Channel. Later two more groups crossed to Britain. They were the Saxons and the Jutes. These groups found a people called the Celts, who had lived in Britain for many thousands of years. The Celts and the invaders fought. After a while, most of the Celts were killed, or made slaves. Some escaped to live in the area that became Wales. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different languages. The result is what is called Anglo-Saxon or Old English.
The next great invasion of Britain came from the far north beginning about 1100 years ago. Fierce people called Vikings invaded the coast areas of Britain. The Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and other northern countries. They were looking to capture trade goods and slaves and take away anything of value. In some areas, the Vikings became so powerful they built temporary bases. These temporary bases sometimes became permanent. Later, many Vikings stayed in Britain. Many English words used today come from these ancient Vikings. Words like “sky，” “leg，” “skill,” “egg，” “crawl,” “lift” and “take” are from the old languages of the far northern countries.
The next invasion of Britain took place more than 900 years ago, in 1066. History experts call this invasion the Norman Conquest.
1. What is the general idea of the passage?
2. Which of the following languages later developed into English?
3. Old English is the mixture of the languages spoken by the following tribes which include_____.
4. Which of the following can best describe Vikings who invaded Britain about 1100 years ago?
5. What follows the passage is most probably about .
问题1选项
A.The early history of the English language
B.The origin of the English language
C.The varieties of the English language
D.The invasions of Britain
问题2选项
A.Proto-Indo-European language
B.Ancient Greek
C.Ancient German
D.Ancient Latin
问题3选项
A.The Angles, the Saxons and the Celts
B.The Saxons, the Jutes and the Celts
C.The Angle, the Jutes and the Celts
D.The Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes
问题4选项
A.They were soldiers
B.They were merchants
C.They were pirates
D.They were sailors
问题5选项
A.the impact of the Norman Conquest on the British people
B.the impact of the Norman Conquest on the English language
C.the important events in the Norman Conquest
D.the historical figures in the Norman Conquest
第1题:A
第2题:C
第3题:D
第4题:C
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
What is the general idea of the passage? 文章大意是什么？
A. The early history of the English language. A. 英语的早期历史。
B. The origin of the English language. B. 英语的起源。
C. The varieties of the English language. C. 英语的变体。
D. The invasions of Britain. D. 对不列颠的入侵。
【考查点】主旨大意题
【解题思路】文章采用总分的行文结构介绍了英语这门语言的起源以及发展：前两段主要描述了世界上主要语言的演变脉络，其中指出古德语成为荷兰语、丹麦语、德语、挪威语、瑞典语，其中一种语言发展成为英语，这是英语的起源；接下来的段落，作者则详细介绍了盎格鲁人、维京人入侵不列颠岛对英语演变产生的影响，这是英语语言的发展。综上可知，文章大意是“英语的早期历史”，A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“英语的起源”在第二段中有提到，但不是文章全部内容，在接下来的段落中作者还介绍了英语的不断演变和发展，属于以偏概全；
C选项虽然第三段提到了“盎格鲁-撒克逊语或古英语”，但不是文章全部内容，属于以偏概全；
D选项“对不列颠的入侵”是作者在介绍英语的演变过程时而提到的细节信息，不是文章主旨，属于答非所问。
第2题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following languages later developed into English? 下列哪一种语言后来发展成英语？
A. Proto-Indo-European language. A. 原印欧语。
B. Ancient Greek. B. 古希腊语。
C. Ancient German. C. 古德语。
D. Ancient Latin. D. 古拉丁语。
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据关键词“later developed into English”定位到第二段第二句“古德语变成了荷兰语、丹麦语、德语、挪威语、瑞典语和一种发展成英语的语言（Ancient German became Dutch, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish and one of the languages that developed into English.）。”由此可知，古德语后来发展成英语，C选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项均不是后来发展成英语的语言，属于答非所问。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Old English is the mixture of the languages spoken by the following tribes which include ____. 古英语是以下部落所讲语言的混合体，其中包括____。
A. the Angles, the Saxons and the Celts A. 盎格鲁人、撒克逊人和凯尔特人
B. the Saxons, the Jutes and the Celts B. 撒克逊人、朱特人和凯尔特人
C. the Angles, the Jutes and the Celts C. 盎格鲁人、朱特人和凯尔特人
D. the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes D. 盎格鲁人、撒克逊人和朱特人
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据关键词“Old English”定位到第三段最后两句“多年来，撒克逊人、盎格鲁人和朱特人混合了他们不同的语言（the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different languages）。其结果就是所谓的盎格鲁-撒克逊英语或古英语（Old English）。”由此可知，D选项符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项中的“凯尔特人”不符合题意，属于答非所问。
第4题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following can best describe Vikings who invaded Britain about 1100 years ago? 下列哪项最能描述1100年前入侵不列颠的维京人？
A. They were soldiers. A. 他们是士兵。
B. They were merchants. B. 他们是商人。
C. They were pirates. C. 他们是海盗。
D. They were sailors. D. 他们是水手。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】文章第四段提到“对不列颠的下一次大规模入侵来自遥远的北方，始于大约1100年前。凶猛的维京人入侵了英国的沿海地区（invaded the coast areas of Britain）。维京人来自丹麦、挪威和其他北方国家。他们的目的是掠夺贸易商品和奴隶，抢走任何有价值的东西（They were looking to capture trade goods and slaves and take away anything of value）。”根据“capture trade goods and slaves and take away anything of value”和“invaded the coast areas of Britain”可推断，维京人是海盗，故C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项均不能从文中推断出来，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
What follows the passage is most probably about ____. 文段后面的内容很可能是关于____的。
A. the impact of the Norman Conquest on the British people A. 诺曼征服对英国人民的影响
B. the impact of the Norman Conquest on the English language B. 诺曼征服对英语的影响
C. the important events in the Norman Conquest C. 诺曼征服中的重要事件
D. the historical figures in the Norman Conquest D. 诺曼征服中的历史人物
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】根据第16题可知，本文主要是介绍英语这门语言的起源以及发展。上文分别描述了盎格鲁人、维京人入侵不列颠岛对英语演变产生的影响，而文章最后一段又提到了“诺曼征服”，由此可推断，文段后面的内容是介绍诺曼征服对英语的影响，故B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项均与文章的主旨无关，属于曲解原文。
