Question

【题目】Foreign visitors to the UK might be disappointed when they learn that not everyone there speaks like Harry Potter and his friends.

Many non-Brits think that everyone in Britain speaks with what is known as a Received Pronunciation（RP, 标准发音）______ , also called “the Queen’s English”.

____ many people do indeed talk this way, most Britons speak in their own regional（地区的）accents.

Scouse, Glaswegian and Black Country – from Liverpool, Glasgow and the West Midlands – are just three of the ______ non-RP accents British people speak with. There are even differences in accents between towns or cities just 30 kilometers ______ .

But besides disappointing foreign visitors, not speaking in an RP accent may mean a British person is judged, or even treated ______ , in their everyday life.

In a 2015 study by The University of South Wales, UK, videos of people reading a passage in three different UK accents were shown to a second group of people. The group then ______ how intelligent they thought the readers sounded.

The lowest-rated accent was Brummie, ______ to people from Birmingham, a city whose accent is considered working class.

“Specific regional accents are often seen as inferior（低下的）and belonging to groups lacking in honesty” Lance Workman, leader of the study, told The Telegraph.

“It is ______ that many of those with regional accents are still hitting a glass ceiling.”

But English-learners who want to sound more British shouldn’t go straight for RP, ______ many do. In fact, doing the opposite may even give you a(n) ______ .

Kong Seong-jae, 25, better known as “Korean Billy”, is an internet celebrity（名人）from Seoul. After studying in the UK, he ______ several regional accents. He’s now famous for his online videos, where he ______ the various accents he’s learned.

“British people ______ get really excited when I use some of their local dialect words, and they become much more ______ . I think it makes a bit of bond（情感纽带）between local people and foreigners to speak in their local accent,” he told TEENS.

So if you’re working on ______ your British accent, try to speak like someone from Liverpool, Glasgow or Birmingham. You may not sound like Harry Potter, but you are likely to make more friends.

【1】A. language B. accent C. speech D. habit

【2】A. While B. If C. When D. As

【3】A. limited B. interesting C. countless D. strange

【4】A. wide B. separate C. away D. apart

【5】A. friendly B. unfairly C. differently D. equally

【6】A. imagined B. supposed C. questioned D. rated

【7】A. native B. close C. attractive D. accessible

【8】A. persuasive B. clear C. difficult D. unusual

【9】A. such B. as C. so D. like

【10】A. advantage B. effect C. hit D. shock

【11】A. hung on B. thought of C. learned about D. picked up

【12】A. aims at B. applies for C. shows off D. deals with

【13】A. seldom B. certainly C. usually D. hardly

【14】A. guilty B. friendly C. grateful D. cruel

【15】A. perfecting B. removing C. monitoring D. blaming

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】C

【4】D

【5】C

【6】D

【7】A

【8】B

【9】B

【10】A

【11】D

【12】C

【13】C

【14】B

【15】A

【解析】本文主要讨论有关英式发音的相关方面的问题。这篇文章先是提到了大多数人想让自己的英语发音更地道，就去学习标准发音，它向读者提供了一个反其道而行之的建议，就是去学习英国的一些地方方言，这样你可能会交到更多的朋友。

【1】根据前文所述，可知这里强调的是口音，发音这方面的内容， A. language语言 B. accent口音 C. speech演讲 D. habit爱好。由短文大意可知这里用accent更合理。故选B。

【2】根据句意“很多人确实用这种方式谈论，而大多数的英国人说话都带有他们自己的地方口音。”这里需要一个连接词且前后表示转折和对比之意，重点是引出后面的内容，While 这里表示前后对比，表示“而”。故选A。

【3】由后文提到的就算是相隔仅30km的小镇之间都有口音差异，说明这几个地区的non-RP accents British people人数众多，countless 无数的，数不尽的。故选C。

【4】根据句意这里表示相隔30km远， A. wide 宽的 B. separate 使分离C. away远离 D. apart分开，远离。这里字面意思C，D都行，但是C一般表示一个物体离得有多远，重点强调单一物体的距离，而D项重点强调的是二者或者二者以上的物体之间的距离，这里明显强调的是小镇与小镇之间的距离。故选D。

【5】根据句意“但是除了失望的外国游客，不是通过标准发音来判断一个人是英国人，或者被区别对待。”be treated differently 被区别对待。故选C。

【6】根据句意“这组人然后来评价他们认为的读者听起来有多么聪明。”A. imagined 想象 B. supposed 猜想 C. questioned 质疑 D. rated评价，认为。故选D。

【7】前文提到伯明翰人Brummie后文提到了伯明翰Birmingham，这里很显然Brummie对于Birmingham来说是当地人， A. native 当地的 B. close 近的 C. attractive 吸引人的 D. accessible可接近的。故选A。

【8】前文提到说地方口音的人常常被认为是低下的和缺乏诚实的，后面有说到这些人会受到阻碍hitting a glass ceiling，可见这其中的原因是很明显的了。A. persuasive 具有说服力的 B. clear 清楚的 C. difficult困难的 D. unusual不寻常的。故选B。

【9】根据句意“但是那些英语学习者想变得更具英伦范不应该奔着标准口音去，想大多数人一样。”as和.......一样，故选B。

【10】根据句意这里强调的是不走寻常路，或者说用相反的方法，不像大多数人做的那样，这样反而会给你一种优势。 advantage有点，优势。故选A。

【11】根据句意这里表示已经通过学习而得到技能（几种不同的口音），A. hung on 等一下 B. thought of 认为 C. learned about 学习，了解 D. picked up习得。故选D。

【12】根据句意Kong Seong-jae习得了几种不同的口音，并且通过视频来展示他的口音，从而使他成了名人。shows off 展示。故选C。

【13】根据句意“当我使用一些他们当地的一些方言词汇，英国人通常会变得很激动。”usually 通常，常常。故选C。

【14】根据前文提到的，当用到他们当地的方言词汇，这些英国人会变得激动，从而可以猜想他们的反应应该是积极地。A. guilty 有罪的 B. friendly 友好的 C. grateful 感激的 D. cruel残忍的。由题意可知friendly 更合理。故选B。

【15】根据句意“如果你正在完善你的英式发音，你可以去尝试像从Liverpool, Glasgow or Birmingham这些地方的人那样说话。”A. perfecting 完善，使完美 B. removing 移动 C. monitoring 监视 D. blaming责备。故选A。