As the English language has changed at a fast speed in this century, so has the use of the English language.

After the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was founded in 1927, the particular style of speech of the BBC announcers was recognized as Standard English or Received Pronunciation (RP) English. Now, most people still consider that the pronunciation and delivery of BBC announcers is the clearest and most understandable spoken English.

English has had a strong relationship with class and social position. However, since the Second World War there has been a clear change of the attitude towards speech snobbery（语言上的优越）, and marks of class distinction, such as styles of speech, have been gradually got rid of, especially by the younger generation.

As the need has arisen, new words have been invented or found from other languages and introduced into English. Similarly, old words and expressions have been put aside as their usefulness has become less or the fashions have passed．This also happens to styles and ways of speech which became fashionable at a particular time.

By the end of the 1960s it became clear that it was not necessary to speak Standard English or even correct grammar to become popular, successful and rich. The fashionable speech of the day was no longer the special right of a special class but rather a defiant（不服的）expression of classlessness.

The greatest single influence of the shaping of the English, language in modern times is the American English. Over the past 25 years the English, used by many people, particularly by those in the media, advertising and show business, has become more and more mid-Atlantic in style, delivery and accent.

In the 1970s, fashion favored careless pronunciation and a language full of jargon, slang and “in” words, much of which can’t be understood by the outside world．What is considered modern and fashionable in Britain today is often not the kind of English taught in schools and colleges.

1．Which of the following is NOT true?

       A．The use of the English language has not changed much in this century.

       B．the BBC announcers speak Standard English.

       C．English has no relationship with class and social position now.

       D．Young people don’t like the special right of a special class.

2．What does the author imply by saying “there is has been a clear change of the attitude towards speech snobbery (Para 3)?

       A．People all speak English like BBC announcers.

       B．There is a great change of the attitude about how English should be spoken.

     C．Some people still believe their way of speaking is much better than that of others.

      D．Most people don’t believe their way of speaking is much better than that of others.

3．According to the author, there was a trend in the US for the young people ____.

       A．to speak Standard English.                                                             

       B．to speak English without class distinction

       C．to speak English with class distinction   

       D．to speak English with grammar mistakes

4．It can be concluded from the passage that ____.

       A．Standard English is taught only in school and colleges

       B．the young English are defiant because they refuse to speak Standard English.

       C．the English language is not influenced by American English in the last 25 years

       D．there has been a great change in the English language in this century

Early this morning, I got up to make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats for my neighbor across the hall. She barely greets me when we see each other, and her sweet little boy, who's now four,  has picked up her mother's manner and will not talk to me, either．
Last Monday, she had called the firefighters when a pan I'd forgotten on the stove caused my flat to fog up while I was out taking a walk. When I came home, the street in front of our apartment house was blocked by a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance! The instant I saw them, I remembered the pan! Luckily, nothing serious had happened, and all my neighbors agreed with the firefighter who said, "It could have happened to anyone．" When I thanked the neighbor who had called the firefighters-let's call her Ivy-and apologized for causing the trouble, she just asked if my cats were all right．When I said they were fine, she said, "Well, that's ok then," and turned into her flat．l felt strangely safe, knowing that even though we don't get along, she'd done the right thing and didn't blame me．So, the Rice Krispie Treats．
Last Christmas, my neighbor carelessly let it out that she was holding a grudge （怨恨） towards me because of an incident we'd had four years ago．I had particularly apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to improve our relationship. She would not accept my apology．
It had taken me a lot of courage to apologize and ask that question instead of insisting that we both shared responsibility for what had happened．Her flat-out refusal to make amends（补偿） really shocked and saddened me．After that, I decided I'd just leave her be-a relationship takes two to work．So, you see, I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again, leaving me standing on her doorstep, facing the closed door and holding my plate of treats． I know some people have a hard time understanding how the possibility of rejection can make an adult so afraid, but that's just the way I felt．
Then, I reminded myself of how loving and good I had felt yesterday when I'd done some random acts of kindness （thanks to helpothers．org）, after telling myself: Feet the fear,  and do it anyway! So I put the squares of Rice Krispie Treats on a beautiful plate, opened my apartment  door-and there she was, standing in the hallway．I smiled and said, "Hi," but when she saw me, she turned on her heels and went back inside, even though she seemed to have just stepped out．I went after her, regardless, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, I've got something for you ! I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you were paying attention on Monday．" When she heard me speaking, she turned around． As I held the plate towards her, explaining these were very sweet American treats, and that she could just try and see whether she and her family would like them, her eyebrows winged up-and she took the plate．l was so happy and excited．We then talked a bit about how she'd become aware of the smoke in my flat, and parted ways．
Back in my place, I did a "happy dance", because I had dared to be kind even though I hadn't been sure at all my kindness would be welcome．I do hope that our relationship will slowly get better; I know I was and still am biased（存有偏见）towards her at times, but even if we don't make amends, I want to be able to be kind without depending on other people's behaviors and reactions .
【小题1】The neighbor held a grudge towards the writer most probably because_____．

Early this morning, I got up to make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats for my neighbor across the hall. She barely greets me when we see each other, and her sweet little boy, who's now four,  has picked up her mother's manner and will not talk to me, either．

Last Monday, she had called the firefighters when a pan I'd forgotten on the stove caused my flat to fog up while I was out taking a walk. When I came home, the street in front of our apartment house was blocked by a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance! The instant I saw them, I remembered the pan! Luckily, nothing serious had happened, and all my neighbors agreed with the firefighter who said, "It could have happened to anyone．" When I thanked the neighbor who had called the firefighters-let's call her Ivy-and apologized for causing the trouble, she just asked if my cats were all right．When I said they were fine, she said, "Well, that's ok then," and turned into her flat．l felt strangely safe, knowing that even though we don't get along, she'd done the right thing and didn't blame me．So, the Rice Krispie Treats．

Last Christmas, my neighbor carelessly let it out that she was holding a grudge （怨恨） towards me because of an incident we'd had four years ago．I had particularly apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to improve our relationship. She would not accept my apology．

It had taken me a lot of courage to apologize and ask that question instead of insisting that we both shared responsibility for what had happened．Her flat-out refusal to make amends（补偿） really shocked and saddened me．After that, I decided I'd just leave her be-a relationship takes two to work．So, you see, I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again, leaving me standing on her doorstep, facing the closed door and holding my plate of treats． I know some people have a hard time understanding how the possibility of rejection can make an adult so afraid, but that's just the way I felt．

Then, I reminded myself of how loving and good I had felt yesterday when I'd done some random acts of kindness （thanks to helpothers．org）, after telling myself: Feet the fear,  and do it anyway! So I put the squares of Rice Krispie Treats on a beautiful plate, opened my apartment  door-and there she was, standing in the hallway．I smiled and said, "Hi," but when she saw me, she turned on her heels and went back inside, even though she seemed to have just stepped out．I went after her, regardless, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, I've got something for you ! I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you were paying attention on Monday．" When she heard me speaking, she turned around． As I held the plate towards her, explaining these were very sweet American treats, and that she could just try and see whether she and her family would like them, her eyebrows winged up-and she took the plate．l was so happy and excited．We then talked a bit about how she'd become aware of the smoke in my flat, and parted ways．

Back in my place, I did a "happy dance", because I had dared to be kind even though I hadn't been sure at all my kindness would be welcome．I do hope that our relationship will slowly get better; I know I was and still am biased（存有偏见）towards her at times, but even if we don't make amends, I want to be able to be kind without depending on other people's behaviors and reactions .

1.The neighbor held a grudge towards the writer most probably because_____．

A．the writer's cats disturb her neighbor frequently

B．the writer didn't thank her for calling the firefighters

C．the writer never apologized to her for her misbehaviors

D．the writer had an unpleasant experience with the neighbor long ago

2. From Paragraph 4, we can learn that the author_____.

A．was afraid of being rejected again by her neighbor

B．didn't know how to get along with her neighbor

C．didn't admit it was her fault in the last incident

D．refused to forgive her neighbor's rude behavior

3. After the writer said "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!", she decided to_____.

A．do an act of kindness

B．leave her neighbor be

C．apologize to her neighbor once more

D．do something to let her neighbor down

4.What can we learn about the writer?

A．She was a professional dancer．

B．She often had quarrels with her neighbor．

C．She had a bias against her neighbor sometimes．

D．She had an unpleasant experience at Christmas this year．

5. What does the author try to tell us?

A．Don't punish yourself because of other's mistakes．

B．We should be kind to others, regardless of their behavior．

C．We must keep a good relationship with our neighbors．

D．When we make a mistake, we should have the courage to admit it．

Early this morning, I got up to make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats for my neighbor across the hall. She barely greets me when we see each other, and her sweet little boy, who's now four,  has picked up her mother's manner and will not talk to me, either．
Last Monday, she had called the firefighters when a pan I'd forgotten on the stove caused my flat to fog up while I was out taking a walk. When I came home, the street in front of our apartment house was blocked by a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance! The instant I saw them, I remembered the pan! Luckily, nothing serious had happened, and all my neighbors agreed with the firefighter who said, "It could have happened to anyone．" When I thanked the neighbor who had called the firefighters-let's call her Ivy-and apologized for causing the trouble, she just asked if my cats were all right．When I said they were fine, she said, "Well, that's ok then," and turned into her flat．l felt strangely safe, knowing that even though we don't get along, she'd done the right thing and didn't blame me．So, the Rice Krispie Treats．
Last Christmas, my neighbor carelessly let it out that she was holding a grudge （怨恨） towards me because of an incident we'd had four years ago．I had particularly apologized and asked if there was anything I could do to improve our relationship. She would not accept my apology．
It had taken me a lot of courage to apologize and ask that question instead of insisting that we both shared responsibility for what had happened．Her flat-out refusal to make amends（补偿） really shocked and saddened me．After that, I decided I'd just leave her be-a relationship takes two to work．So, you see, I was really scared she was going to refuse my offer again, leaving me standing on her doorstep, facing the closed door and holding my plate of treats． I know some people have a hard time understanding how the possibility of rejection can make an adult so afraid, but that's just the way I felt．
Then, I reminded myself of how loving and good I had felt yesterday when I'd done some random acts of kindness （thanks to helpothers．org）, after telling myself: Feet the fear,  and do it anyway! So I put the squares of Rice Krispie Treats on a beautiful plate, opened my apartment  door-and there she was, standing in the hallway．I smiled and said, "Hi," but when she saw me, she turned on her heels and went back inside, even though she seemed to have just stepped out．I went after her, regardless, and quickly said, "I'm sorry, I've got something for you ! I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you were paying attention on Monday．" When she heard me speaking, she turned around． As I held the plate towards her, explaining these were very sweet American treats, and that she could just try and see whether she and her family would like them, her eyebrows winged up-and she took the plate．l was so happy and excited．We then talked a bit about how she'd become aware of the smoke in my flat, and parted ways．
Back in my place, I did a "happy dance", because I had dared to be kind even though I hadn't been sure at all my kindness would be welcome．I do hope that our relationship will slowly get better; I know I was and still am biased（存有偏见）towards her at times, but even if we don't make amends, I want to be able to be kind without depending on other people's behaviors and reactions

1. 1.

   The neighbor held a grudge towards the writer most probably because_____．

   1. A.
      the writer's cats disturb her neighbor frequently
   2. B.
      the writer didn't thank her for calling the firefighters
   3. C.
      the writer never apologized to her for her misbehaviors
   4. D.
      the writer had an unpleasant experience with the neighbor long ago
2. 2.

   From Paragraph 4, we can learn that the author_____

   1. A.
      was afraid of being rejected again by her neighbor
   2. B.
      didn't know how to get along with her neighbor
   3. C.
      didn't admit it was her fault in the last incident
   4. D.
      refused to forgive her neighbor's rude behavior
3. 3.

   After the writer said "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!", she decided to_____

   1. A.
      do an act of kindness
   2. B.
      leave her neighbor be
   3. C.
      apologize to her neighbor once more
   4. D.
      do something to let her neighbor down
4. 4.

   What can we learn about the writer?

   1. A.
      She was a professional dancer．
   2. B.
      She often had quarrels with her neighbor．
   3. C.
      She had a bias against her neighbor sometimes．
   4. D.
      She had an unpleasant experience at Christmas this year．
5. 5.

   What does the author try to tell us?

   1. A.
      Don't punish yourself because of other's mistakes．
   2. B.
      We should be kind to others, regardless of their behavior．
   3. C.
      We must keep a good relationship with our neighbors．
   4. D.
      When we make a mistake, we should have the courage to admit it．