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　　American and British people speak English of course．But sometimes it does not seem like the same language．In fact, there are some important differences between British and American English．

　　Pour water into a sieve．竹篮打水一场空。

　　First of all, they sound very different．Often, Americans don’t say each word separately．They say several words together．Americans may say “dunno” instead of “I don’t know”．However, the British are more careful on their speech．They usually say all the words and keep them separate．

　　Also, some letters have different sounds．For example, the Americans say the “a” in “half” like the “a” in “cat”．But the British say the “a” in “half” like the “o” in “soft”．

　　Sound is not the only difference between British English　and American English．Words sometimes are never used in England．The same thing is true of some British words in America．For example, the vocabulary for cars and driving is different．Americans drive trucks, but in England they drive lorries．

　　Many expressions are also different in the two countries．In England, if you are going to telephone friends, you “ring them up”．In America you “give them a call”．

　　For example, Americans usually use the helping verb “do” when they ask a question．they say “Do you have any class today?” But the British often leave out the helping verb．They say “Have you class today?”

　　All these differences can be confusing if you are learning English．But most languages are like this．Languages change over time．When people live in separate places, the languages ? change in different way．This is what happened to English．It can also happen to other languages, such as French．Many people in Canada speak French but their French is very different from the French of France．

1．What’s this passage mainly about?(Please answer within 15 words．)

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2．What are the differences between American English and British English according to the passage?

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3．What is the main meaning of the fourth paragraph?(Please answer within 15 words．)

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4．Please fill in the blanks in the sixth paragraph with proper　words．(Please answer within 10 words．)

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5．Translate the underlined sentence into Chinese．

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