Voyages of people from England play an important part in spreading the English language. At present, English is frequently spoken as an official or common language in many countries, such as America, Singapore, Malaysia and some African countries. All based on British English, the English spoken in these countries can be well understood by native English speakers. But actually, these Englishes have been gradually changing in accents, spellings, expressions and the usage of vocabulary.
Because of this fact, you can make use of the differences to tell which country the foreigners of your block are from. For example, if a boss fluently commands his driver, “Come up straight to my apartment by elevator and take some gas for my trucks and cabs”, instead of requesting, “Please come to my flat by lift and take some petrol for my lorries and taxis”, you can recognize his American identity, while the latter suggests that he is British.
英国人的航海在英语的传播中扮演了重要的角色。目前, 英语在许多国家被作为官方语言或通用语言频繁地使用，例如美国、新加波、马来西亚和一些非洲的国家。这些国家的英语都以英式英语为基础，能很好地为以英语为本族语的人所理解。但是实际上，这些英语在口音、拼写、表达和词汇的使用方面都在逐渐变化。
因为这一情况的存在，你就可以利用这些英语之间的区别说出你们街区的外国人是哪个国家来的了。例如，如果有个老板流利地命令他的司机：“Come up straight to my apartment by elevator and take some gas for my trucks and cabs（直接搭电梯到我公寓上来拿卡车和出租车的汽油）”，而不是要求说，“Please come to my flat by lift and take some petrol for my lorries and taxis（请直接搭电梯到我公寓上来拿卡车和出租车的汽油）”，你就可以轻易地辨认出他的美国人身份，而后者却暗示着那是一位英国人。
重点词汇解析
1. voyage [vɒɪɪdʒ] n. 航行；航海
The voyage from England to India used to take six months. 过去从英格兰到印度要航行六个月。
2. play a part in起作用；演角色
The Internet plays an important part in our daily life. 互联网在我们日常生活中起到重要作用。
3. at present目前
We cannot explain this at present.
目前我们对此无法解释。
4. frequently [fri:kwəntli] adv.频繁地
Please write to me frequently. 请经常给我来信。
5. official [əfɪʃ əl] adj.官方的
An official announcement is expected in the next few days.
一份官方声明预计会在接下来的几天内发表。
6. such as 诸如；比如
I like drinks such as tea and soda.
我喜欢诸如茶和汽水之类的饮料。
7. Singapore [ˌsɪŋgəpɔ:] 新加坡
8. Malaysia /məleiʒə/ 马来西亚
9. African [5æfrɪk(ə)n] 非洲人；非洲的
Fish is a staple (主食) in the diet of many Africans. 鱼是很多非洲人饮食中的主食。
10. base on 以.....为基础
This song is based on an old folk tune.
这支歌是根据一首古老的民歌曲调创作的。
11. native [5neɪtɪv] adj. 本国的；n. 本地人
Singapore has many native species of palm.
新加坡有很多土生的棕榈树种。
12. actually [5æktʃuəli] adv. 实际上
However, this can actually be a good thing.
然而，这实际上可以是一件好事。
13. accent [5æks(ə)nt] n.口音
He has a strong American accent.
他有很重的美国口音。
14. spelling [5spelɪŋ] n. 拼写
His spelling is very bad. 他的拼写能力很差。
15. expression [ɪk’spreʃ ən] n. 表达, 表情
She smiled, but my expression made her look away.
她笑了笑，但我的表情让她又把目光移开了。
16. usage ['ju:sɪdʒ] n. 使用
This is a book on modern English usage.
这是一本关于现代英语用法的书。
17. vocabulary [və5kæbjʊlərɪ] n.词汇；词汇量
She has a very wide vocabulary.
她的词汇量很大。
18. because of 因为+名词、名短
The sports meeting was put off because of the heavy snow. 因为大雪运动会被推迟了。
19. make use of 利用
Staff can make use of a wide range of facilities.
员工可使用各种各样的设施。
20. block [blɒk] n. 街区
The church is down the block.
教堂就在这个街区那头。
21. fluently [5flu:əntlɪ] adv. 流利地
She can speak English fluently.
她能流利地说英语。
22. command [kə5ma:nd] n.&v.命令
He commanded the soldiers to shut the gate.
他命令士兵们把大门关上。
23. come up straight 直接上来
He told me to come up straight. 他叫我直接上来。
24. apartment [əˈpa:tmənt] n.公寓
Christina has her own apartment.
克里斯蒂娜有她自己的公寓。
25. elevator [5elɪveɪtə] n.电梯
We took the elevator to the fourteenth floor.
我们乘电梯到了第 14 层。
26. gas [gæs] n. 汽油
Coal is actually cheaper than gas.
煤炭实际上比煤气便宜。
27. cab [kæb] n.出租车
Could I use your phone to call a cab?
我能用你的电话叫一辆出租车吗？
28. request [rɪ5kwest] n.&v.要求
Do you have any special requests?
你有没有特别的要求？
29. flat [flæt] adj. n.平的；公寓
It’s cheaper for you to hire a flat when you stay in Europe.
你在欧洲停留期间，租一套公寓住可省一些钱。
30. lift [lift] n.电梯 v. 抬起
Three workers lifted the heavy box from the truck.
三个工人把沉重的箱子从卡车上搬了下来。
31. petrol [5petrəl] n. 汽油
The petrol in the tank is leaking out.
油箱里的汽油正往外漏。
32. lorry [5lɒri] n.卡车
The goods will be carried by lorry to Dalian.
货物将用卡车运往大连。
33. recognize [5rekəgnaɪz] v.认出；辨认
You have changed so much that I can hardly recognize you.
你的变化太大了，我简直认不出来了。
34. identity [aɪ5dentɪtɪ] n.身份
He wanted to know the identity of his real father. 他想知道自己亲生父亲的身份。
35. latter [5lætə] adj.后者
This article focuses on the latter.
这篇文章的重点在后者。
36. suggest [sə5dʒest] v. 建议；暗示
She suggested that she did not want me to tell the truth. 她暗示我不要说出实情。
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