Unit 2 Exploring English
Passage 1
Neither Pine nor Apple in Pineapple
Have you ever asked yourself why people often have trouble ________(learn) English I hadn't, until one day my five-year-old son asked me whether there was ham in a hamburger. There isn't. This made me realise that there's no egg in eggplant either. Neither is there pine ________ apple in pineapple. This got me thinking how English can be a crazy language to learn.
For example, in our free time we can sculpt a sculpture and paint a painting, but we take a photo. And when we are travelling we say that we are ________ the car or the taxi, but ________ the train or bus! While we're doing all this travelling, we can get seasick at sea, airsick in the air and carsick in a car, but we don't get homesick when we get back home. And speaking ________ home, why aren't homework and housework the same thing
If “hard" is the opposite________ “soft”, why are “hardly" and “softly" not an ________(oppose) pair If harmless actions are the opposite of harmful actions, why are shameless and shameful behaviours the same
When we look out ________ the window and see rain or snow, we can say "it's raining" or “It's snowing”. But when we see sunshine, we can't say “it's sunshining”.
Even the ________(small) of words can be ________(confuse). When you see the capitalized "WHO" in a medical report, do you read it as the "who" in “Who's that " What about “IT" and “US”
You also have to wonder at the unique madness of a language ________ which a house can burn up as it burns down, ________ which you fill in a form by filling it out, and ________ which an alarm is only heard once it goes!
English ________(invent) by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race.
That is ________ when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And that is why when I wind up my watch, it starts, but when I wind up this passage, it ends.
Passage 2
(Mis)adventures in English
Last week, our forum asked ________ you had any funny or strange stories about using English. We didn't expect ________(get) so many posts! Here are some of our favourites,________(remind) us that some of the English we learn in the classroom is rather different ________ the English in the outside world!
Alba
People say that the British always play safe with ________ they eat. Not true! I went to a summer school in Manchester and my English teacher was called Maggie. One day, a different teacher took our class. He told us that Maggie couldn't teach that day ________ she had a frog in her throat. Poor Maggie-but why did she try ________(eat) such a big frog
Yancy
When I first visited New York, I went to a shopping centre to buy some winter boots. At the information desk I asked a lady ________ the shoe section was. She said that it was ________ the first floor. So I went up to the first floor, but couldn't find any shoes. When I was about to leave, I saw that shoes were ________(actual) sold on the ground floor, not the first floor. How ________(confuse)!
Julien
I've got an English pen friend, who I finally got to meet in London this summer. He had told me that his grandfather was "really wicked". ________ when I met his grandfather, I liked him a lot. I was very ________(confuse). Why did my friend use a negative word about ________ a nice man
Zheng Xu
The British must have really high standards. I was part of a student exchange between a university in England and my university in China. I spent days ________(prepare) and writing my first English paper. I knew I had done a good job and was looking forward ________(get) a good grade. When I got the paper back, I found my teacher had written the comment "Not bad!" Not bad I was a bit ________(disappoint).
原文:
Unit 2 Exploring English
Passage 1
Neither Pine nor Apple in Pineapple
Have you ever asked yourself why people often have trouble learning English I hadn't, until one day my five-year-old son asked me whether there was ham in a hamburger. There isn't. This made me realise that there's no egg in eggplant either. Neither is there pine nor apple in pineapple. This got me thinking how English can be a crazy language to learn.
For example, in our free time we can sculpt a sculpture and paint a painting, but we take a photo. And when we are travelling we say that we are in the car or the taxi, but on the train or bus! While we're doing all this travelling, we can get seasick at sea, airsick in the air and carsick in a car, but we don't get homesick when we get back home. And speaking of home, why aren't homework and housework the same thing
If “hard" is the opposite of “soft”, why are “hardly" and “softly" not an opposing pair If harmless actions are the opposite of harmful actions, why are shameless and shameful behaviours the same
When we look out of the window and see rain or snow, we can say "it's raining" or “It's snowing”. But when we see sunshine, we can't say “it's sunshining”.
Even the smallest of words can be confusing. When you see the capitalized "WHO" in a medical report, do you read it as the "who" in “Who's that " What about “IT" and “US”
You also have to wonder at the unique madness of a language in which a house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm is only heard once it goes!
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race.
That is why when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And that is why when I wind up my watch, it starts, but when I wind up this passage, it ends.
Passage 2
(Mis)adventures in English
Last week, our forum asked if you had any funny or strange stories about using English. We didn't expect to get so many posts! Here are some of our favourites, to remind us that some of the English we learn in the classroom is rather different from the English in the outside world!
Alba
People say that the British always play safe with what they eat. Not true! I went to a summer school in Manchester and my English teacher was called Maggie. One day, a different teacher took our class. He told us that Maggie couldn't teach that day because she had a frog in her throat. Poor Maggie-but why did she try to eat such a big frog
Yancy
When I first visited New York, I went to a shopping centre to buy some winter boots. At the information desk I asked a lady where the shoe section was. She said that it was on the first floor. So I went up to the first floor, but couldn't find any shoes. When I was about to leave, I saw that shoes were actually sold on the ground floor, not the first floor. How confusing!
Julien
I've got an English pen friend, who I finally got to meet in London this summer. He had told me that his grandfather was "really wicked". But when I met his grandfather, I liked him a lot. I was very confused. Why did my friend use a negative word about such a nice man
Zheng Xu
The British must have really high standards. I was part of a student exchange between a university in England and my university in China. I spent days preparing and writing my first English paper. I knew I had done a good job and was looking forward to getting a good grade. When I got the paper back, I found my teacher had written the comment "Not bad!" Not bad I was a bit disappointed.