【AsyouarestudentsofEnglish,it’sverypossiblethatyou’llbeinterestedinEngland.That’swherethelanguagewasfirstspoken.ButEnglandisoftencalledbyothernames.ThisoftenconfusespeopleandIwonderifyouknowwhatthese】
AsyouarestudentsofEnglish,it’sverypossiblethatyou’llbeinterestedinEngland.That’swherethelanguagewasfirstspoken.ButEnglandisoftencalledbyothernames.ThisoftenconfusespeopleandIwonderifyouknowwhatthesenamesmean.So,nowIwouldliketotellyouaboutthismatterofnames.Ibelievethatyouhaveheardpeopleusethenames—England,BritainorGreatBritain.Let’sseewhateachofthesenamesmeans.
IfyoulookatamapofEurope,you’llseeagroupofislands--onelargerislandoffthenorthwestcoast,onesmallerandmanytinyones.ThesemakeupwhatiscalledtheBritishIsles.ThelargestislandoftheBritishIslesisBritain.ItisalsocalledGreatBritain.ThesmallerislandisIreland.
Britainisdividedintothreeparts:Scotland,WalesandEngland.Butsometimestheword“England”isusedinsteadof“Britain”.Whyso?
Inancienttimes,whatisBritainnowusedtobethreedifferentcountries.Peopleinthesedifferentcountriesspokedifferentlanguages.Overmanyyearsthethreecountriesbecameone.Englandisthelargestandrichestofthethreeandithasthemostpeople.SotheEnglishpeopletakeitforgrantedthattheirownnamestandsforthewholeisland.
There’sanotherthingthatconfusespeople:sometimesyoumayhearpeoplesay“theUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland”.Thatistheofficialnameofthecountry.NorthernIrelandisonlyonesixthoftheislandofIreland.Therestoftheislandisanindependentstate,calledtheRepublicofIreland.Sowehavethenamesof“England”,“Britain”,“GreatBritain”,and“theUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland”.Nowdoyouknowwhateachofthemmeans?
小题1:Englishwasfirstspokenin____.A.BritainB.EnglandC.GreatBritainD.Ireland小题2:Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?A.Walesistherichestofthethree.B.Scotlandisthelargestofthethree.C.SometimesEnglandisusedinsteadofBritain.D.BritainistheonlynameofthelargestislandofBritishIsles.小题3:TheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIrelandis_____.