Unit 2 English around the worldThe history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes(部落)who invaded(侵略)Britain during the 5th century.Old EnglishThe invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages ， which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English.Old English didn't sound or look like English today.Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English speakers.However ， about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots.Middle EnglishIn 1066，the Norman invaded and conquered England.They also brought with them a kind of French ， which became the language of the ruling and business classes.For a period ， the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French.In the 14th century，English________ in Britain again，with many French words added.This language is called Middle English.Late Modern EnglishThe main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary.Late Modern English has many more words，resulting from two main factors ： firstly ， technology development created a need for new words ；secondly，the British Empire at its height converted one quarter of the earth's surface，and the English language used foreign words from many countries.Now there are many other varieties of English in the world，such as Australian English，New Zealand English，Canadian English，South African English，Indian English and Caribbean English.【词海拾贝】1．arrival n．到达2．period n．时期，阶段3．class n．阶层4．result from 因……发生；随……产生5．create v. 生产；制造【问题思考】1．The main idea of the text is _____________________________.答案：the history of the English language2．Fill in ...
