The history of the English language really started with the arrival of two Germanic tribes in the fifth century “the Angles and the Saxons”, which is     1     Old English is also called Anglo-Saxon. Since then, the English language     2     (develop) by absorbing different languages. At the end of the 9^th century, the Vikings, people from Northern European countries, moved to Britain.     3     language was taken in by Old English. Later in 1066, England     4     (conquer) by the Normans, from France, who brought with them their own language

Norman French. As a result. Old English,     5     (pick) up lots of vocabulary from French, evolved into Middle English. But it was not until 1399, when Henry IV became King of England,     6     English was used for all official events as his mother tongue was English. During the Renaissance in the 16^th century. Modern English appeared, including many Latin and Greek words as well. In recent times, more cultures and languages. such as India and China, have made their     7     (contribute) to the grammar and vocabulary of English. Since the most accepted sources of reference     8     (be) the famous English dictionaries — Websters and the Oxford English Dictionary, English learners are advised to consult them if confused. Today’s English is different from the English of 100 years ago; it is pronounced     9     (different) too ― and no doubt, it will be even more different     10     100 years’ time.

The world     1     (celebrate) Earth Day every year on April 22. It is a day     2     (think) seriously about how our lifestyles and daily habits influence the earth.

In English there are many expressions with the word “earth”. So, let’s start     3     the simple and common expression “on earth”. We use “on earth” to express strong     4     (feel) like surprise and anger. Here are some     5     (practice) examples. “Why on earth didn’t you come to the party? It was great.” And “I did not know     6     on earth she was talking about.”

The word “earth” sometimes comes up when a person wants to make big promises to someone they care about. When you say you will “go to the ends of the earth for someone”, it means you will do as much as possible to help     7     (they). For example, when the wife became sick, the husband went to the ends of the earth to find     8     best doctor for her.

Down-to-earth people are the people whom you can depend on. Flighty people are the opposite. They change their minds     9     (easy).

The expression “the salt of the earth” comes from the Bible. It describes a very good person. For example, my neighbors never stop     10     (help) people in need. I can call them the-salt-of-the-earth type people.

“Climate emergency” was picked by Oxford Dictionaries as the word of the year for 2019 after     1     (use) on average 100 times more than in 2018.

Defined as “a situation     2     urgent action is required to reduce or stop climate change and avoid environmental damage resulting from it ”, the word became one of the most important     3     (term) of 2019. “Climate” did not have a place in the top words     4    (typical) used to modify (修饰) “emergency” in 2018. Instead, the top types of emergencies that people wrote about     5     (be) health, hospital and family emergencies. But with climate emergency, people saw something new,     6     extension of emergency to the global level. The choice was reflective, not just of the rise in climate awareness, but the focus specifically     7     the language used to discuss it. Oxford said the rise of “climate emergency”     8       (show) an intentional push towards language of urgency.

The dictionary’s word of the year is chosen     9     (reflect) attention of the passing year and should have lasting potential as a term of     10     (culture) significance. Previous winners of word of the year include “toxic” in 2018 and “youthquake” in 2017.

So why has English     1    (change) over time?     2    (actual) all languages change and develop when cultures meet and communicate     3     each other. At first the English     4    (speak) in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was quite different from the English spoken today. It was based more     5     German than the English we speak at present. Then gradually between about AD 800 and 1150, English became less like German because those     6     ruled England spoke first Danish and later French. These new settlers enriched the English language and especially     7    (it) vocabulary. So by the 1600’s Shakespeare was able to make use of a     8    (wide) vocabulary than every before. In 1620 some British settlers moved to America. Later in     9     18th century some British people were taken to Australia too. English began to be spoken in both     10    (country).

“Chinese Bookshelf^’ a project which aims to provide local readers with access     1     Chinese books and culture, was launched Tuesday here.

    2     (locate) inside Foyles Bookstore at Charing Cross Road, near the British Museum and Chinatown, the “China Bookshelf “    3     (introduce) more than 100 kinds of books such as literature, folktale, economic publications and political works.

Carmelo Puglisi, head of foreign language books at Foyles Bookstore, told Xinhua that the bookshop has always attached great     4     (important) to Chinese books as it started selling them years ago.

Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to Britain, said in a congratulatory letter to the launching ceremony     5     the carefully-selected books in the “Chinese Bookshelf “ will serve as a bridge for     6     (culture) exchanges and a window for Western readers     7     (understand) China.

“Chinese publishing has transformed itself in the last 10 to 20 years,     8    it is now among the leading publishing     9     (nation) of the world ... I think the more the Chinese and Western publishers can develop global Chinese books, journals, databases, the more understanding there will be between     10     East and West,” he said.

Among all languages, it is English     1     is the most universal language.     2     we all know, a lot of countries study English as their second or foreign language. Government officials may make English     3     (use) in nearly all the important meetings. And it is very natural that people think standard English is very     4    (importance). Believe it     5     not, there is no such thing as standard English. Many people believe the English spoken on TV and the radio is standard English. This is because in the early days of radio, people     6     reported the news were     7    (expect) to speak excellent English. When people use words and expressions different     8     the “standard language” , it is called a dialect. Geography also plays a part in     9    (make) dialects. American English has so many dialects because people have come from all over the world. The USA is a large country     10     many different dialects are spoken. Although many Americans move a lot, they still recognize and understand each other’s dialects.