Unit 7 Learning about
English
Text A The Glorious Messiness
of English
Contents
? Teaching Objectives
? Background Information
? Text Organization
? Language Points
Teaching Objectives
?Main idea
Because of its tolerance for outside influences,
English has become a great language,
?Text Organization
?Idiomatic English usages
?Rhetorical devices
?Language points,grammatical structures and
comprehensive skills
Background Information
?History of English
Old English (500-1100 AD),
English began as a west Germanic language which
was brought to England by Saxons,About half of
the most commonly used words in modern English
have Old English roots,Words like be,water,and
strong,for example,derive from Old English roots,
But the majority of words in modern English come
from foreign,not Old English roots,The best
known surviving example of Old English is the
poem Beowulf,lasted until about 1100,
?The Norman Conquest and Middle English (1100-
1500),
From the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 12th
century English was replaced as the official language by
Norman French,though English was still used by the
lower classes,Middle English was influenced by French
and also Latin in vocabulary and pronunciation,French
brought many words connected with government,e.g,
sovereign,royal,court,legal and government itself,Latin
was the language of religion and learning and brought
English words such as minister,angel,master,school and
grammar,One of the most famous Middle English works
is Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales,
?Early Modern English (1500-1800),
It developed from the Middle English dialect of the East
Midlands and was influenced by the English used in
London,where a printing press was set up by William
Caxton (c.1422-1491) in1476,Samuel Johnson's A
Dictionary of the English Language (1755) was the first
authoritative treatment of English,During the
Renaissance,many new words were introduced from
Greek and Latin to express new ideas,especially in
science,medicine and philosophy,They included physics,
species,architecture,encyclopedia and hypothesis,The
Elizabethan period is also famous for its drama,and
Shakespare's plays were seen by many people,
?Late-Modern English (1800-Present),
The industrial and scientific revolutions created a need
for neologisms to describe the new creations and
discoveries,such as oxygen,protein,nuclear,and vaccine,
Today they are most visible in the field of electronics and
computers,such as Byte,cyber-,bios,hard-drive,and
microchip,Also,the rise of the British Empire and the
growth of global trade served not only to introduce
English to the world,but to introduce words into English,
Virtually every language on Earth has contributed to the
development of English,from Finnish (sauna) and
Japanese (tycoon) to the vast contributions of French and
Latin,
?American English,
By the 18th century American English was
established and developed independently from British
English,After colonists arrived in the US,new
words began to be added from Native American
languages,and from French and Spanish,In 1783,
soon after Johnson's dictionary was published,Noah
Webster's The Elementary Spelling Book was
published in the U.S,At first,it used Johnson's
spellings,but later editions contained many of what
have come to be known as American spellings,e,g,
harbor and favorite,
Text Organization
Parts Para,Main ideas
1 1-3
2 4-16
3 17-19
Massive borrowing from other
languages is a major feature of the
English language,
Tells about the history of the
English language
Several qualities in the English-
speaking people explain the
richness of their language,
Language Points
ban product necessity
arouse surrender resemble
descend establish influence
alternative enrich independent
strict speaking to a(… )extent
pass (sth.) on to (sb.) out of control
put into practice strike out
be supposed to must (a strong belief)
ban v (-nn-)
officially forbid [sth/sb (to do sth) ] 明令禁止 [某事物 /某
人做某事 ] 【 ~ sb (from sth/from doing sth)】,
The play was banned (by the censor),
该剧本遭（审查员）查禁,
He was banned from (attending) the meeting,
不准他出席该会议,
ban n【 ~ (on sth/sb)】 禁令 ; 禁止
Cf,forbid,prohibit
forbid vt,禁止,
prohibit vt,【 ~from】 (fml) to forbid by law or rule
Ex,已禁止她开车,为期六个月,
She's been banned from driving for six months,
product n,
1) [C,U] something produced by human or
mechanical effort or by a natural process; goods
(general term) 产品,
Petrol is the most important product of many Middle-
East countries,
石油是许多中东国家最重要的产品。
gross national product 国民生产总值
2) [C] 【 ~ of sth】 a direct result; a consequence产物,
Today’s housing problems are the product of years of
neglect,
Cf,production,produce,producer,product
production n,[U]生产；产量 [C]（艺术）作品
produce n [U]产品 ; （尤指）农产品（总称）
producer n生产者，产地；（影视的）制片人
Ex,选词填空,
This new theatre is becoming known for its good
____________,
The company sells plastic____________,
_____________ of computers has increased double in
the last few weeks,
The firm is Britain's main ____________ of electronic
equipment,
productions
products
Production
producer
necessity n
1) [C] 必需品 【 ~ of/for sth.】
Food,clothing and shelter are all basic necessities of life,
A compass is a necessity for climbers,
2） [U] 【 ~ (for/of sth)】 【 ~(for sb.) to do sth)】 必要
性，需要,
They reached an agreement on the necessity of
educational reforms,
Is there any necessity for another meeting?
There's no necessity (for you) to write to your mother
every single day,
Ex,水是生命必不可少的。
Water is a necessity of life,
arouse vt,
1) provoke (a particular feeling or attitude); awaken,
Her strange behavior aroused our suspicions,
2） wake sb from sleep【 ~ sb (from sth)】,
He was aroused from his nap by the doorbell,
Cf,arise vi (pt arose,pp arisen) become evident;
appear; originate出现 ; 发生 【 out of/from sth 】,
A new difficulty has arisen,
Ex,
奇怪的景象激起我们的好奇。
The odd sight aroused our curiosity,
疏忽大意往往会引起事故的发生。
Accidents arise from carelessness,
surrender
1)vt,vi,【 ~ (oneself) (to sb)】 give in; yield; give up
投降 ; 屈服,
The hijackers finally surrendered (themselves) to the
police,
2) vt.【 ~ sth/sb (to sb)】 (fml 文 )被迫放弃
We shall never surrender our liberty,
They surrendered their guns to the police,
Ex,We’ll never surrender terrorism despite the terrorist
attacks,（改错）
We’ll never surrender to terrorism despite the terrorist
attacks,
resemble
vt,[no passive] 【 ~ sb/sth (in sth)】 (not used in
the continuous tenses) be like or similar to
(another person or thing) 与（他人或他物）相似 ;
像,..,
She resembles her mother in the way she moves
her hands when she talks,
她说话时打手势的动作像她妈妈。
Ex,她和她弟弟长得很像,
She resembles her brother in looks,
descend
1) vi come down (from a source) 【 ~ from sb】 起源于，
遗传于,
The title descends to me from my father,
2) (fml) vi,vt,come or go down (sth) 下来,
The balloon descended gradually as the air came out,
She descended the stairs,
Ex.这些观点来源于那些古代哲学家的思想 。
These ideas descend from those of the ancient
philosophers,
descendant n person descended from another 後裔,
the descendants of Queen Victoria
establish
1) vt,set (sth) up on a firm or permanent basis,
This business was established in 1860,
establish a close relationship with sb,
2) vt,[often passive] 【 ~ sb/oneself (in sth) (as sth)】
place sb/oneself in a position,office,etc,usu on a
permanent basis,
He established himself as governor of the province,
Cf,establishment n [U] 设立 ; 建立
Ex.这个发现建立了他的声望,
This discovery established his reputation,
influence vt,influence
n 1) [U,C(sing.)]影响（力），作用； [C]有影响的人
或事物 【 ~ (on sb/sth)】
?the influence of parents on their children
?have/exert/exercise a (good/bad/ beneficial/ harmful)
influence on sb's character
?Those so-called friends of hers are a bad influence on
her,
2) [U] 【 ~ (over sb/sth)】 支配力 ; 控制力,
?His parents no longer have any real influence over him
Ex,这本书对他的人生影响很大。
This book had a great influence on his life,
alternative
n,[C] one/choice of two or more possibilities 供选
择的东西 【 +of + n.】,替代物 【 +to+n.】 ；可能
性中的选择（通常用 the alternative）,
?One of the alternatives open to you is to resign,
?I had no money,so I had no alternative to staying
[no alternative but to stay] at home,
我因为没有钱，所以除了呆在家里没有别的选择。
?You have the alternative of marrying or remaining a
bachelor,
Ex,除了回家还有别的什么选择？
What was the alternative to going home?
Cf,alternative adj,选择性的，替代的
alternate adj.交替的,轮流的,预备的 v.交替,轮流
Ex,选择题, A,alternate B,alternative
We spent a week of ______ rain and sunshine,
The way was blocked,so we had to go by an ______
road,
I offered the _____ suggestions of spending the
vacation in the mountains or by the sea,
A
B
B
enrich vt,【 ~ sb/sth (with sth)】
1) make sb/sth rich or richer 使 …… 富裕
That once poor coastal village has been enriched
by the profits from tourism
2)improve the quality,flavour,etc of sth 充实,
Reading enriches the mind,
enrichment n [U],
Ex,
旅游使人生活充实。
Travel enriches people’s lives,
independent
adj 【 ~ (of sb/sth)】 not controlled (by other
people or things) 独立的,
Barbados（巴巴多斯） was once a British
colony,but now it's independent,
他年岁已大不必依赖父母,
He is old enough to be independent of his
parents
strictly speaking adv,if one uses words,applies rules,
etc,in their exact sense
?He’s not strictly speaking an artist; he is more of a
performer,
?严格地说，他没有资格干这工作。但我们录用了她
因为她诚实。
Strictly speaking she was not qualified for the job,But
we employed her because of her honesty,
to (some,what,such an,a certain,a very real,etc)
extent,to the degree specified 达到某程度,
To what extent can he be believed?
Ex,在某种程度上你是正确的,
To some/a certain extent you are correct,
pass (sth.) on to (sb.) hand or give (sth.) to (sb.),
When you have finished reading the novel,please pass
it on to Laura,
(be/get) out of control
be/become no longer manageable 失去控制
Inflation has got out of control,
Cf,(be) in control (of sth) 管理,
Who's in control of the project?
bring/get sth/be under control抑制 ; 控制,
The fire has been brought under control,
Ex,管不住这些孩子了,
The children are out of control,
put into practice 将 …… 付诸实践
They put into practice in their daily lives the teaching
they received,
Ex,已经推迟好几天了，我们必须实行我们的计划。
Having delayed several times,we must put our plans
into practice,
strike out
start being independent; start doing what one wants to
do in life,
After working for his father for about ten years,he
decided to strike out on his own （自谋生计）,
be supposed to (line 9-10)
1) to have a duty of responsibility to do sth; to be
intended to; to be generally considered to be应当，
理应，按理
Everybody is supposed to bring a bottle to the party,
This law is supposed to help the poor,
I haven’t seen it myself,but it’s supposed to be a
good film,
2) (infml) [与否定此连用，表委婉禁止 ] not
allowed to 不许，不可
You are not allowed to smoke in this building,
Ex,我们理应彼此帮助（可是并没有）。
We are supposed to help each other,
must
“must” used to express a strong belief,must 表推测。
用于肯定句表示对现在、将来或过去情况的推测，
通常有两种形式,
a) 对现在或未来的肯定推测，结构为,,must + 动词
原形, 或, must + be +现在分词, 。如,
She must dislike such a man,He must be having
the meeting now,
b) 表示对已发生情况的肯定推测，结构为,, must+
have+ 过去分词, 。如,
It must have rained last night,for the ground is wet,
Note,must 此意的否定式是 can’t 或 couldn’t，表示
不可能的事实。如,
Can he be serious? 他是认真的吗？
It can’t/ couldn’t have been true,那不可能是真的。
Ex,改错
She mustn’t have been to your home,She doesn’t
know your address,（ ）
Paul did so well in his speech today that he should
have practiced it many times this past week,
( )
Judging by the noise that is coming from their room,I
think that they must have a party,( )
can’t have gone
must have practiced
must be having
English
Text A The Glorious Messiness
of English
Contents
? Teaching Objectives
? Background Information
? Text Organization
? Language Points
Teaching Objectives
?Main idea
Because of its tolerance for outside influences,
English has become a great language,
?Text Organization
?Idiomatic English usages
?Rhetorical devices
?Language points,grammatical structures and
comprehensive skills
Background Information
?History of English
Old English (500-1100 AD),
English began as a west Germanic language which
was brought to England by Saxons,About half of
the most commonly used words in modern English
have Old English roots,Words like be,water,and
strong,for example,derive from Old English roots,
But the majority of words in modern English come
from foreign,not Old English roots,The best
known surviving example of Old English is the
poem Beowulf,lasted until about 1100,
?The Norman Conquest and Middle English (1100-
1500),
From the Norman Conquest (1066) until the late 12th
century English was replaced as the official language by
Norman French,though English was still used by the
lower classes,Middle English was influenced by French
and also Latin in vocabulary and pronunciation,French
brought many words connected with government,e.g,
sovereign,royal,court,legal and government itself,Latin
was the language of religion and learning and brought
English words such as minister,angel,master,school and
grammar,One of the most famous Middle English works
is Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales,
?Early Modern English (1500-1800),
It developed from the Middle English dialect of the East
Midlands and was influenced by the English used in
London,where a printing press was set up by William
Caxton (c.1422-1491) in1476,Samuel Johnson's A
Dictionary of the English Language (1755) was the first
authoritative treatment of English,During the
Renaissance,many new words were introduced from
Greek and Latin to express new ideas,especially in
science,medicine and philosophy,They included physics,
species,architecture,encyclopedia and hypothesis,The
Elizabethan period is also famous for its drama,and
Shakespare's plays were seen by many people,
?Late-Modern English (1800-Present),
The industrial and scientific revolutions created a need
for neologisms to describe the new creations and
discoveries,such as oxygen,protein,nuclear,and vaccine,
Today they are most visible in the field of electronics and
computers,such as Byte,cyber-,bios,hard-drive,and
microchip,Also,the rise of the British Empire and the
growth of global trade served not only to introduce
English to the world,but to introduce words into English,
Virtually every language on Earth has contributed to the
development of English,from Finnish (sauna) and
Japanese (tycoon) to the vast contributions of French and
Latin,
?American English,
By the 18th century American English was
established and developed independently from British
English,After colonists arrived in the US,new
words began to be added from Native American
languages,and from French and Spanish,In 1783,
soon after Johnson's dictionary was published,Noah
Webster's The Elementary Spelling Book was
published in the U.S,At first,it used Johnson's
spellings,but later editions contained many of what
have come to be known as American spellings,e,g,
harbor and favorite,
Text Organization
Parts Para,Main ideas
1 1-3
2 4-16
3 17-19
Massive borrowing from other
languages is a major feature of the
English language,
Tells about the history of the
English language
Several qualities in the English-
speaking people explain the
richness of their language,
Language Points
ban product necessity
arouse surrender resemble
descend establish influence
alternative enrich independent
strict speaking to a(… )extent
pass (sth.) on to (sb.) out of control
put into practice strike out
be supposed to must (a strong belief)
ban v (-nn-)
officially forbid [sth/sb (to do sth) ] 明令禁止 [某事物 /某
人做某事 ] 【 ~ sb (from sth/from doing sth)】,
The play was banned (by the censor),
该剧本遭（审查员）查禁,
He was banned from (attending) the meeting,
不准他出席该会议,
ban n【 ~ (on sth/sb)】 禁令 ; 禁止
Cf,forbid,prohibit
forbid vt,禁止,
prohibit vt,【 ~from】 (fml) to forbid by law or rule
Ex,已禁止她开车,为期六个月,
She's been banned from driving for six months,
product n,
1) [C,U] something produced by human or
mechanical effort or by a natural process; goods
(general term) 产品,
Petrol is the most important product of many Middle-
East countries,
石油是许多中东国家最重要的产品。
gross national product 国民生产总值
2) [C] 【 ~ of sth】 a direct result; a consequence产物,
Today’s housing problems are the product of years of
neglect,
Cf,production,produce,producer,product
production n,[U]生产；产量 [C]（艺术）作品
produce n [U]产品 ; （尤指）农产品（总称）
producer n生产者，产地；（影视的）制片人
Ex,选词填空,
This new theatre is becoming known for its good
____________,
The company sells plastic____________,
_____________ of computers has increased double in
the last few weeks,
The firm is Britain's main ____________ of electronic
equipment,
productions
products
Production
producer
necessity n
1) [C] 必需品 【 ~ of/for sth.】
Food,clothing and shelter are all basic necessities of life,
A compass is a necessity for climbers,
2） [U] 【 ~ (for/of sth)】 【 ~(for sb.) to do sth)】 必要
性，需要,
They reached an agreement on the necessity of
educational reforms,
Is there any necessity for another meeting?
There's no necessity (for you) to write to your mother
every single day,
Ex,水是生命必不可少的。
Water is a necessity of life,
arouse vt,
1) provoke (a particular feeling or attitude); awaken,
Her strange behavior aroused our suspicions,
2） wake sb from sleep【 ~ sb (from sth)】,
He was aroused from his nap by the doorbell,
Cf,arise vi (pt arose,pp arisen) become evident;
appear; originate出现 ; 发生 【 out of/from sth 】,
A new difficulty has arisen,
Ex,
奇怪的景象激起我们的好奇。
The odd sight aroused our curiosity,
疏忽大意往往会引起事故的发生。
Accidents arise from carelessness,
surrender
1)vt,vi,【 ~ (oneself) (to sb)】 give in; yield; give up
投降 ; 屈服,
The hijackers finally surrendered (themselves) to the
police,
2) vt.【 ~ sth/sb (to sb)】 (fml 文 )被迫放弃
We shall never surrender our liberty,
They surrendered their guns to the police,
Ex,We’ll never surrender terrorism despite the terrorist
attacks,（改错）
We’ll never surrender to terrorism despite the terrorist
attacks,
resemble
vt,[no passive] 【 ~ sb/sth (in sth)】 (not used in
the continuous tenses) be like or similar to
(another person or thing) 与（他人或他物）相似 ;
像,..,
She resembles her mother in the way she moves
her hands when she talks,
她说话时打手势的动作像她妈妈。
Ex,她和她弟弟长得很像,
She resembles her brother in looks,
descend
1) vi come down (from a source) 【 ~ from sb】 起源于，
遗传于,
The title descends to me from my father,
2) (fml) vi,vt,come or go down (sth) 下来,
The balloon descended gradually as the air came out,
She descended the stairs,
Ex.这些观点来源于那些古代哲学家的思想 。
These ideas descend from those of the ancient
philosophers,
descendant n person descended from another 後裔,
the descendants of Queen Victoria
establish
1) vt,set (sth) up on a firm or permanent basis,
This business was established in 1860,
establish a close relationship with sb,
2) vt,[often passive] 【 ~ sb/oneself (in sth) (as sth)】
place sb/oneself in a position,office,etc,usu on a
permanent basis,
He established himself as governor of the province,
Cf,establishment n [U] 设立 ; 建立
Ex.这个发现建立了他的声望,
This discovery established his reputation,
influence vt,influence
n 1) [U,C(sing.)]影响（力），作用； [C]有影响的人
或事物 【 ~ (on sb/sth)】
?the influence of parents on their children
?have/exert/exercise a (good/bad/ beneficial/ harmful)
influence on sb's character
?Those so-called friends of hers are a bad influence on
her,
2) [U] 【 ~ (over sb/sth)】 支配力 ; 控制力,
?His parents no longer have any real influence over him
Ex,这本书对他的人生影响很大。
This book had a great influence on his life,
alternative
n,[C] one/choice of two or more possibilities 供选
择的东西 【 +of + n.】,替代物 【 +to+n.】 ；可能
性中的选择（通常用 the alternative）,
?One of the alternatives open to you is to resign,
?I had no money,so I had no alternative to staying
[no alternative but to stay] at home,
我因为没有钱，所以除了呆在家里没有别的选择。
?You have the alternative of marrying or remaining a
bachelor,
Ex,除了回家还有别的什么选择？
What was the alternative to going home?
Cf,alternative adj,选择性的，替代的
alternate adj.交替的,轮流的,预备的 v.交替,轮流
Ex,选择题, A,alternate B,alternative
We spent a week of ______ rain and sunshine,
The way was blocked,so we had to go by an ______
road,
I offered the _____ suggestions of spending the
vacation in the mountains or by the sea,
A
B
B
enrich vt,【 ~ sb/sth (with sth)】
1) make sb/sth rich or richer 使 …… 富裕
That once poor coastal village has been enriched
by the profits from tourism
2)improve the quality,flavour,etc of sth 充实,
Reading enriches the mind,
enrichment n [U],
Ex,
旅游使人生活充实。
Travel enriches people’s lives,
independent
adj 【 ~ (of sb/sth)】 not controlled (by other
people or things) 独立的,
Barbados（巴巴多斯） was once a British
colony,but now it's independent,
他年岁已大不必依赖父母,
He is old enough to be independent of his
parents
strictly speaking adv,if one uses words,applies rules,
etc,in their exact sense
?He’s not strictly speaking an artist; he is more of a
performer,
?严格地说，他没有资格干这工作。但我们录用了她
因为她诚实。
Strictly speaking she was not qualified for the job,But
we employed her because of her honesty,
to (some,what,such an,a certain,a very real,etc)
extent,to the degree specified 达到某程度,
To what extent can he be believed?
Ex,在某种程度上你是正确的,
To some/a certain extent you are correct,
pass (sth.) on to (sb.) hand or give (sth.) to (sb.),
When you have finished reading the novel,please pass
it on to Laura,
(be/get) out of control
be/become no longer manageable 失去控制
Inflation has got out of control,
Cf,(be) in control (of sth) 管理,
Who's in control of the project?
bring/get sth/be under control抑制 ; 控制,
The fire has been brought under control,
Ex,管不住这些孩子了,
The children are out of control,
put into practice 将 …… 付诸实践
They put into practice in their daily lives the teaching
they received,
Ex,已经推迟好几天了，我们必须实行我们的计划。
Having delayed several times,we must put our plans
into practice,
strike out
start being independent; start doing what one wants to
do in life,
After working for his father for about ten years,he
decided to strike out on his own （自谋生计）,
be supposed to (line 9-10)
1) to have a duty of responsibility to do sth; to be
intended to; to be generally considered to be应当，
理应，按理
Everybody is supposed to bring a bottle to the party,
This law is supposed to help the poor,
I haven’t seen it myself,but it’s supposed to be a
good film,
2) (infml) [与否定此连用，表委婉禁止 ] not
allowed to 不许，不可
You are not allowed to smoke in this building,
Ex,我们理应彼此帮助（可是并没有）。
We are supposed to help each other,
must
“must” used to express a strong belief,must 表推测。
用于肯定句表示对现在、将来或过去情况的推测，
通常有两种形式,
a) 对现在或未来的肯定推测，结构为,,must + 动词
原形, 或, must + be +现在分词, 。如,
She must dislike such a man,He must be having
the meeting now,
b) 表示对已发生情况的肯定推测，结构为,, must+
have+ 过去分词, 。如,
It must have rained last night,for the ground is wet,
Note,must 此意的否定式是 can’t 或 couldn’t，表示
不可能的事实。如,
Can he be serious? 他是认真的吗？
It can’t/ couldn’t have been true,那不可能是真的。
Ex,改错
She mustn’t have been to your home,She doesn’t
know your address,（ ）
Paul did so well in his speech today that he should
have practiced it many times this past week,
( )
Judging by the noise that is coming from their room,I
think that they must have a party,( )
can’t have gone
must have practiced
must be having
