CANADIAN ENGLISH

1 Canadian English is a regional variety of North American English that spans almost the entire continent. Canadian English became a separate variety of North American English after the American Revolution, when thousands of Loyalists, people who had supported the British, left the United States and fled north to Canada. Many Loyalists settled in southern Ontario in the 1780s, and their speech became the basis for what is called General Canadian, a definition based on the {{U}}norms{{/U}} of urban middle-class speech.
2 Modern Canadian English is usually defined by the ways in which it resembles and differs from American or British English. Canadian English has {{U}}a great deal in common with{{/U}} the English spoken in the United States, yet many Americans identify a Canadian accent as British. Many American visitors to Canada think the Canadian vocabulary sounds British--for example, they notice the British "tap" and "braces" instead of the American "faucet" and "suspenders." On the other hand, many British people identify a Canadian accent as American, and British visitors think the Canadians have become Americanized, saying "gas" and "truck" for "petrol" and "lorry."
3 People who live outside North America often find it difficult to hear the differences between Canadian and American English. There are many similarities between the two varieties, yet they are far from identical. Canadian English is instantly recognizable to other Canadians, and one Canadian in a crowded room will easily {{U}}spot{{/U}} the other Canadian among the North Americans.
4 There is no distinctive Canadian grammar. The differences are mainly in pronunciation, vocabulary, and idioms. {{U}}Canadian pronunciation reflects the experience of a people struggling for national identity against two strong influences{{/U}}. About 75 percent of Canadians use the British "zed" rather than the American "zee" for the name of the last letter of the alphabet. On the other hand, 75 percent of Canadians use the American pronunciation of "schedule," "tomato," and "missile." The most obvious and distinctive feature of Canadian speech is probably its vowel sound, the diphthong "ou." In Canada, "out" is pronounced like "oat" in nearby U.S. accents. There are other identifying features of Canadian vowels; for example, "cot" is pronounced the same as "caught" and "collar" the same as "caller."
5 An important characteristic of the vocabulary of Canadian English is the use of many words and phrases originating in Canada itself, such as "kerosene" and "chesterfield" ("sofa"). Several words are borrowed from North American Indian languages, for example, "kayak," "caribou," "parka," and "skookum" ("strong"). The name of the country itself has an Indian origin; the Iroquois word "kanata" originally meant "village." A number of terms for ice hockey--"face-off, blue-line," and "puck"--have become part of World Standard English.
6 Some features of Canadian English seem to be unique and are often deliberately identified with Canadian speakers in such contexts as dramatic and literary characterizations. Among the original Canadian idioms, perhaps the most famous is the almost universal use of"eh?" as a tag question, as in "That's a good movie, eh? Eh" is also used as a filler during a narrative, as in "I'm walking home from work, eh, and I'm thinking about dinner. I finally get home, eh, and the refrigerator is empty."
7 The traditional view holds that there are no dialects in Canadian English and that Canadians cannot tell where other Canadians are from just by listening to them. The linguists of today disagree with this view. While there is a greater degree of {{U}}homogeneity{{/U}} in Canadian English compared with American English, several dialect areas do exist across Canada. Linguists have identified distinct dialects for the Maritime Provinces, Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, southern Ontario, the Prairie Provinces, the Arctic North, and the West.

单选题 According to the passage, how did Canadian English become a distinct variety of North American English?

• A. Linguists noticed that Canadians spoke a unique dialect.
• B. A large group of Loyalists settled in one region at the same time.
• C. Growth of the middle class led to a standard school curriculum.
• D. Canadians declared their language to be different from U.S. English.

单选题 The word {{U}}norms{{/U}} in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to

• A. patterns
• B. history
• C. words
• D. ideas

单选题 The phrase {{U}}a great deal in common with{{/U}} in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

• A. different words for
• B. the same problems as
• C. many similarities to
• D. easier pronunciation than

单选题 In paragraph 2, what point does the author make about Canadian English?

• A. Canadian English is more similar to American than to British English.
• B. American and British visitors define Canadian English by their own norms.
• C. Canadian English has many words that are not in other varieties of English.
• D. Canadians speak English with an accent that Americans cannot understand.

单选题 The word {{U}}spot{{/U}} in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

• A. describe
• B. ignore
• C. prefer
• D. find

单选题 Which sentence below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 4? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

• A. Canadian English has been strongly influenced by both British and American English.
• B. Canada is the only nation where people can deliberately choose which pronunciation they prefer.
• C. Canadians have tried to distinguish themselves as a nation, and this effort is shown in their pronunciation.
• D. Many newcomers to Canada must work hard to master the national style of pronouncing English.

单选题 All of the following words originated in North American Indian languages EXCEPT

• A. kerosene
• B. parka
• C. Canada
• D. kayak

单选题 Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 5?

• A. Vocabulary is the most distinctive feature of Canadian English.
• B. World Standard English has a very large vocabulary.
• C. Canadians use more North American Indian words than Americans do.
• D. Much of the vocabulary for ice hockey originated in Canada.

单选题 The author discusses the expression "eh" in paragraph 6 as an example of

• A. an idiom that uniquely characterizes Canadian speech
• B. an expression that few people outside Canada have heard
• C. a style of Canadian drama and literature
• D. a word that cannot be translated into other languages

单选题 The word homogeneity in paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to

• A. accent
• B. change
• C. creativity
• D. sameness

单选题 According to paragraph 7, dialects in Canadian English

• A. have rarely been a subject of study
• B. are identified primarily through pronunciation
• C. are linked to different geographic regions
• D. are the same as those in American English

填空题 Look at the four squares, , , , and , which indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
Thus, "out" rhymes with "boat," so the phrase "out and about in a boat" sounds like "oat and aboat in a boat" to American ears.
There is no distinctive Canadian grammar. The differences are mainly in pronunciation, vocabulary and idioms. Canadian pronunciation reflects the experience of a people struggling for national identity against two strong influences. About 75 percent of Canadians use the British "zed" rather than the American "zee" for the name of the last letter of the alphabet. On the other hand, 75 percent of Canadians use the American pronunciation of "schedule," "tomato," and "missile." The most obvious and distinctive feature of Canadian speech is probably its vowel sound, the diphthong "ou." In Canada, "out" is pronounced like "oat" in nearby U.S. accents. There are other identifying features of Canadian vowels; for example, "cot" is pronounced the same as "caught" and "collar" the same as "caller."

多选题 An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.