English Synonyms The gradual incorporation . before 1066: words from Latin, Greek, Celtic and Scandinavian . after 1

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问题                                 English Synonyms
    The gradual incorporation
    . before 1066: words from Latin, Greek, Celtic and Scandinavian
    . after 1066: words from【T1】________
    —many described new ideas and activities
    —many【T2】________the pre-existing vocabulary
    . in【T3】________ : words from Latin and Greek
    . in modern times:
    —vocabulary expanded by【T4】________of English-speaking people
    —words from Dutch, Spanish, American Indian, etc.
    —words added by the US
    —American words and phrases have gained【T5】________everywhere
    —the American terminology places a whole group of synonyms at our service
    Different kinds of synonyms
    . synonyms referring to the same thing but of【T6】________
    . synonyms referring to geographical【T7】________of the same thing
    —plain, prairie, tundra
    . synonyms of different degrees of【T8】________
    — teach, educate, instruct, school, tutor . synonyms of different degrees of【T9】________
    —the occasions described
    —the【T10】________about the situations
【T5】
English Synonyms
    In today’s lecture, we’ll deal with the incorporation and the variations of English synonyms (同义词). English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonyms of any language in the world. This richness is due to the fact that the English language has grown over centuries by constantly incorporating words from other languages.
    Even before the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary included words borrowed from Latin, Greek, Celtic and Scandinavian. After the Norman Conquest, the English vocabulary was doubled by the addition of French words, especially those words reflecting a higher stand, and a more complex social life. While much of the new French vocabulary described new ideas and activities, much of it duplicated the pre-existing Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, thus giving the writer or speaker a choice of synonyms: cure or heal, labour or work, burglary or stealing. With the enormous expansion of classical learning in the Renaissance, there was a great influx (突然大量涌入) of words from Latin and Greek origin into the English language. Also, the larger world discovered through travel and exploration was a great stimulus to culture and language. In modern times, as some English-speaking people traded and traveled around the world, their adventures also expanded the vocabulary. Words were borrowed directly from Dutch, Spanish, American Indian, Eastern Indian, Italian, Australian, Mexican, Japanese, Malay and many others.
    Furthermore, the United States, as a separate nation with its own life and character and institutions, has added vastly to the English vocabulary. With the rise of the United States to a position of world influence in politics, science, industry, trade and popular arts, American words and phrases have gained recognition and prestige everywhere. Moreover, the American terminology (术语) for many things exists side by side with the English terminology, thus placing another whole group of synonyms at our service.
    So we can see that synonyms in English are of many kinds. Some groups of synonyms are just words of different origins but refer to the same things Some groups, like plain, prairie, tundra, refer to geographical variants of the same kind of thing. Other groups of synonyms. like teach, educate, instruct, school, tutor, differ from one another principally in degrees of abstraction; Teach is certainly the most general word of this group, while the others are more specialized in application. Some differences in locution (讲话的风格) reveal differences in the degree of formality of the occasions described. Sometimes different locutions reveal differences not in the situations described but in the formality of discourse about them. For instance, "he went to bed" as compared to "he hit the sack". "Hit the sack" is a more informal phrase which many young people are using when they go home tired after finishing a whole day’s work.
    In a word, nothing is so important to clear and accurate expression as the ability to distinguish between words of similar, but not identical meaning. The study of synonyms will help us to say what we really want to say. That’s all for today’s lecture. Thank you.

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答案recognition and prestige

解析 由原文可知,随着美国在政治、科学、工业、贸易和流行艺术这些方面的影响力在世界上有了一席之地,美式英语的词汇和短语在世界各地都获得了认可和声望。因此填入recognition and prestige。
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