Hundreds of englishes

A friend of mine recently tried to download a new programme from the internet. But she soon had a problem. She had selected English as the variant of the programme that she wanted. But then she had to choose from a whole list of different 'Englishes': International English, Universal English, American English, European English, South African English... Whatever happened to ordinary English English? My friend wanted to know.

Languages are like living things. They change and grow. In the case of English, the process of change is becoming faster and faster. New forms of the language are being created, partly because more and more people are now speaking English and partly because of new forms of communication such as email.

About 400 million people in various countries of the world use English as a first language. About 600 million people use English as a second language. In addition to these people, there are millions of people who are learning English for use at work or when they travel. It is not surprising that the language has changed to suit local needs, as a result there are many types of English with their own vocabulary and a characteristic sentence structure.

You might think that there are not really big differences between British and American English. Well, that is not really true. British people always find American English a little strange and sometimes totally incomprehensible. Canadians officially use British spelling and usage, but in reality they are very influenced by American English. Once when I was visiting Vancouver, I asked a bus driver if he was going to the centre. I meant, of course, the city centre. He looked at me as though I were mad. "But this is the centre," he said. In reality, we were about 10 miles from the city centre. However, we were at a bus stop outside a shopping centre. Fortunately, I remembered just in time that for north Americans 'downtown' is the word to indicate the city centre, so the problem was solved.

2.The author's friend had a problem while working on the computer. Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3.Why is English changing much more than other languages? 4.How much do the variants of English differ?

№30

1.Read an article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

оbesity

ожирение

acne

угревая сыпь

Good news for chocolate lovers!

It would be difficult to find someone who does not like chocolate. In the Unit States, chocolate is bought more often than any other kind of sweet. In Britai each person eats an average of 11 kg of chocolate per year. That is a lot chocolate! In the US people eat about 200 chocolate bars per second as a mat of fact. People love chocolate so much that they often think it is a bad hah But there is good news for all chocoholics: eating chocolate does less harm you than you might think.

People often believe that chocolate causes a number of health problems includ' bad teeth, obesity* and skin problems such as acne*. Studies carried out in t United States, however, give no support to this idea.

Specific tests were carried out. One group of people who suffer from acne given regular amounts of chocolate, while another group of similar sufferers h no chocolate at all. At the end of the test period the two groups were compar No difference in the condition of the acne sufferers was noticed.

Chocolate contains fat and sugar, so if you ate a lot of chocolate you wo probably put on weight. But reasonable amounts of chocolate in your diet w not make you fat. People usually get fat because they eat too much food general, especially if they are not very active.

What about the effect on your teeth? Chocolate can damage your teeth, b the danger is less than many people believe. It is good to know that eati a certain amount of chocolate may even be good for you. Chocolate contai protein, vitamins and minerals. Scientists believe chocolate may reduce the of heart disease.

Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is that it can help you fight off illness, important thing is not the chocolate in itself, but the pleasure that it gives y Even the smell of chocolate can have a positive effect on your immune syste It is nice to smell chocolate of course, but it is much better to eat it. And t great thing is that you can eat it without fear.

2.People eat a lot of chocolate. Read aloud the extract which says about it. 3.What health problems do people traditionally connect with eating chocolate? 4.What facts prove that chocolate can be good for our health?

№31

1.Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.