Old English

　　Old English is very different from⑤ the English we speak nowadays⑥.In fact⑦， we would not be able to understand it if we heard it today.Before the middle of the 5th century, people in Britain all spoke a language called Celtic⑧.Then two Germanic⑨ groups from the European mainland⑩ - the Angles⑪ and the Saxons⑫ - occupied⑬ Britain.Old English consisted of⑭ a mixture⑮ of their languages.(Both the English language and the English people are named after⑯ the Angles; the word Angle was spelt Engle in Old English.) Aside from⑰ place names such as London, very few Celtic words became part of Old English.At the end of⑱ the 9th century, the Vikings⑲， people from Northern European countries such as Denmark and Norway⑳， began to move to Britain.They brought with them their languages, which also mixed with Old English\s\up1(21(21).By the 10th century, Old English had become the official\s\up1(22(22) language of England.

　　When we speak English today, we sometimes feel puzzled about which words or phrases\s\up1(23(23) to use.This is because English has many words and phrases from different languages\s\up1(24(24)， but with similar meanings.For example\s\up1(25(25)， the word sick came from a word once used by the Angles and the Saxons\s\up1(26(26)， while ill came from a word once used by the Norwegians\s\up1(27(27).

　　⑤be different from ...与......不同

　　⑥nowadays/'naʊədeIz/adv.现在，如今

　　⑦in fact 事实上

　　⑧Celtic/'keltIk/n.凯尔特语

　　⑨Germanic/dʒɜː'mænIk/adj.日耳曼语(族)的

　　⑩mainland/'meInlænd/n.大陆

　　⑪Angle/'æŋɡl/n.盎格鲁人　⑫Saxon/'sæksn/n.撒克逊人

　　⑬occupy/'ɒkjʊpaI/vt.占领；占用(时间、空间等)

　　⑭consist of 由......组成/构成(＝be made up of)，无被动语态。

　　consist/kən'sIst/vi.组成，构成

　　⑮mixture/'mIkstʃə(r)/n.混合，混合体

　　⑯name after 以......命名

　　⑰aside from 除......之外　aside/ə'saId/adv.除......之外

　　⑱at the end of ...在......末

　　⑲Viking/'vaIkIŋ/n.维京人，北欧海盗

　　⑳people from ...and Norway是the Vikings的同位语。

　　\s\up1(21(21)which引导非限制性定语从句，修饰languages。

　　\s\up1(22(22)official/ə'fIʃl/adj.官方的，正式的

　　\s\up1(23(23)phrase/freIz/n.词组，短语

　　\s\up1(24(24)This is because ..."这是因为......"，because引导表语从句。其中介词短语from different languages作定语，修饰words and phrases。

　　\s\up1(25(25)for example 例如

　　\s\up1(26(26)过去分词短语once used by ...作后置定语，修饰a word。

　　\s\up1(27(27)while为并列连词，意为"而，然而"，表对比。 　　

　　古英语

　　古英语和现在我们说的英语非常不同。事实上，如果我们今天听到古英语，会听不懂。公元5世纪中叶以前，不列颠所有的人都说一种叫凯尔特语的语言。后来，来自欧洲大陆的两个日耳曼部族--盎格鲁人和撒克逊人--占领了不列颠。古英语是由他们的语言混合而成的。(英语及英国人都是由盎格鲁人命名的；Angle这个词在古英语里拼作Engle。)除了像London这样的地名外，极少数的凯尔特单词成了古英语的一部分。在9世纪末，来自北欧诸国例如丹麦和挪威的维京人开始向不列颠移居。他们带来了他们的语言，这些语言也与古英语交汇在了一起。到了10世纪，古英语已成为英格兰的官方语言。

现在，当我们讲英语时，我们有时会对用哪些单词或短语感到困惑。这是因为英语有着许多来自不同语言的单词和短语，但是这些单词和短语有着相似的意思。比如，sick一词就是来自盎格鲁人和撒克逊人曾经用过的一个词，而ill则来自曾经被挪威人用过的一个词。