A
Australian English began separating from British English shortly after the foundation of the Australian penal colony(罪犯流放地) of New South Wales in 1788. British convicts sent there, including cockneys(伦敦东区的人) from London, came mostly from large English cities. They were joined by free settlers, military personnel and officials, often with their families. However, many of the convicts were Irish, with at least 25% directly from Ireland, and others indirectly via Britain. There were other populations of convicts from nonEnglish speaking areas of Britain, such as the Welsh and Scots. The transportation of convicts to Australia ended in 1868, but immigration of free settlers from Britain, Ireland and elsewhere continued.
The earliest form of Australian English was first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the colony of New South Wales. This very first generation of children created a new dialect that was to become the language of the nation. The Australianborn children in the new colony were exposed to a wide range of different dialects from all over the British Isles, in particular from Ireland and the southeastern part of England.
The nativeborn children of the colony created the new dialect from factors present in the speech they heard around them, and provided a way for the expression of peer solidarity(一致). Even when new settlers arrived, this new dialect was strong enough to turn away from the influence of other patterns of speech.
Records from the early 19th century indicated the distinctive dialect had appeared in the colony since the first settlement. In 1827 Peter Cunningham, in his book Two Years in New South Wales, described that the nativeborn colonists spoke with a distinctive accent and vocabulary, with a strong London influence.Anthony Burgess wrote that “Australian English may be thought of as a kind of fossilised(僵化的) cockney(伦敦腔) of the Dickensian era”．
【解题导语】 本文是一篇说明文。介绍澳大利亚英语的形成过程。
1．Who didn’t go to Australia with the convicts?
A．Miners. B．Soldiers.
C．Officials. D．Free settlers.
A 解析：细节理解题。从文章第一段可知，随着囚犯到澳大利亚去的人中没有矿工。
2．Who created the earliest form of Australian English?
A．Convicts sent to Australia.
B．Free settlers into Australia.
C．The nativeborn children of the colony.
D．People from Ireland and the southeastern part of England.
C 解析：细节理解题。从文章第二段可知，在澳大利亚出生的孩子说话不同于自己的父母，是他们创造了最初的澳大利亚英语。
3．We can learn from the last paragraph that Australian English________．
A．had no identity of its own
B．was formed before the Dickensian era
C．was quite different from British English
D．was greatly influenced by London accent
D 解析：推理判断题。分析文章最后一段可知，两位作者认为澳大利亚英语具有明显的伦敦口音特征。
4．What does the text mainly tell us?
A．Who came to Australia first.
B．How Australia was colonized.
C．How Australian English was formed.
D．What the earliest language in Australia was.
C 解析：主旨大意题。综合全文可知，文章主要说明澳大利亚英语的形成。
