背景导入：世界语言有几千种，但主要的语言有二十多种。而联合国的工作语言只有六种：英语、汉语、西班牙语、俄语、阿拉伯语和法语。作为中国学生你了解汉语书写体系和汉字演化过程吗？你懂得为什么人们要学外语吗？让我们一起学习和探索相关内容吧！
Neither Pine nor Apple in Pineapple
Have you ever asked yourself why people often have trouble learning English? I hadn't，until one day my fiveyearold son asked me whether there was ham in a hamburger.There isn't.This made me realize that there's no egg in eggplant either.Neither is there pine nor apple in pineapple.This got me thinking how English can be a crazy language to learn.
For example，in our free time we can sculpt a sculpture and paint a painting，but we take a photo.And when we are traveling we say that we are in the car or the taxi，but on the train or bus! While we're doing all this traveling，we can get seasick① at sea，airsick① in the air and carsick① in a car，but we don't get homesick② when we get back home.And speaking of home，why aren't homework and housework the same thing?
If “hard” is the opposite③ of “soft”，why are “hardly” and “softly” not an opposing pair? If harmless actions are the opposite of harmful actions，why are shameless④ and shameful⑤ behaviors the same?
When we look out of the window and see rain or snow，we can say “it's raining” or “it's snowing”．But when we see sunshine，we can't say “it's sunshining”．
Even the smallest words can be confusing.When you see the capitalized（大写的） “WHO” in a medical report，do you read it as the “who” in “Who's that？” What about “IT” and “US”？
You also have to wonder at the unique madness of a language in which a house can burn up as it burns down，in which you fill in a form by filling it out，and in which an alarm is only heard once it goes off!
English was invented by people，not computers，and it reflects⑥ the creativity of the human race.That is why when the stars are out , they are visible , but when the lights are out , they are invisible. And that is why when I wind up my watch，it starts，but when I wind up this passage，it ends.
（选自外研版新教材必修第一册 Unit 2）
