American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand hosts are quick to open their home

听力原文：M: British English and American English are really about the same, aren't they?

W: I don't think so. It seems to the that some of the spellings are different. Words like theater and center end in r-e in England instead of in e-r like we spell them. There are more, examples like the word color. In fact, many words which end in o-r in American English are spelled o - u - r in British English.

M: I'm still not convinced. I mean, if someone comes here from England, we can all understand what he's saying. The spelling, doesn't really matter that much.

W: Okay. Are we just talking about spelling? Arc there some differences in pronunciation and meaning too?

M: Well, in fact I remember seeing an English movie where the actors kept calling their apartment a flat. Half of the movie was over before I realized what they were talking about. So there are slight differences in spelling and some vocabulary.

W: And pronunciation, too. You aren't going to tell me that you sound like Richard Burton.

M: Richard Barton isn't English.

W: Okay. Anyway, the pronunciation is different. I think that what we are really disagreeing about is the extent of the difference．We all agree that British English and American English are different，right"

M：Sure．

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A．The differences between British English and American English.

B．The similarities between British English and American English.

C．The spelling differences between British English and American English.

D．The pronunciation differences between British English and American English.

听力原文：M: British English and American English are really the same, aren't they?

W: I don't think so. It seems that some of the spellings are different.

M: You're fight, Nina. Words like "theater" and "center, end in "re" in England instead of in "er" like we spell them. Can you think of any more examples?

W: The word "color" ?

M: Good. Actually, many words which end in "or"; in American English are spelled "our" in British English.

W: OK. There are some differences in pronunciation and meaning.

M: Anyway, we both agree that British English and American English are different. Right?

W: Sure. I quite agree with you.

What do both of the speakers agree on?

A．British English and American English are the same in meaning.

B．Not all the spellings in British English and American English are the same.

C．British English is easier than American English.

听力原文：M: British English and American English are really about the same, aren't they?

W: I don't think so. It seems that some of the spellings are different.

M: You're right, Nina. Words like "theater" and "center" end in "r-e" in England instead of in" e-r" like we spell them. Can you think of any more exampies?

W: The word "color" ?

M: Good. Actually, many words which end in "o-r" in American English are spelled "o-u-r" in British English.

W:OK. There are some differences in pronunciation and meaning.

M: Anyway, we both agree that British English and American English are different. Right?

W: Sure. But not so different that it prevents us from understanding each other.

M: Yes. I quite agree with you.

What do both of the speakers agree on？

A．British English and American English are quite different.

B．Not all the spellings in British English and American English are the same.

C．British English is easier than American English.

听力原文：M: British English and American English are really about the same, aren't they?

W: I don't think so. It seems that some of the spellings are different.

M: You're right, Nina. Words like "theater" and "center" end in "re" in England instead of in" er" like we spell them. Can you think of any more examples?

W: The word "color" ?

M: Good. Actually, many words which end in "or" in American English are spelled "our" in British English.

W: OK. There are some differences in pronunciation and meaning.

M: Anyway, we both agree that British English and American English are different. Right?

W: Sure. I quite agree with you.

What do both of the speakers agree on?

A．British English and American English are same in meaning.

B．Not all the spellings in British English and American English are the same.

C．British English is easier than American English.

Leacock was probably 'the first Canadian to qualify as a "pro-American British imperialist." A colleague, Prof. John Culliton, said of him, "Long before Winston Churchill, Leacock was saving the Empire every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 p. m. in Room 20.' He was also ahead of his time in prodding Americans and Britons toward greater friendship and understanding.

His feeling for both sides of the Atlantic came naturally. He was born on the Isle of Wight in 1869, and emigrated to Canada as a six-year-old. On his retirement from McGill, influential English friends urged him to return to live in the land of his birth. He refused, saying, "I'd hate to be so far away from the United States. It's second nature, part of our lives, to Joe near them. Every Sunday morning we read the New York funny papers. All week we hear about politics in Alabama and Louisiana, and whether they caught the bandits who stole the vault of the National Bank--well, you know American news. There's no other like it."

In the eight years of his retirement; Stephen produced the work he believed most likely to endure. It was far removed from the kind of wit which had made him famous. He described his history, Montreal: Seaport and City, as "the best job I've done." Unlike most historical works it bubbles with the author's laughter. In his foreword, after thanking two former colleagues for checking the manuscript, he added that any errors which remained obviously must be theirs. "Acknowledging these debts," he concluded, "I also feel that I owe a good deal of this book to my own industry and effort."

Midway through World War II, I asked Stephen if he would write a foreword for a book I had written on the Canadian navy and its gallant role in convoy escort. He agreed. Some time later he handed me more than 20,000 words, in which he had told the whole fascinating background story of Canada's lifelong relationship to the sea. His research was staggering to a reporter who had simply described events and engagements to which he had been an eyewitness.

"I got interested in the subject," he explained. "If you don't like it, throw it away and I'll write something shorter,"

Not a word was changed. To my joy, the book appeared under our joint bylines. Soon after, throat cancer took Stephen from the thousands of Old McGillers who loved him.

Leacock loved human beings for their little vanities and pretensions—and laughed at his own. The fictional town of Mariposa of his famous "Sunshine Sketches" is obviously Orillia, Ontario, where Leacock built a summer home and developed a farm, which, he said, "used to lose a few dollars a year, but by dint of hard work and modernization, I have contrived to turn that into a loss of thousands." The citizens of Orillia had little difficulty in self identification when the book reached town, but they soon realized that Leacock had ribbed his own idiosyncrasies more sharply than he had pinpointed theirs. Today’s Orillians speak of him with the awe given to any community's adopted son, though it was he who adopted Mariposa-Orillia.

Stephen Leacock was so honestly simple that to many men he seemed to be a mass of complexities. To the world he remains the man of laughter. His greatest achievement, however, was that he taught thousands of young men and women who want to know. By example he proved one simple fact to all of us who attended his classes, certainly to that numerous crew who came to enjoy his friendship—that the right of outspoken dissent is the free man's most precious heritage. Such men do not often pass this way.

Why was Leacock dubbed as a "pro-American British imperialist"?

A．Because he was a Briton who adored American politics.

B．Because he liked to read American newspapers.

C．Because he lectured on the importance of friendship between U.S. and Britain.

D．Because he chose to live close to America.

The vocabulary and grammatical differences between British and American English are so trivial and few as hardly

A．noticed

B．to be noticed

C．being noticed

D．to notice

"The differences between British English and American English are not important." Why does the author say this?

For the most part, British and American English are ______.

听力原文：The difference between British English and American English are not important. What is more important?

"The differences between British English and American English are not important." Why does the author say this?

For the most part, British and American English are ______.