Some American leaders proposed major1in the language. Benjamin Franklin wanted a whole2system of spelling. His3were not accepted. But his ideas did4others. One was Noah Webster.

Webster5language books for schools. He believed the United States should have a system of its own language as well as government. Webster6a dictionary of the American language in 1828. It established7for speaking and spelling the words8in American English.

Webster wrote that all words should be said in the order of the9that spell them. This is why Americans use the letters "e-r" to10many words instead of the British "r-e." He11the word "center," for example, "c-e-n-t-e-r," instead of the British "c-e-n-t-r-e."

Noah Webster said every part of a word should be12. That is why Americans say "sec-re-ta-ry" instead of "sec-re-try," as the British do. Webster's rule for saying every part of a13to a large extent made American English14for foreign settlers to15. They learned to say "waist-coat," for example, the way it is spelled instead of the British "wes-kit."

The different16of many people who came to the United States also17make American and British English18. Many of their foreign words and19became part of English as Americans20 it today.

People need to relax and enjoy themse1ves. One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event. Even thousands of years ago, groups of people gathered to watch skilled athletes (运动员).

Over 2000 years ago in Greece, certain days in the year were festival days. These were holidays when people stopped work and enjoyed themselves. They liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games of skill.

The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia. It was held in honor of the Greek god Zeus (Zus). For five days, athletes from all parts of the Greek world took part in the Olympic Games. At the Olympic Games, people could watch them box, run, jump and so on. There was a relay race between two teams of men in which a lighted torch (火矩) was passed from runner to runner. The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities which were at war with one another had to stop fighting. People were allowed to travel to the games safely. Thousands of people came to Olympia from cities in Greece and from her colonies (殖民地) in Africa, Asia and Italy. They met as friends to cheer their favorite athletes and to enjoy themselves.

Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia's northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile's back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.

Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater.

Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.

Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.

 "This could have been a fatal and tragic situation," said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.

He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband's "quick and diligent actions".

Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.

Like other languages, English has changed greatly, so that an English speaker of 1300 would not have understood the English of 500 nor the English of today. Changes of every sort have taken place in the sounds and in the grammar. Although the pronunciation of English has changed greatly since the 15th century, the spelling of English words has changed very little over the same period. As a result, English spelling is not a reliable guide to the pronunciation of the language.

The vocabulary of English has naturally expanded, but many common modern words are derived from the vocabulary of the earliest English, e.g. bread, good, and shower. French words, such as castle, began to come into English shortly before the Norman Conquest in 1066. After the Conquest, Norman French became the language of the court and of official life, and it remained so until the end of the 14th century.

During these 300 or more years English remained the language of the common people, but an increasingly large number of French words found their way into the language, so that the French element in the English vocabulary was very considerable. Most legal terms and words denoting (表示) social ranks and institutions (such as duke), together with a great number of other words that cannot be classified readily, e.g. honor, courage, season, manner, study, and poor, belong to this period of French influence.

Since nearly all of these French words are mainly derived from Late Latin, they may be regarded as an indirect influence of the classical languages upon the English vocabulary.

The direct influence of the classical languages began with the Renaissance (the period in Europe in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries when there was a new interest in art, literature, and science) and has continued ever since; even today Latin and Greek roots are the chief source for English words in science and technology. English vocabulary has also been greatly expanded by the blending (混合) of existing words (e.g. smog from smoke and fog) resulting in a new word, usually with a related meaning.

The city of Venice，in Italy，is one of a kind. It is built on more than 120 islands，just off arrival. After explaining where my new house was, I told him that I had left the key under the doormat. Since I knew it would be quite late before I could get back, I suggested that be make himself at home and help himself to anything that was kept in the refrigerator (冰箱).

Two hours later my friend phoned me from the house. At the moment, he said，he was listening to some of my records after having had a nice meal. He had found the pan and meat in the refrigerator. Now, he was drinking a cup of tea and hoped that I would join him soon. When I asked him if he bad any difficulty finding the house, he answered that the only problem was that he had not been able to find the key under the doormat, but luckily, the living room window by the apple tree had been left open and he had climbed in through the window. I listened to all this in great surprise. There is no apple tree outside my window, but there is one by the living room window of my next-door neighbor's house!