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What is American Sign Language?

American Sign Language （ASL）is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body. 【小题1】 It is also one of several communication options used by people who are  deaf or hard of hearing.

Is sign language the same in other countries?

No one form of sign language is universal. 【小题2】 For example, British Sign Language（BSL）is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL.

【小题3】

The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear, but some suggest that it arose more than 200 years ago from the intermixing of local sign languages and French Sign Language （LSF）. Today's ASL includes some parts of LSF plus the original local sign languages , which over the years have combined and changed into a rich,complex, and mature language. Modern ASL and modern LSF are distinct languages. 【小题4】

How does ASL compare with spoken language?

【小题5】 But for people who are deaf （particularly those who are profoundly deaf）, the sounds of speech are often not heard, and only some speech sounds can be seen on the lips. Sign languages are based on the idea that vision is the most useful tool a deaf person has to communicate and receive information.

   The word “ OK”, the most frequently spoken expression on the planet, celebrated its 178th anniversary (周年纪念日) on March 23.

Henry Nass, a 66-year-old retired English teacher, had spent the last few weeks handing out cards supporting “ Global OK Day” in advance of the coming anniversary.

The term “ OK” was born in the 19th century. Late etymologist Allen Walker Read found the twoletter word in 1839, when editors at The Boston Morning Post signed off on articles as “ all correct” with an “ OK” or “ oll correct”.

The word made it into print on March 23 of that year in an article against an editor in Providence who had said, wrongly, that a group of Bostonians heading for New York would pass through the Rhode Island capital. “We didn’t say a word about our group passing through the city of Providence,” The Boston Morning Post reported. “O. K. — all correct.”

The humour of the Providence-Boston joke has been lost to history — but the word OK took off from there, soon meaning agreement, acceptance, satisfaction, quality or likability. In 1840, it served as a slogan (口号) for President Martin Van Buren’s unsuccessful re-election campaign. OK was picked up by telegraph operators as an easy abbreviation (缩写词) to say they received transmission. “Buzz Aldrin’s first words spoken on the moon were ‘ OK. Engine stop,’” says Allan Metcalf, author of “OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word”.

Modern texting has produced a new generation of abbreviations — BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud) among them, but none has replaced OK. That’s why many people support the English teacher’s call for an OK birthday celebration.

“We happen to know the exact date and place of the very first OK and that’s not very usual for many words, so why not celebrate that day?” says Metcalf.

   You may know the difference between an American accent and a British accent. But do you know what a “posh（上流社会的）” British is _______? The difference between British accents may be less important than you think.

There are many different accents in the UK, some of which are very _______ for foreigners to understand. In the south, many people speak with what is _______ as a “posh” accent, an accent that makes people _______ the British royal family and the high-class people in the UK. In this accent, “grass” sounds more like “gr-ar-ss”. And _______ “bath” sounds more like “barth”. Often, British people who take jobs on TV on elsewhere have to _______ their own accents and make them “posher” to be _______.

So, do accents still _______? Last year Alexander Baratta, PhD, from the UK’s University of Manchester spoke about “accentism” — people being treated worse _______ how they speak — and ________ it to racism（种族歧视）, according to The Guardian. In a study, he asked people why they changed their accents and how it made them _________

It’s not hard to see why they do it — everyone wants to do well in life, and the best way to do that is to fit in.________, there is a price to pay. Facing the world with a（n）________ that is not your own can hurt your sense of ________. This was shown when a third of those questioned said they were ________ of changing their accents.

Is it necessary to stop people changing how they ________? Well, times may be changing, too. The Guardian’s lead writer Hugh Muir has a ________, “The listener must adapt when ________. The speakers must make themselves ________, whatever accent they choose.”

So as you’re learning English, don’t worry too much about how your accent makes you sound — _______it’s clear what you’re saying!

   The world is a rich landscape of different languages，skin colors，and different cultures. 【小题1】 One way to develop this appreciation is to try to learn about other cultures around the world.

There are several ways to become knowledgeable about different cultures. One way is to read books written by authors from a particular culture. Reading works by authors from a particular culture allows people to gain an authentic（真实的）look at the food，music，language，religion，and way of life of a particular group of people.【小题2】

【小题3】 A person can choose a language he has always wanted to learn. He can attend a foreign language class in order to learn in a more formal setting. Making contact with people who are native speakers of the language allows him to gain first-hand knowledge of a particular culture as she struggles to learn the language.

Seeking out restaurants that feature authentic food from a variety of countries is also a good way. 【小题4】 And it allows people to gain insight into a particular cultural group's way of life.

People who love to meet people in faraway areas of the world may not be able to travel in person, but they can always look for a pen pal. 【小题5】 Various websites offer pen pal services, offering to connect individuals with pen friends located around the world. Communicating with people from other countries through email or mail is another useful way to become familiar with different cultures.